[Adopted 12-21-1983 by Ord.
No. 1983-12 as Ch. 123, Art. II, of the 1983 Code]
[Amended 12-1-1993 by Ord.
No. 1993-32]
It shall be unlawful for any person, company, firm or corporation to
tear up, dig into, break up, displace or excavate any of the streets, sidewalks,
curbs or gutters of the Township of Florence without first obtaining a permit
therefor from the Township Clerk or her designee, who shall charge a fee of
$25 for each permit issued. A separate permit will be required for each opening
made. Any such permit shall state the location and approximate size of the
opening to be made. No permit shall be deemed to authorize anything not stated
in the permit, and the person to whom it is issued shall confine his work
within such limits so that the work of repaving shall be as small as possible.
The work on any opening to be made under any such permit shall be commenced
within 10 days from the date of such permit and the work prosecuted with due
diligence to its completion. If, for any reason, work is not commenced within
said period of 10 days, the permit shall be void, unless, within such period
of 10 days, the applicant shall present the permit to the Township Clerk,
who shall thereupon either return the deposit or extend the time for the beginning
of said work for another period of 10 days by endorsement on the permit, and
no permit so extended shall be valid unless the work thereunder is commenced
within 10 days from the date of such endorsement.
Whenever any street, sidewalk, curb or gutter is broken up or excavated,
it shall be restored at the expense of the person or persons making the opening,
to the satisfaction of the Township Engineer or other duly authorized designee,
in compliance with the following requirements:
A.
The excavation shall interfere as little as possible
with travel along said street or road, and no greater part of any street or
road shall be opened at any one time than the Township Engineer or other duly
authored designee shall allow in order to prevent such interference with travel.
B.
The backfilling of trenches shall be performed by the
applicant under the supervision and direction of the Township Engineer or
other duly authorized designee. Inspection for each street opening application
shall be done in accordance with the directions of the Division of Engineering.
The applicant shall notify the officer instructed to perform the inspection
24 hours before a street opening is ready for backfill, and the inspector
shall have the right to, and it shall be his duty to, inspect said street
opening and be present to continuously inspect the backfill and street surface
restoration procedure. No backfill material, base material or surface material
shall be placed in the opening until 24 hours after the aforesaid notice has
been given. Less than 24 hours may be given in case of emergency openings.
C.
When the Township Engineer or other duly authorized designee
is instructed to perform the inspection, the applicant shall pay to the township
such reasonable fee as may be charged by the Engineer or other duly authorized
designee for time actually spent in making such inspection.
D.
Neither such inspection nor anything else contained in
this Article shall relieve the applicant from the duty to remedy any defect
in such restoration of the opening as may then or thereafter appear or from
any other liability for such defects.
E.
All fill material shall be deposited in layers not exceeding
six inches, and each layer shall be rammed with approved pneumatic or power-driven
mechanical tampers. Flat-faced mechanical tampers may be substituted for vibratory
soil compactors where the shoring and bracing of trenches make the use of
vibratory compactors impracticable. Shoring, bracing and sheathing shall be
withdrawn as the filling proceeds. Fill material used in the first two feet
of cover shall be made with earth, which shall be free from stones or rock
fragments of a size larger than two inches. Broken stone to be used in replacing
the stone base shall be cast in separate piles and kept clean and separated
from other excavation material. The broken stone shall be carefully replaced
to a minimum thickness of eight inches. If there is a deficiency in such thickness,
it shall be made up by adding clean stone not less than two inches in diameter.
The stone base shall be tamped and keyed with mineral filler. In openings
where the existing base consists of gravel or native soil, a minimum of eight
inches of pneumatically compacted Type 5 Grade A soil aggregate, as specified
in the 1961 New Jersey State Highway Department Standard Specifications for
Road and Bridge Construction, shall be placed on top of the backfill. In openings
where the existing base consists of Belgian block, paving brick or concrete,
the soil aggregate method for restoring the base shall be used.
F.
A temporary patch shall be constructed by the applicant
consisting of a sand and asphalt patch mixture two inches thick and thoroughly
tamped and rolled. The temporary patch shall be constructed within 24 hours
after tamping of the backfill. When filled, the opening shall be flush with
the existing contour of the road. Within a period of not less than four months
nor more than six months, the applicant shall replace the temporary patch
with permanent pavement.
G.
The temporary pavement shall be removed and additional soil aggregate placed to bring the excavation to grade where settlement has taken place. The openings shall be properly cleaned out and painted with asphaltic oil or tar, then filled with a hot-mixed, hot-laid bituminous concrete pavement, conforming to the FABC pavement specifications of the State Highway Department Specifications referenced in Subsection E hereof, thoroughly tamping and rolling the material to obtain a dense, smooth surface, flush with the existing road surface. The bituminous concrete surface, when compacted, shall have a minimum thickness of two inches. The surface of the permanent patch shall receive a wearing surface conforming to the existing road surface, unless directed otherwise by the Township Engineer or other duly authorized designee.
A.
