[Adopted 8-16-1971 by Ord. No. 662 as Ch. 55 of the 1971 Code; amended in its entirety 2-1-2021 by Ord. No. 1698]
It shall be unlawful for any person(s), corporation or other business entity to cut, break into, excavate or open any of the streets, highways or alleys of the Borough of Collingswood or any portion thereof for any purpose whatsoever without first submitting a written application to and receiving a permit from the Superintendent of Public Works for the proposed excavation; the permit shall be known and designated as a "street opening permit" and shall be processed and issued by the Municipal Clerk.
A. 
The Superintendent of Public Works and/or the Borough Engineer shall establish an application process and forms for the proposed excavation which shall include, at a minimum, a detailed statement of the process for the proposed excavation; upon the granting of a permit as herein provided, there shall be paid a fee in accordance with Subsection B.
B. 
To open any street or pavement, there shall be paid a permit fee in the amount of $375 for any street opening.
[Amended 8-1-2022 by Ord. No. 1741[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Subsection C, Review/inspection fees, which immediately followed this subsection, and redesignated former Subsections D and E as Subsections C and D, respectively.
C. 
In the event the Borough Engineer or Superintendent of Public Works has determined that the scope of the street opening project raises safety issues and/or traffic flow concerns, the applicant shall be required to engage the services of the Collingswood Police Department. The cost of all police services shall be the responsibility of the applicant.
D. 
In addition to the permit fee as set forth in Subsection B, an applicant for a street opening shall also deposit a performance guaranty with associated maintenance guaranty as follows:
(1) 
Amount. The amount of the guaranty required will be determined by the Borough Engineer and/or Borough Superintendent of Public Works and will be set forth on the permit application form at the time of submission. The amount shall be calculated on the basis of projected costs required to properly restore or repair defective or incomplete work, as determined by Borough Engineer. An annual blanket bond in the amount of $10,000 may be posted at the election of the applicant for anticipated multiple permits in any calendar year.
(2) 
Form. The form of the guaranty shall be subject to the review and approval of the Borough Attorney and shall be issued by an institution authorized to transact business in the State of New Jersey.
(3) 
Maintenance. The performance guaranty shall include a maintenance guaranty once the permanent restoration has been completed and accepted by the Borough. Upon completion of final and permanent restoration and acceptance by the Borough, the performance guaranty will be returned subject, however, to the submission by the applicant of a maintenance guaranty in the amount of 50% of the performance guaranty. The maintenance guaranty shall remain in effect for a five-year period for a five-foot deep or more trench, and a two-year period of time for all others. The guaranty shall be released to the permit holder upon satisfactory completion of all restoration and repairs during the two- or five-year maintenance period. The two- or five-year maintenance period shall commence after final inspection of the work performed under the permit and the acceptance of the work by the Borough's Engineer.
(4) 
Utilities. For all utilities under the jurisdiction of the Board of Public Utilities, a blanket corporate bond acceptable to the Borough's Engineer in the amount of $25,000 may be deposited with the Borough and shall remain in full force and effect in lieu of a separate bond or escrow for each required permit as surety for the performance and maintenance period. The maintenance period shall be for a period of two or five years, as required in Subsection E(3) herein, and shall commence after the final inspection of the work performed under the permit and the acceptance of the work by the Borough Engineer.
All street openings are to be refilled and thoroughly rammed to the street level to the satisfaction of the Superintendent of Public Works and/or the Borough Engineer.
