A.
Permit required.
(1)
No person, partnership, utility or corporation, or
his or its agents or employees or contractors, shall make or cause
to be made any opening or excavation in any public street, public
road, public alley, public way, public ground, public sidewalk or
Town-owned easement or fill or alter any culvert or construct or install
additions or extensions to its existing facilities within the Town
of Trenton without a permit therefor from the Town Chairperson or
Clerk.
(2)
The utility or contractor shall submit to the Town a written request for a utility construction/street excavation permit and a plan of the proposed alteration, extension or addition, showing its location and details of construction, including specified depth, method of excavation, open cut or augering, provisions of restoration and whatever the Town would deem necessary for review and consideration. In being issued a permit the utility or contractor agrees to be bound by the regulations of this section and § 345-2.
B.
Fee. The fee for an excavation or opening permit shall
be as shown on the schedule of deposits, bonds and fees. The fee shall
be paid to the Town Clerk, who shall issue a receipt therefor.
C.
Insurance required. A permit shall be issued only
upon condition that the applicant submit to the Town satisfactory
written evidence that the applicant has in force and will maintain
during the time the permit is in effect public liability insurance
of not less than $100,000 per one person, $300,000 for one accident
and property damage coverage of not less than $50,000. The Town shall
be listed as a third-party insured on the policy.
D.
Bond.
(1)
Before a permit for excavating or opening any street
or public way may be issued, the applicant must sign a statement in
that he/she will indemnify and save harmless the Town of Trenton and
its officers from all liability for accidents and damage caused by
any of the work covered by his/her permit, and that he/she will fill
up and place in good and safe condition all excavations and openings
made in the street and will replace and restore the pavement over
any opening he/she may make as near as can be to the state and condition
in which he/she found it, and keep and maintain the same in such condition,
normal wear and tear excepted, to the satisfaction of the Town Board
for a period of two years, and that he/she will pay all fines imposed
upon him/her for any violation of any rule, regulation or ordinance
governing street openings or drainlaying adopted by the Town Board
and will repair any damage done to existing improvements during the
progress of the excavation in accordance with the ordinances, rules
and regulations of the Town. Such statement shall also guarantee that
if the Town shall elect to make the street repair, the person opening
the street will pay all costs of making such repair and of maintaining
the same for one year.
(2)
The person who does such restoration shall be responsible
therefor for two years from the date of the completion of the work
and shall file a written guarantee or surety bond to that effect with
the Town in the amount as shown on the schedule of deposits, bonds
and fees.
(3)
Whenever the Town Board shall find that any such work
has become defective within two years of the date of completion, it
shall give written notice thereof to the contractor or to his/her
surety stating the defect, the work to be done, the cost thereof and
the period of time deemed by the Town Board to be reasonably necessary
to complete said work. After receipt of such notice, the contractor
or the surety must, within the time specified, repair the defect or
indemnify the Town for the cost of doing the work as set forth in
the notice.
A.
Frozen ground. No openings in the streets, alleys,
sidewalks or public ways shall be permitted when the ground is frozen
except where it is deemed necessary by the Town Board.
B.
Removal of paving. In any opening or excavation, all
paving or ballasting materials shall be removed with the least possible
loss of or injury to surfacing materials and together with the excavated
materials from the opening shall be placed so as to cause the least
practicable inconvenience to the public and permit free flow of water
along gutters.
C.
Protection of public.
(1)
Every opening and excavation shall be enclosed with
sufficient barriers; sufficient warning lights shall be kept on from
sunset to sunrise. Such lights shall be spaced so as to give adequate
warning of the existence of the opening and of piled excavated materials.
No open flame warning pots shall be used. Except by special permission
from the Town, no trench shall be excavated more than 250 feet in
advance of pipe or conduit laying nor left unfilled more than 500
feet where pipe or conduit has been laid.
(2)
All necessary precautions shall be taken to guard
the public effectively from accidents or damage to persons or property
through the period of the work. Each person making such opening shall
be held liable for all damages, including costs incurred by the Town
in defending any action brought against it for damages, as well as
cost of any appeal, that may result from the neglect by such person
or his/her employees of any necessary precaution against injury or
damage to persons, vehicles or property of any kind.
D.
