[Adopted as Secs. 16-1 and 16-2 of the 1993 Revised General Ordinances; amended in its entirety 8-23-2011 by Ord. No. 2011-16]
The following words used in this article shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except in those instances where the content clearly indicates otherwise:
APPLICANT
Any person who makes application for a permit.
EMERGENCY
Any unforeseen circumstances or occurrence, the existence of which constitutes a clear and immediate danger to persons or properties.
PERMITTEE
Any person who has been issued a permit and is obligated to fulfill all the terms of this article.
PUBLIC UTILITY
As defined under Title 48 of the New Jersey Statutes.
STANDARD SPECIFICATIONS
The New Jersey State Highway Department Standard Specifications of Road and Bridge Construction 1961 and current addendum.
S.Y.
Square yards.
It shall be unlawful at any time for any person to cut, break, excavate or open any street of the Township, or any portion thereof, including, but not limited to, pavement, curbing, or sidewalk, for the purpose of installing, replacing, maintaining and repairing underground facilities, or for any other purpose, without first making a written application to the Township Clerk and receiving a permit for such work.
Upon certification by a duly adopted resolution of the Township Council, upon the completion of the construction, reconstruction, maintenance, resurfacing or other like or similar activity upon a roadway or a byway with the Township, the Township Council may, by resolution, provide that a road opening permit shall not be authorized or allowed to be issued for a specified period of time, not exceeding five years, in order to preserve and protect the interests of the Township in such roadway or byway.
A. 
The application for a permit to make an opening or excavation in any street shall be made to the Township Clerk, in writing, dated and signed by the applicant. It shall state the road or street proposed to be opened or excavated and shall indicate the exact location by length, width and depth of the intended excavation. It shall also specify the object or purpose of the proposed excavation.
B. 
In cases where the proposed opening involves construction of longitudinal pipe mains serving more than one property, the Township may also require the applicant to submit plans showing the information required above and also the relationship of the proposed installation to the existing pavement, other utilities, the street right-of-way lines and any other physical features which might be affected by the proposed construction.
C. 
In cases where the proposed opening involves excavation of 20 square yards or more, the application for a permit, and any other materials required by § 306-4B, should also be forwarded to the Township Engineer for review. For applications which are required to be reviewed by the Township Engineer, all inspections of the street opening shall also be performed by the Township Engineer.
A. 
Before the issuance of any permits, the applicant shall deposit with the Township Clerk of the Township the amounts set forth in § 150-10, Street openings; deposits required; inspection fee.
B. 
The above deposits shall reasonably approximate the cost of the installation of final resurfacing by the applicant. However, such deposits as indicated in the formula in § 150-10 shall be increased by 25% so that the total amount that the applicant shall deposit with the Township shall be in an amount equal to 125% of the estimated cost. The additional 25% is required because the fee calculated and collected at the time of the issuance of the permit is based upon an estimate of the area to be patched, and as-built conditions may vary from estimates. The Township shall release all deposits to the applicant upon completion of resurfacing and all other restoration within the Township right-of-way and final acceptance is provided by the Director of Public Works or the Township Engineer.
In addition to the above deposit, the applicant shall pay a cash, nonreturnable inspection fee as specified in § 150-10.
[Amended 9-25-2012 by Ord. No. 2012-14]
A. 
When the amount of the deposit as determined under § 306-5 above would exceed $1,000, the applicant may, at his or her option, furnish a guarantee bond for the full amount of such deposit instead of making the required deposit. Such bond shall unconditionally guarantee that the applicant will make the proposed street opening, backfill the same and restore the pavement in accordance with the requirements of the Township.
B. 
Public utilities shall post one blanket bond to cover all road openings that they apply for which are under 20 square yards, in lieu of posting separate guarantee bonds for each road opening under 20 square yards. The amount of this blanket bond shall be determined by Township Council.
A. 
The permit issued shall designate the number of square feet to be excavated, the location of same and the time within which the work contemplated thereunder shall be completed. The work shall be performed within the time specified in the permit.
B. 
In the case of an opening which restricts vehicular traffic to less than two ten-foot-wide travel lanes, excavation and backfill shall be made within a single eight-hour period, except under special occasions or circumstances where underground conditions or structures warrant a longer period of time. In other cases, as determined by the Director of Public Works or the Township Engineer, it shall be made within one week's time, except where underground conditions or structures warrant a longer period of time.
C. 
Street openings shall be resurfaced within the period of time designated by the Township at the time the application is approved. Prior to resurfacing, the backfill shall be maintained in order to prevent depressions or bumps in the street surfaces, and suitable material shall be applied thereto to keep down dust until a temporary patch is installed.
D. 
All curbing or sidewalk damaged or disturbed as part of the road opening must be replaced within 48 hours from completion of work within the excavation, unless otherwise approved by the Director of Public Works or Township Engineer. All replaced concrete shall be 4,500 psi. All sidewalk shall be four inches thick, except driveway aprons, which shall be six inches thick and include welded wire mesh. All curb sections shall be of the same type and dimensions as that of any existing curb immediately adjacent thereto.
A. 
Paved roadway surfaces shall be cut vertically with a sharp tool, along straight lines, before excavating. Material excavated from the trench opening shall not be replaced as backfill unless specifically permitted by the Public Works Superintendent. In cases where it is required that the excavated material be replaced, new, clean granular backfill material shall be used. Fill material shall be deposited in ten-inch layers, each layer to be thoroughly tamped with pneumatic or mechanical tampers. The compacted backfill shall be brought to within two inches of the existing surface, and a two-inch-thick layer of compacted cold patch material, Grade A or B, shall be applied as soon as practical, but no later than at the end of the workday.
B. 
