[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors
of the Township of East Brandywine as indicated in article histories.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 10-6-2011 by Ord. No. 08-2011[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also superseded former Art.
I, Permits for Street Openings, adopted 6-17-1974 by Ord. No. 74-12,
as amended.
The following words, when used in this article, shall have the
meanings ascribed to them in this section, except in those instances
where the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Any person who makes an application for a permit.
The Department of Public Works, East Brandywine Township,
Chester County, Pennsylvania.
Any unforeseen circumstances which call for immediate action.
A fee paid by the applicant or permittee to the Township
to cover the cost of issuing, processing, and filing the street opening
permit.
Any person who has been issued a permit and has agreed to
fulfill all the terms of this article.
Any person and includes any individual, group of individuals,
partnership, firm, association, society, utility or corporation.
Includes the entire right-of-way of a Township-owned public
street, public highway, public alley, public way, public trails, public
road or public easement within the Township.
Any ditch, excavation, tunnel, or opening in or under the
surface of any street or within any street right-of-way, including
directional boring, or any structure installed within the street right-of-way.
The completed form filled out in its entirety giving the
applicant permission to open and/or occupy a Township street in East
Brandywine Township.
The Township of East Brandywine Township, Chester County,
Pennsylvania.
It shall be unlawful for any person to open or to make any excavation
of any kind or install any aboveground or below-ground structure in
any street in East Brandywine Township without first securing a permit
as hereinafter provided.
A.
Before any person shall proceed to open or break the surface of any
street, alley, or right-of-way, he/she shall first obtain a permit
from East Brandywine Township.
B.
The application for permits must be completed on forms furnished
by the Township showing location, size, number of structures and relationship
to any intersecting streets and/or curblines.
C.
Pennsylvania One Call requirements. At least three working days prior
to the proposed start of work, the applicant or his representative
shall contact the Pennsylvania One-Call system at 1-800-242-1776,
report the proposed work, and obtain a serial number, and provide
such serial number on the application to the Township. No work shall
begin until such date and time as authorized by Pennsylvania One-Call.
A.
The Board of Supervisors shall establish, by resolution, a fee schedule
for all excavation permits and pavement impact fees for any opening,
excavation, or other procedure involving any street, alley or right-of-way
in the Township, from time to time, as the Board of Supervisors shall
determine. Any permit application, or any such activity, shall require
the payment of such fee prior to the taking of any action by any entity
with respect to any street, alley, or right-of-way. The fee set forth
in the schedule adopted by resolution shall include administration
and inspection costs.
B.
A pavement impact fee may be charged for all excavations in a street
maintained by the Township that has been constructed, reconstructed,
overlaid, or has received a surface sealcoat within three years of
the permit date. This pavement impact fee will be triple the permit
fee established by the Board of Supervisors.
C.
Permit fees and/or pavement impact fees may be adjusted, depending
on a particular situation, by the Township Roadmaster.
D.
E.
Backfilling and restoration requirements for street excavations (less
than five excavations within a block or within 500 feet). All Township
and private street excavations within the Township shall be backfilled
and restored as follows:
(1)
All loose soil, rubble, etc., shall be removed from the site.
(2)
Excavations shall be cut back and squared a minimum of 12 inches
on all sides.
(3)
Excavations shall be backfilled to a minimum of six inches below
grade with 2A modified and mechanically tamped at each lift which
is not to exceed eight inches in depth.
(4)
A minimum of four inches of BCBC shall be placed and compacted over
the modified, leaving room for a minimum of two inches of wearing
course to existing grade.
(5)
Seal all joints with AC-20, or equal.
(6)
Restore all road markings that were damaged during the course of
the work.
F.
Backfilling and restoration requirements for street excavations (five
or more excavations within a block or within 500 feet or one excavation
that exceeds a length of 200 feet). All Township and private street
excavations within the Township shall be backfilled and restored as
follows:
(1)
All loose soil, rubble, etc., shall be removed from the site.
(2)
Excavations shall be cut back and squared a minimum of 12 inches
on all sides.
(3)
Excavations shall be backfilled a minimum of six inches below grade
with 2A modified and mechanically tamped at each lift, not to exceed
eight-inch intervals.
(4)
A minimum of six inches of BCBC shall be placed and compacted over
the modified, bringing the surface of the patch flush with the existing
road elevation.
(5)
The entire length and width of the travel lane impacted by the excavation
shall be milled and overlaid with 1 1/2 inches of 9.5 millimeters
superpave material.
(6)
Seal all joints with AC-20, or equal.
(7)
Restore all road markings that were damaged during the course of
the work.
G.
Erosion control. All proper erosion control measures shall be taken
to ensure compliance with applicable laws. If necessary, the applicant
shall obtain erosion and sedimentation control plan approval from
the County Conservation District prior to starting work.