Replacing street surface. In opening any public street,
public alley, public sidewalk, public way, public easement or public
ground, the paving materials, sand, gravel and earth or other material
moved or penetrated and all surface monuments or hubs must be removed
and replaced as nearly as possible in their original condition or
position and in the same relation to the remainder as before. Any
excavated material which, in the opinion of the Town, is not suitable
for refilling shall be replaced with approved backfill material. All
rubbish shall be immediately removed. In refilling the opening, the
earth must be puddled or laid in layers not more than six inches in
depth and each layer rammed, tamped or flushed to prevent after-settling.
When the sides of the trench will not stand perpendicular, sheathing
and braces must be used to prevent caving. No timber, bracing, lagging,
sheathing or other lumber shall be left in any trench. The Town may
elect to have the opening for any street or sidewalk repaired by the
Town, in which case the cost of making such repair and of maintaining
it for one year shall be charged to the person making the street opening.
E.
Notice. It shall be the duty of the permittee to notify
the Town Board or Town Clerk and all private individuals, firms and
corporations affected by the work to be done at least 24 hours before
such work is to commence. The Clerk shall also be notified at least
four hours prior to backfilling and/or restoring the surface.
F.
Validity of permit. Unless the work shall be commenced
within 30 days of the issuance of the permit, the permit shall be
void, and a new permit must be obtained and an additional fee charged.
The Town may extend the time limitation for good cause. The utility
or contractor shall have present at the site of construction and during
the restoration period a copy of the construction plans and Town permit.
G.
Backfilling. It shall be the duty of the permittee
to backfill the opening immediately upon completion of the work and
to place at least five inches of traffic bind or similar material
in the opening unless otherwise advised by the Town. It shall be the
duty of the permittee to maintain the opening in good condition for
a period of six months after the completion of the work or until the
surface has been restored. The Town shall decide when, within said
six-month period, the opening is ready for paving if a paving surface
is required. If the surface is not restored within a period of 10
days or such longer period as determined by the Town, the Town may
restore the surface and bill the permittee therefor.
H.
Emergency excavation. In the event of an emergency,
any person, firm or corporation owning or controlling any sewer, gas
main, water main, conduit or other utility in or under any public
street, alley, easement, way or ground and his/her agents and employees
may take immediate proper emergency measures to remedy dangerous conditions
for the protection of property, life, health or safety without obtaining
an excavation permit, provided that such person, firm or corporation
shall apply for an excavation permit not later than the next business
day.
I.
Excavation in new streets limited. Whenever the Town
Board determines to provide for the permanent improvement or repaving
of any street, such determination shall be made not less than 30 days
before the work of improvement or repaving shall begin. Immediately
after such determination by the Town Board, the Town shall notify
in writing each person, utility, Town department or other agency owning
or controlling any sewer, water main, conduit or other utility in
or under said street or any real property abutting said street that
all such excavation work in such street must be completed within 30
days. After such permanent improvement or repaving, no permit shall
be issued to open or excavate said street for a period of five years
after the date of improvement or repaving unless, in the opinion of
the Town Board, an emergency exists which makes it absolutely essential
that the permit be issued.
A.
Obstruction of intersections. No person shall maintain,
plant or permit to remain on any private or public premises situated
at the intersection of two or more roads, streets or alleys in the
Town any hedge, tree, shrub or other growth which may obstruct the
view of the operator of any motor vehicle or pedestrian approaching
such intersection.
B.
Obstruction of signs. It is unlawful for any person
to plant, cause to grow, allow to grow or maintain any trees, bushes,
shrubbery or vegetation of any kind which is an obstruction to the
clear and complete vision of any traffic sign in the Town. It shall
be the duty of every owner of such tree, brush, shrubbery or vegetation
to remove such obstruction.
C.
Abatement procedure. Any shrub, tree or other plant
which obstructs the view at an intersection or the view of a traffic
sign shall be deemed to be dangerous to public travel, and the Town
Clerk shall notify the property owner in writing, describing the conditions,
stating the steps necessary to correct the conditions, and establishing
a reasonable time within which the corrective steps shall be taken.
In the event that effective steps are not taken within the time specified,
it shall be lawful for the Town to abate these conditions to the extent
necessary to assure compliance with the foregoing requirements, and
the costs thereof shall be assessed to the owner.
D.
Trees on and adjacent to highway.
(1)
Removal of fallen trees. If any tree falls from adjacent
land into any highway, the owner or occupant of the land shall immediately
remove the tree from the highway. It shall be the duty of every highway
patrolman, street commissioner or other officer in charge of the maintenance
of streets or highways to remove from any highway any fallen tree
or trees therein.