The temporary paved surface shall be maintained at a permanent level for a period of 30 days, unless specifically approved by the Director of Public Works or Township Engineer, after which time the applicant shall replace the temporary patch with permanent resurfacing.
C. 
Permanent pavement repair shall consist of six inches of bituminous stabilized base course (Mix I-2) and 2 inches of fine aggregate base course, or FABC (Mix I-5). The bituminous stabilized base course may be reduced to four inches on a residential access street, as determined by the Township Engineer. All seams shall be filled with seam sealer.
A. 
No ditch shall be dug within 10 feet of any street without first obtaining the approval of the Township Engineer. Such approval shall not be given unless, in his or her opinion, the ditch will not endanger the construction of the road which it will adjoin.
B. 
No existing ditch adjoining a street and within 10 feet thereof shall be excavated to a depth lower than that now existing without first obtaining the approval of the Township Engineer. Approval shall not be given unless, in his or her opinion, the lowering of the depth of the ditch will not endanger the construction of the road which it adjoins.
Any person making any opening or excavation in any street in the Township shall carry out the work as expeditiously as possible and in such manner as to cause the least public inconvenience and to permit the use of the sidewalk by pedestrians, the roadway by vehicles and the flow of water along the gutters.
All openings, diggings, excavations, equipment and barricades, including earth, dirt and stone or other materials removed from the excavation, shall be carefully guarded at all times to prevent accidents, and a sufficient number of lighted lanterns, flares or torches shall be maintained between sunset and sunrise by the contractor, or person to whom such permit has been granted, to designate such openings or obstruction during the hours of darkness. Where any excavation or trench is to extend across any road or street, only 1/2 of the same shall be made at one time, and it shall be properly backfilled before the other 1/2 is excavated so as not to interfere with traffic.
All existing pavements, road surfaces, sidewalks, curbs, gutters, pipes, manholes, drains, conduits or other installations or fixtures, and property liable to be injured, damaged or destroyed shall be properly protected by the person doing any work for which a permit has been granted during the time when such work is being performed.
In the event that the permittee shall fail to properly compact backfill or restore with a temporary patch in accordance with the terms of this article and within the time set forth in the application, the Township may use such portion of the deposit as may be necessary to properly complete this work.
A. 
Municipal utilities or authorities. When the applicant is a Township municipal utilities authority, sewer department or water company, the Township Council may waive any or all of the provisions of this article.
B. 
Waiver of deposit.
(1) 
Public utilities. When the applicant is a public utility, the Township Council Public Works Superintendent may waive the deposit requirements for the completion of permanent resurfacing if the public utility has in the past demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Public Works Superintendent its competence in restoring the surface in accordance with the resurfacing procedures as set forth in § 306-9.
(2) 
Other applicants.
(a) 
Deposit requirements may be waived as to other applicants when jointly approved by the Township Engineer, the Public Works Superintendent and the Township Administrator. In determining whether or not such a waiver shall be granted, the Township Engineer, the Public Works Superintendent and the Township Administrator shall consider the applicant's previous experience with road openings in the Township and their completion of permanent resurfacing in accordance with § 306-9 and, in the case of an applicant who is proceeding with an approved land subdivision, whether or not the applicant's performance bonds, as posted, give sufficient protection to the Township to insure the final proper permanent resurfacing of the roadways in question.
(b) 
Other applicants requesting a waiver from the Township Engineer, the Public Works Superintendent and the Township Administrator shall be required to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Township Engineer, the Public Works Superintendent and the Township Administrator that the posting of the required deposit would constitute an undue and unnecessary burden and hardship to the applicant and, further, that the applicant has demonstrated, either in the Township or elsewhere, its competency to restore the permanent road surface in the manner required by § 306-9, and will be responsible in the event of a failure of any road resurfacing.
(3) 
Revocation of waiver; hearing; posting of deposit.
(a) 
In the event that any applicant who has received a waiver shall fail during the course of work in any respect to comply with the provisions of this article, then, and in that event, the Township Engineer, the Public Works Superintendent and the Township Administrator, or any one of them, may, on one day's notice, revoke the waiver and stop all further proceedings of the work. The applicant, upon request to the Township Administrator, shall be afforded a prompt hearing before the Township Engineer, the Public Works Superintendent and the Township Administrator concerning the alleged failure to proceed in accordance with this article.
(b) 
A hearing shall be held only if requested by the applicant; otherwise, the applicant shall not proceed until such time as he or she has posted the necessary deposit requirements, in accordance with this article. In the event that after a hearing the Township Engineer, the Public Works Superintendent and the Township Administrator determine that the failure of the applicant to comply with the terms and provisions of this article are such that he or she should not be permitted to continue, the applicant then shall be given three days to post the required deposit.
(c) 
Failure of the applicant to post the required deposit shall constitute a violation of this article, and the penalties as provided in § 1-5, Violations and penalties, of this Code shall apply.
(4) 
Report to Township Council of waiver granted and revoked.
(a) 
In the event that any applicant other than a public utility shall be granted a waiver from the deposit requirements of this article, the Township Engineer, the Public Works Superintendent and the Township Administrator shall prepare and file with the Mayor and Council a report setting forth such waiver and the reasons therefor.
(b) 
In the event that the Township Engineer, the Public Works Superintendent and the Township Administrator shall subsequently revoke any waiver heretofore granted, a report to that effect shall also be filed with the Mayor and Council setting forth the reasons for such revocation.
In the event of an emergency where circumstances will not warrant delay to first secure a street opening permit, a street may be opened without a permit, provided that such opening shall be confined in size to the area necessary to take care of the emergency. A street opening permit for such emergency opening, plus any additional area that it may be necessary to open, shall be secured before the close of business on the next business day of the Township following the opening. Each day's delay in securing the street opening permit following an emergency street opening shall be deemed a distinct and separate violation of this article.