H.
Except in clear cases of emergency, the applicant for the permit
shall submit his/her application to the Township at least 30 calendar
days prior to the beginning of work.
I.
In cases of emergencies threatening property or lives, the applicant
may proceed with the work after notifying the Township and the Chester
County Department of Emergency Services 911 Center. The applicant
shall still be responsible for applying and obtaining the permit and
satisfying all requirements. The application shall be made within
24 hours of the verbal or written notice to the Township and Chester
County Department of Emergency Services 911 Center. If the emergency
occurs over a holiday, a weekend, or at night, the application shall
be filed the morning of the next working day.
The permit application shall be approved or denied within 20
calendar days of submission of a complete application to the Township.
If the application and required documents do not conform to the requirements
of this article and applicable ordinances, rules, and regulations,
the Township Roadmaster shall deny the application in writing, stating
the reasons. If the Township Roadmaster is satisfied that the proposed
work conforms to the aforesaid requirements, the Township Roadmaster
shall issue a permit.
It shall be the duty of the permittee to protect all openings,
materials, and obstructions of any kind within the right-of-way by
using approved reflective/illuminated safety devices, which shall
remain in place for the duration of the project.
A.
Maintenance of traffic. At least one lane of traffic shall be maintained
at all times. The applicant shall comply with the provisions of PennDOT
Publication 203, "Work Zone Traffic Control."
B.
Street closures.
(1)
The applicant for any street opening, requiring a street to be closed
within East Brandywine Township, shall submit at the time of application,
a detailed traffic plan. This plan must be approved by the Township
Roadmaster and/or Police Department, and submitted to the Downingtown
Area School District for its review, if applicable. The applicant
shall comply with the provisions of PennDOT Publication 203, "Work
Zone Traffic Control."
(2)
The plan will consist of a diagram of the traffic flow pattern, along
with the means to be used for closing the street to normal traffic,
length of time for closure and the type of equipment to be used as
traffic flow indicators. The Township Roadmaster and the Chief of
Police and/or their designees, shall have full authority to change
or redirect any and all such activities that would hamper the safety
and well-being of the general public.
(3)
No road shall be closed without proper detour signs, as approved
by the Township, having been installed by the applicant. All detour
signs shall be maintained for the entire work period. No road shall
be closed, except in an emergency situation, without providing the
Township with at least 72 hours' prior notice, to allow time
to notify the Chester County Department of Emergency Services, and
the emergency services organizations serving the Township, of the
proposed road closure.
The permittee shall fill all openings, excavations, or ditches immediately as noted in § 224-3 above. All of the work (excavation and repair) shall be done under the supervision of the Township Roadmaster, the Township Engineer or his/her representative or other such individual as the Township may authorize. Such excavation made in any street or alley shall be made in a manner so as to interfere as little as possible with the travel thereon. No ditch or excavation outside of the cartway shall be allowed to remain open for more than two weeks. No ditch or excavation within the cartway shall be allowed to remain open overnight without the appropriate safety measures and road excavation cover plates being placed.
In the case of any leak, explosion, or other accident in any
subsurface pipe, construction or apparatus, it shall be lawful for
the person owning or responsible for such pipe, line, construction
or apparatus to commence an excavation to remedy such condition before
securing a permit. However, the owner or responsible party shall make
application for a permit immediately and not later than the next business
day thereafter and shall be responsible to see that all other provisions
of this article are fully complied with. If any such emergency condition
shall not be immediately attended to by the owner or person responsible
for such pipe, line, construction or apparatus, the Township Engineer
and/or the Township Roadmaster, after such notice as he or she shall
deem necessary under the circumstances of the particular case, shall
proceed to do the work or arrange to do the work necessary and required
by such emergency and charge the same, on the basis of cost plus 25%,
to such owner or person.
A.
A bond with good and sufficient surety to be determined by the Township
shall be required from all applicants before any permit is issued.
Said bond shall be given to East Brandywine Township, conditioned
to indemnify, protect, defend, and save harmless said Township from
any and all actions, suits, damages, and costs that may in any manner
arise from the opening of any ditch or excavation or the placement
of any structure in any street.
B.
The amount of said bond shall be fixed and determined by the Township,
but in no case shall the amount be less than $1,000, or 110% of the
estimated construction project cost, whichever is greater.
C.
The form, amount and administration of the financial security shall
be in accordance with Section 509 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities
Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10509. The financial security shall
be held by the Township until the end of the one-year guarantee period
and shall be used by the Township as liquidated damages in case of
default or nonperformance by the applicant.
As part of the permit application, the applicant shall provide
the Township with insurance certificates for the following polices
of insurance in full force and effect with an insurance company or
companies admitted by the Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner to do
business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and rated not less than
A in Best Insurance Key Rating Guide:
A.