(2)
Planting trees and shrubs in highway. Any person owning
or occupying land adjoining any highway may, with the approval of
the Town Board, plant, cultivate and maintain trees, shrubs or hedges
on the side of the highway contiguous to and within 10 feet of his/her
land. Such trees, shrubs or hedges shall be cut or removed only by
the owner or occupant of the abutting land or by the public authority
having control of the highway.
E.
Cutting or injuring trees on highway. No person shall
cut down, break, girdle, bruise the bark or in any other manner injure
any public or private trees, shrubs or hedges growing within the highway,
except as the owner thereof or the public authority maintaining the
highway may cut down, trim and remove trees, shrubs and hedges for
the purpose of and conducive to the benefit and improvement of the
owner's land or the highway facility. When it is necessary for trees
in a road right-of-way to be removed, the adjacent property owner
shall have a right of first refusal to have the wood. After receiving
notice that a tree is to be removed, the adjacent property owner shall
have 14 days to remove the tree.
F.
Fences. No person shall build or reconstruct any fence
within the thirty-three-foot public road right-of-way measured from
the center of the road. With the permission of the Town Board, a person
owning or occupying land adjoining a highway may build or reconstruct
a fence on the side of the highway contiguous to and within 10 feet
of his/her land.
A.
No person shall, without the consent of the owner
in the case of a private tree or shrub or without written permits
from the Town Board in the case of a public tree or shrub, do or cause
to be done by others any of the following acts:
(1)
Secure, fasten or run any rope, wire sign, unprotected
electrical installation or other device or material to, around or
through a tree or shrub.
(2)
Break, injure, mutilate, deface, kill or destroy any
tree or shrub or permit any fire to burn where it will injure any
tree or shrub.
(3)
Permit any toxic chemical, gas, smoke, oil or other
injurious substance to seep, drain or be emptied upon or about any
tree or shrub, or place cement or other solid substance around the
base of the same.
(4)
Remove any guard, stake or other device or material
intended for the protection of a public tree or shrub, or close or
obstruct any open space about the base of a public tree or shrub designed
to permit access of air, water and fertilizer.
(5)
Attach any sign, poster, notice and other object on
any tree, or fasten any guy wire, cable, rope, nails, screws or other
device to any tree; except that the Town may tie temporary "No Parking"
signs to trees when necessary in conjunction with street improvement
work, tree maintenance work or parades.
(6)
Cause or encourage any fire or burning near or around
any tree.
B.
All trees on any parkway or other publicly owned property
near any excavation or construction of any building, structure or
street work shall be sufficiently guarded and protected by those responsible
for such work as to prevent any injury to said trees.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 4-3-5, Deposit of rubbish and stones on highway right-of-way, which immediately followed this section, was deleted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II). See now Ch. 280, § 280-6, Deposit of deleterious substances, and Ch. 295, Peace and Good Order, § 295-11, Littering.
Rural mailboxes are prohibited on the right-of-way
of all highways within the Town of Trenton except as hereinafter provided:
A.
Mailboxes are approved only if they are of a construction
or design approved by the United States Postal Service or previously
approved by the Postmaster.
B.
Newspaper tubes are permitted only if provided by
the newspaper or of a construction or design that will not present
a hazard to the public use of the right-of-way. Where the newspaper
tube used has not been provided by the newspaper, the Town Chief of
Police shall have the exclusive authority to approve the tube. If
the Town Chief of Police refuses to approve the newspaper tube, it
must be removed.
C.
A nameplate bearing the name and address number of
the mailbox owner shall be permitted on each box.
D.
The support for the mailbox and newspaper tube shall
adhere to the standards governing construction of mailbox supports
as established by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation and shall
not constitute a hazard to the public use of the right-of-way.
E.
Mailbox and newspaper tubes must be located on the
side of the road required by the United States Postal Service and
so that the door to the mailbox or protruding end of the newspaper
tube is at least one foot from the paved portion of the highway.
F.
The owner of each mailbox and/or newspaper tube shall,
within 24 hours after the end of each snowfall, remove all snow and
ice which has fallen or accumulated in front of said mailbox and/or
said newspaper tube and shall remove the snow for a distance of 15
feet to each side of said mailbox and/or newspaper tube.
G.
No other object of any kind shall be attached to the
mailbox, newspaper tube or their supports. No other objects, including
but not limited to landscaping boulders or fences, may be placed on
the right-of-way.
H.
This section is not intended to and shall not be construed
to create any affirmative duty on the part of the Town of Trenton
to locate and remove obstructing mailboxes. The Town of Trenton is
not liable for damage to mailboxes caused by snowplowing.