No permit shall be granted by the Township Clerk until
the applicant has paid to him the sum of $50 in cash or certified check, drawn
to the order of the Treasurer of the Township of Florence, if the opening
is to be made in the bituminous concrete, bituminous macadam, sheet asphalt,
brick or concrete surfaces and not wider than three feet in width, or $25
if the opening is to be made in a macadam or gravel road or street treated
with bituminous dressing and for opening an earth shoulder of road not wider
than three feet in width. For excavation and street openings in excess of
20 square yards, the applicant shall pay to the Township Clerk the sum of
$2 per square yard for each additional square yard of excavation in excess
of 20 square yards for improved streets and $1.25 per square yard for each
additional square yard of excavation in excess of 20 square yards. These sums
shall be in addition to the above-mentioned amounts. This amount deposited
shall be retained by the township for a period of six months from the date
of the permit or from the date on which it is extended to guarantee the proper
performance of the work done by the applicant and the maintenance thereof
in good condition by the applicant. If the applicant shall fail to restore
the street, sidewalk, curb or gutter involved to its proper condition as soon
as practicable and within three days after the service or mailing of a notice
from the Township Clerk so to do, then the Township Engineer or other duly
authorized designee may cause such restoration to be made and pay the cost
thereof from said deposit, or in case a bond has been filed in lieu of a cash
deposit, the township shall collect the cost of such restoration from the
applicant or bonding company. If, during such period of six months, the filling
of the opening shall settle or any street surface over such opening shall
require repairing and the applicant shall fail to make such repairs as are
required within three days after the service or mailing of a notice from the
Township Clerk so to do, then the Township Engineer or other duly authorized
designee may cause such repairs to be made and pay the cost thereof from said
deposit, or in case a bond has been deposited in lieu of a cash deposit, the
township shall collect the cost of such repairs from the applicant or bonding
company.
B.
The security required shall not be less than $50 for
each opening. Deposits shall be retained for six months, except for curb and
driveway openings, which may be released after 30 days following satisfactory
inspection.
Whenever application for any such permit is made by a plumber or any
similar applicant or any gas, electric, telephone, water company or other
public utility, the Township Clerk may issue such permit without requiring
the cash deposit hereinbefore mentioned, provided that such plumber or similar
applicant or gas, electric, telephone or water company or other public utility
shall theretofore have filed a bond in the sum of $500 to guarantee the proper
restoration of any street, sidewalk, curb or gutter broken up or excavated
by the applicant at any time and the maintenance thereof in good condition
by the applicant for a period of six months after such restoration.
[Added 4-1-1992 by Ord. No.
1992-09]
A.
Whenever the Township Council enacts any ordinance or
resolution providing for the paving or repaving of any street, the Township
Clerk shall promptly mail a written notice thereof to each person owning sewers,
mains, conduits or other utilities in or under said street or any real property,
whether improved or unimproved, abutting said street. Such notice shall notify
such persons that excavation permits for openings, cuts or excavations and
permits for work to be done prior to such paving or repaving shall be submitted
promptly in order that the work covered by the excavation permit may be completed
not later than 45 days from the date of enactment of such ordinance or resolution.
The Township Clerk shall also promptly mail copies of such notice to the occupants
of all houses, buildings and other structures abutting said street for their
information and to state agencies and departments or other persons who may
desire to perform excavation work in said street.
B.
Within said 45 days every public utility company receiving
notice as prescribed herein shall perform such excavation work, subject to
the provisions of this chapter, as may be necessary to install or repair sewers,
mains, conduits or other utility installations. In the event that any owner
of real property abutting said street shall fail within 45 days to perform
such excavation work as may be required to install or repair utility service
lines or service connections to the property lines, any and all rights of
such owner or his successors in interest to make openings, cuts or excavations
in said street shall be forfeited for a period of five years from the date
of enactment of said ordinance or resolution. During said five-year period,
no excavation permit shall be issued to open, cut or excavate in said street
unless, in the judgment of the Township Engineer, an emergency, as described
in this chapter, exists which makes it absolutely essential that the excavation
permit be issued.
C.
Every township department or official charged with responsibility
for any work that may necessitate any opening, cut or excavation in said street
is directed to take appropriate measures to perform such excavation work within
said forty-five-day period so as to avoid the necessity for making any openings,
cuts or excavations in the new pavement in said township street during said
five-year period.
[Added 4-1-1992 by Ord. No.
1992-09]
A.
In the event of any emergency in which a sewer, main,
conduit or utility in or under any street breaks, bursts or otherwise is in
such conditions as to immediately endanger the property, life, health or safety
of any individual, the person owning or controlling such sewer, main, conduit
or utility, without first applying for and obtaining an excavation permit
hereunder, shall immediately take proper emergency measures to cure or remedy
the dangerous conditions for the protection of property, life, health and
safety of individuals.
B.
However, such person owning or controlling such facility
shall apply for an excavation permit not later than the end of the next succeeding
day during which the Township Engineer's office is open for business and shall
not proceed with permanent repairs without first obtaining an excavation permit
hereunder.
The excavation and all piles of excavated materials or any materials
used in the work to be performed in the opening for which a permit is issued
shall be carefully guarded and lighted by the applicant, who shall be liable
for all damages caused by the prosecution of the work or failure to properly
guard or maintain the same.
Nothing contained in this Article shall be construed as requiring the
issuance of a permit for the performance of any work done by the township
or under a contract with the township for the construction of water lines,
sewer lines or street improvements.
Any person, company, firm or corporation who or which shall violate
any of the provisions of this Article shall, upon conviction of such violation,
be subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding 90 days or to a period of community service not exceeding 90 days,
or any combination thereof, for each offense.