No permit should be issued authorizing the disturbance of any newly paved street from and after the completion of the laying thereof to any person or persons, corporation or corporations without first posting a bond with the Borough of Collingswood in an amount to be determined by the Borough Engineer, which bond shall be in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, such bond to cover openings in streets as described in § 265-2, provided that in the case of opening a sheet asphaltum street, the bond shall be as provided for in § 265-2B, conditioned that such excavations shall be refilled and rammed and such openings repaved to the satisfaction of the Superintendent of Public Works and further that if, at any time within four years from such refilling, ramming and repaving, the same shall settle or repairs become necessary by reason of defective refilling, ramming or repaving, then the person or persons, corporation or corporations taking out such permit shall repair and repave the same within five days after notice from the Superintendent of Public Works and, upon failure so to do, then after the expiration of said five days, the Superintendent of Public Works shall be authorized to do so at the expense of such person or persons, corporation or corporations. Said bond shall be from an approved corporation authorized to do business in New Jersey. The bond shall be approved by the Borough Superintendent of Public Works as to the responsibility of the sureties and by the Borough Solicitor as to form and shall be filed in the office of the Superintendent of Public Works before any permit is issued, provided that in case more than two openings are or shall be made by any person or persons, corporation or corporations in any street or streets, in such case the Superintendent of Public Works may require a bond in such sum over and above the amounts stated above as, in his opinion, will sufficiently guarantee the proper refilling, ramming and repaving of such openings over a period of four years. The date of the final payment of the contract price for the pavement of a street or streets of the Borough of Collingswood shall be considered as the date of the completion of said work, provided that on all newly paved streets on a concrete foundation, no street opening permits shall be granted within five years after the paving of the same except on the payment of an additional permit fee of $100; and in addition to all and every such permit fee, the applicant shall pay the cost of repaving every such opening, and such payment shall be a condition in which every such permit shall be issued.
No person or corporation shall be allowed permission to excavate or open a street or highway for a greater distance than 500 feet at one time or to keep the same opened for a longer period than one week, and during all that period while such street or highway is being excavated, occupied or used in any manner under permit from the Superintendent of Public Works, there shall be provided by the person or corporation obtaining such permit a space or street level of at least 10 feet in width for the purpose of allowing carriages and other vehicles free and unimpeded use of the same; and all persons or corporations making openings as aforesaid along the line of any street or highway in the Borough of Collingswood and any corporation or corporations possessing or controlling the right to lay wires, pipes or other conduits in any street or highway, which shall desire to make connections, lay or relay wires, pipes or other conduits or to make repairs under the highway or any section or sections of any highway, street or alley shall be and are hereby required to complete all of said work within go days from the date of the granting of the permit therefor.
It shall be unlawful for any owner or occupant of any building along the line of any paved street to allow the water from the leaders or conductors of water from the roof of said buildings to flow over or upon the sidewalk adjacent to such paved streets, but such water shall be conducted by pipes to the proper sewer in said street or streets, if any there be; and if there shall be no sewer in said street or streets for the reception of such water, then and in such case, the water from said leaders or conductors shall be connected by water pipes or channel irons below the surface of the sidewalk or sidewalks to the street gutters or gutters.
All persons or corporations excavating, occupying or in any manner using any of the streets or highways of the Borough of Collingswood for any purpose whatever under permission granted as aforesaid shall, wherever any excavation would be dangerous if left exposed, erect a suitable fence or railing around such excavation in such a manner as to prevent danger to pedestrians or vehicles and satisfactory to the Superintendent of Public Works and shall place upon such fence or railing and upon any building materials and appliances suitable and sufficient lights as may be required by the Superintendent of Public Works at twilight in the evening and to be kept burning until sunrise during the time of such excavation, occupation or use of the streets as aforesaid.
All persons or corporations excavating, occupying or using the streets, highways or alleys as aforesaid shall replace them in the same condition as they were before such excavation, occupation or use; and all replaced earth shall be properly tamped and all paving material carefully kept aside and the street or highway refilled, repaired and repaved to the satisfaction of the Superintendent of Public Works of the Borough of Collingswood; and all refilling and repairs of any unimproved street so excavated or disturbed as aforesaid, when the party excavating the same fails to do so, shall be made by and under the supervision of the Superintendent of Public Works and/or the Borough Engineer of the Borough of Collingswood.
The Borough of Collingswood shall prosecute any person or persons, corporation or corporations violating any of the provisions of this article, and it shall also be the duty of any police officer or other person or persons authorized to make arrests in the Borough of Collingswood to arrest anyone whom he or they may detect in the violation of any of the provisions of the same.
Any person or persons, corporation or corporations violating any of the provisions of this article shall be subject to a fine not to exceed $1,000, imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed 90 days or a period of community service for not more than 90 days, or any combination thereof, in the discretion of the court.
No person or corporation shall erect or place any building in whole or in part upon any highway, street or alley in the Borough of Collingswood.
The owner of any building, fence or other encroachment or obstruction now standing or which may hereafter be erected or placed upon any street, highway or alley or other public ground within the Borough of Collingswood shall, within 30 days after the service of a notice, in writing, signed by the Superintendent of Public Works of said Borough so to do, remove said obstruction.