Commercial general liability insurance, including property damage
liability and personal injury liability of not less than $1,000,000
for each occurrence and a minimum aggregate amount of $2,000,000.
B.
Automobile bodily injury liability insurance of not less than $500,000
each person; $500,000 each occurrence.
C.
Statutory workman's compensation and employer's liability
insurance. All policies of commercial general liability insurance
required hereunder shall name the Township, its supervisors, engineer
and employees as additional insureds. Specifically, commercial general
liability insurance policy shall name the Township, its officers,
agents, supervisors, elected officials and employees as an additional
insured under ISO endorsement CG 20 26 07 04 or non-ISO equivalent.
Any policy or policies of insurance shall be primary and noncontributory
to insurance coverage maintained by the Township. Certificates of
insurance· shall state that coverage shall not be canceled
by either party except after 30 days' prior written notice by
United States certified mail, return receipt requested, has been given
to the Township. In addition, the applicant shall indemnify and hold
harmless the Township and shall assume the defense and all costs of
lawsuits and awards.
In the event that any work performed by or for a permit holder
shall, in the opinion of the Township Roadmaster, be unsatisfactory
and the same shall not be corrected in accordance with his or her
instructions within the time fixed by him or her or in the event that
the work for which the permit was granted is not completed within
the time fixed therein, the Township may proceed to correct such unsatisfactory
work or complete any such work not completed and charge the costs
thereof plus 25% to the permittee.
Any permittee who shall fail to comply with the provisions of
this article shall, severally, for each and every violation, pay a
penalty in the sum of $600, together with costs of prosecution, court
costs and reasonable attorney's fees and, in default of payment
of such fine and costs, shall be subject to imprisonment for a term
not to exceed 30 days. Such penalty shall be collected by any District
Justice as other fines of the Township are collected. Such fines,
costs, attorney fees and incarceration, after being reduced to a final,
unappealed judgment, shall be enforced by the Township pursuant to
the applicable rules of criminal procedure. Each day of violation
shall constitute a separate violation.
[Adopted 8-17-1994 by Ord. No. 94-02]
The following words and phrases, as used in
this article, shall have the meanings as set forth below:
A street surface which is safe, open and clear for vehicular
and pedestrian use, including but not limited to a surface reasonably
free of mud, silt, debris, snow, ice and water.
A right-of-way intended for general public use to provide
a means of ingress, egress, regress and approach for vehicles and
pedestrians.
During that period of time when a street has
been offered for dedication to the Township and the acceptance of
such offer of dedication, the owner of such street shall take such
action as may be required to maintain the same in a clear condition.
In order to secure the maintenance of a street in a clear condition, the owner shall deposit with the Township financial security, in an amount as determined by the Roadmaster, to provide for the maintenance of the street in such condition as provided in § 224-7 above. The amount of security shall be determined by the Township Roadmaster and provided in writing to the owner on or before September 15 of each year that a street is subject to this article.
The owner shall provide such security not later
than October 15 of any year, and such security shall be maintained
until a street is finally accepted for dedication or the offer of
dedication is withdrawn with the permission of the Township. The Roadmaster
may revise the amount of security annually, or more frequently in
the event that weather or road conditions require such revision in
the interest of public safety.
The financial security required by this article
shall be in the form of a federal- or commonwealth-chartered lending
institution irrevocable letter of credit, a restrictive or escrow
account in such institution, a surety bond from a financially responsible
bonding company, or such other type of financial security which the
Township may, in its reasonable discretion, approve. Said financial
security shall provide for and secure to the public the maintenance
of a street subject to this article in accordance with the requirements
of this article. The owner shall have no right to withdraw, reduce
or assign any portion of the security without the prior written approval
of the Township.
Any sums due and payable to any third party, including the Township, for the performance of the obligations as set forth in § 224-7, which remain unpaid and outstanding as of June 1 of any year, may be released to such party upon the written direction of the Township after 10 days' prior notice to the owner.
No provision of this article and no action by
the Township taken pursuant to this article shall be construed as
an intent by the Township to assume dominion, control or responsibility
of any street subject to this article or as a warranty or guarantee
that any such street is or will be maintained as provided herein.
Any person who violates any provision of this
article shall be guilty of a summary offense and, upon conviction,
shall be required to pay a penalty for the use of the Township in
a sum not more than $600, together with costs of prosecution, or may
be imprisoned for a term not to exceed 30 days, or both. Each day
that a violation of this article continues shall constitute a separate
offense.
The provisions of this article may be enforced
in an action at law or equity. In addition, the Township may refuse
to issue any permit or grant any approval necessary for the owner
of any street subject to this article to further improve or develop
any real property intended to be served by such street.
