§ 148-7Permit required for opening or excavation.
§ 148-8Permit application.
§ 148-9Permit fees.
§ 148-10Insurance required.
§ 148-11Notice of excavation.
§ 148-12Safety requirements.
§ 148-13Regulations and specifications.
No person, firm or corporation, including, without limitation, public service companies and municipalities other than the Village of Washingtonville, shall make any opening or excavation in any street, sidewalk or highway in the village for any purpose without first obtaining a permit from the Village Superintendent of Public Works as hereinafter provided. Compliance with the requirements herein does not relieve any obligation to comply with any other law or regulation.
Applications for permits shall be filed, in writing, with the Village Clerk upon application forms provided by the Clerk. Applications shall be made in the name of the person seeking to have the work done and of the contractor performing the work and shall state the nature, location, extent and purpose of the proposed opening or excavation. The Clerk shall forward the completed application to the Superintendent of Public Works and a copy to the Code Enforcement Officer.
Security and maintenance deposits.
Applications by persons, firms or corporations for openings or excavations in the street, sidewalk or highway must be accompanied by a deposit (security deposit) in the form of cash, certified check or letter of credit in the amount of $500 or such greater amount as the Superintendent of Public Works deems adequate to secure the cost of restoring the street, sidewalk, highway, pavement, curb, or gutter or other public improvement, including drainage, sewer and water improvements, to the same condition as it was prior thereto and must be accompanied by a separate cash deposit to cover inspection fees in an amount of 6% of the security deposit. Notwithstanding the amount of the security deposit, the applicant shall be responsible for the full cost of restoration. All unused security deposits and inspection fees shall be returned to the applicant.
Applications shall also be accompanied by a separate deposit (maintenance deposit) in the form of cash, certified check or letter of credit in the amount of 25% of the security deposit amount. Said maintenance deposit shall be held by the village for six months after satisfactory completion of the work, as determined by the Superintendent of Public Works and shall be released or returned to the applicant by the village. The village shall have the right, upon notice to the permittee, to utilize all or a portion of the proceeds of the maintenance deposit to correct any defects in the work during such six-month period, normal wear and tear excepted.
As an alternative to the requirements of Subsection B above, applications by public service companies may be accompanied by a general undertaking in a form approved by the Board of Trustees. Said general undertaking shall guarantee that, after completing the excavation, the applicant shall leave the street, highway, sidewalk, pavement, curb, gutter or other public improvement, including drainage, sewer and water improvements, in the same condition as it was prior to the excavation, and shall further guarantee the continued maintenance of said work, normal wear and tear excepted, for a period of six months after satisfactory completion of the work, as determined by the Superintendent of Public Works.
Each applicant must pay a permit fee in an amount established, and as may be amended from time to time, by resolution of the Board of Trustees. However, no permit fee will be charged under this article where a fee for any initial water tap or initial sewer tap has been paid or where a building permit fee has been paid and a building permit obtained.
Each application shall be accompanied by a certificate of insurance, in a form approved by the village's Attorney and issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in the State of New York, naming the village as an insured and certifying that the applicant has obtained public liability coverage of not less than $100,000/$300,000 and property damage insurance of $50,000/$100,000, and shall include a provision that said coverage cannot be canceled or fail to be renewed without 10 days' prior written notice to the village. In addition, the applicant agrees as a condition of the permit to indemnify the village and hold the village harmless from all claims, damages, injuries, costs, actions and proceedings brought by any person for injury to person or property resulting from or occasioned by any act or omission of the person to whom the permit is issued or by anyone acting thereunder on his behalf.
The Superintendent of Public Works may require any person making a sidewalk or street opening or excavation pursuant to a permit granted hereunder to give notice of such excavation to public service companies or municipal districts having lines, mains or other property in the streets and, when such notice shall have been required, no work shall be commenced or done under such permit until the required notice has been fully complied with to the satisfaction of the Superintendent of Public Works.
Any person making an excavation covered by this article shall erect suitable barriers or guards for the protection of persons using the streets or sidewalks and, in addition, shall set up and maintain during the hours of darkness sufficient lights or flares to properly illuminate the area. Such person shall also take all necessary precautions for the protection of the property of the village, of public service companies or municipal districts and of others which may be endangered by such excavation or the work incident thereto, and he shall comply with all directions given by the Superintendent of Public Works with respect to such barriers, lights, flares and protective measures.
Open excavation in the village for commercial or industrial purposes shall be enclosed with a substantial fence with suitable gates.
Work under the permit shall be commenced within 20 days from the date of the issuance of the permit and continued in an expeditious manner.
No work shall be permitted on Sundays or holidays.
Construction.
When work is being performed on any village street or sidewalk, no pavement cuts or trenches are to be left unfilled overnight except in emergencies, and in such cases adequate precautions must be exercised to protect traffic. When working on any village sidewalk, street or road, contractors must complete final backfilling of any open trench within 14 days from the time of its opening.
All pipes or mains crossing highway pavement shall, whenever possible, be driven beneath the roadway without disturbance from the edge of the pavement. Such crossover pipes shall, whenever possible, be enclosed in sleeves or larger pipes so that repairs or replacements may be made in the future without future disturbance of the roadway pavement.
In the event that a trench is opened, the trench will be compacted to within four inches of the road surface after completion of the necessary work and construction. The existing asphalt surface shall then be cut back at least 12 inches on either side of the undisturbed subgrade.
At the discretion of the Superintendent of Public Works, the contact surfaces, the packed surfaces and/or adjacent pavement edges shall be painted and sealed with approved bituminous and/or bluestone material before or after placing the course of asphalt, which shall be four inches of New York State Specification 6-8 hot plant mix. This course shall be rolled with an eight- to ten-ton roller, and surface variations in excess of 1/4 inch shall be eliminated or the pavement relaid.
If the trench work is in the earthen shoulder of the roadway, the proper compaction, as outlined above, shall apply with the addition of a covering of sod or grass seeding as specified by the Superintendent of Public Works.
Traffic control. Traffic is to be maintained at all times during the progress of work. Adequate signs, barricades and lights necessary to protect the public shall be provided. Flagmen to direct traffic shall be employed continuously during periods when only one-way traffic can be maintained or when equipment is operated back and forth across the pavement area. No construction equipment or materials shall be left on the pavement after working hours nor shall any construction equipment or materials be placed in any way, manner or location that will obstruct the highway or railroad warning signs. Barricades, whether in sidewalk or roadway areas, shall have prominently displayed for police convenience the address and telephone number of a person available 24 hours a day, which person shall reestablish the same in an emergency.
Access to adjacent property shall be maintained.
Notification. The applicant will be responsible for notifying the Superintendent of Public Works 24 hours prior to street or sidewalk opening and street or sidewalk closing.
The Board of Trustees may by resolution revise the above regulations and specifications and adopt additional or different regulations and specifications.
