[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:
Any person who makes application for a permit.
Any unforeseen circumstances or occurrence, the existence
of which constitutes a clear and immediate danger to persons or properties.
Any person who has been issued a permit and is obligated
to fulfill all the terms of this article.
As defined under Title 48 of the New Jersey Statutes.
The New Jersey State Highway Department Standard Specifications
of Road and Bridge Construction 1961 and current addendum.
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.
(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.
