The following standards and regulations are hereby adopted to govern the acceptance of roads currently constructed and in use prior to January 1, 1976, within the Township of Hardyston, but which have not been accepted or recognized as public roads in the Township. This article is not intended to affect the design or construction or acceptance of other roads which either are not currently used as private roads or which have been set forth on maps or applications to any of the agencies of Hardyston Township as proposed streets or otherwise which are regarded as "paper streets" which have not yet been constructed.
All inspections and certifications therefor or related to any street or road affected by the provisions of this article shall be made by the Township Engineer. The ultimate administration and enforcement of the provisions of this article, however, shall remain with the Township Council.
A.
Upon petition to the Township Council by 51% of the owners of property fronting on a singular roadway or in a combination of interconnecting roadways in a designated contiguous area for the acceptance by the Township Council of such roadway or roadways as a Township road, the Township Council shall authorize the Township engineer to verify the above-referred to fifty-one-percent ownership criteria of the petitions.
B.
The petitions presented to the Township Council shall include the signatures of the owners together with the printed or typed full name of each petitioner, the petitioner's present address, the lot and block number in accordance with the current Tax Map of the Township of petitioner's property on the road subject to the petition, the road frontage of petitioner's property on the subject road to be specified in terms of footage. The petition shall be acknowledged and be accompanied by a survey, sketch plat or road map, certified by a licensed engineer or surveyor, showing the location of the individual lots, their road front footage, tax lot and block number, together with the names of the respective owners indicated on such lots. The petition shall include the name and address of the person which has been designated by the petitioners as their agent to receive notifications, communications, etc., on their behalf from the Township Council.
C.
In the event that the fifty-one-percent criteria above referred to is not satisfied, the Engineer shall certify the same to the Township Council and the Township Council shall take no further action until the required percentage of signatures is obtained and the petitions are resubmitted in accordance with the procedures set forth above.
D.
In the event that the fifty-one-percent criteria is satisfied, the Township Engineer shall certify the same to the Township Council and submit a report as to the condition of roadways under consideration to determine if improvements thereto are necessary and, if so, a preliminary cost estimate of such improvements. If the roadways under consideration meet the standards set forth herein, the Township Council shall accept the roadways in accordance with this section. If improvements are required, they shall be borne by the owners of the property affected as local improvements. The Township Council shall set a meeting date with the petitioners to present the preliminary cost estimate of the Engineer, such meeting to be held within 30 days after the Engineer's report above referred to is received by the Township Council.
E.
Within two weeks after the meeting referred to in Subsection D, petitioners may withdraw their names from the original petitions by following the same procedures as outlined in Subsection B without the submission of a sketch plat, survey or road map. If, at the and of the two-week period, the fifty-one-percent criteria of Subsection A is no longer met, the same shall be certified by the Township Engineer to the Township Council and the petition shall be tabled by the Township Council.
F.
If, after the two-week period referred to in Subsection E, the fifty-one-percent criteria is satisfied, the Township Council shall proceed as follows:
(1)
The Township Council shall inspect the roads or streets designated in the petition with the Township Engineer and shall receive a written report from the Township Engineer as to the feasibility of taking over said roads and streets with particular reference to any special conditions or hardships that may be involved in the takeover of said roads or streets or the improvements thereof.
(2)
If the takeover of the roads or streets designated in the petition is considered feasible by the Township Council, it shall authorize the Township Engineer to obtain or approve or otherwise prepare an accurate and correct description of the necessary rights-of-way which shall then be delivered to the person responsible for preparing the deeds for the rights-of-way to the Township.
(3)
Arrange to procure a proper deed or deeds conveying good title for the streets or roads described in the petition, together with a policy of title insurance from a responsible title company approved by the Township guaranteeing that the title to said roads or streets shall be vested in the Township free and clear of all encumbrances, liens or defects of title of any nature.
(4)
Upon receipt of the deed or deeds conveying title to the Township for the roads or streets set forth in the petition, the Township Engineer shall be authorized to prepare plans and specifications for the improvements of said roads or streets, together with an estimate of the cost thereof.
(5)
Upon receipt of the Township Engineer's plans and specifications and estimate of costs, the Township Council shall then proceed with arrangements for improvement of the roads or streets conveyed under a local improvement ordinance as prescribed by the Statutes of the State of New Jersey.
G.
In the event that more than one road or a group of roads are submitted in a group in a single petition, the Township Council may act under said petition with respect to all of said roads, or otherwise in its discretion, on any one road or any number of roads more than one without acting on all of the roads described in the petition.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Lands required for the installation and maintenance of stormwater sewers, drainage ditches, culverts or other stormwater drainage appurtenances, or lands required along a natural stream or watercourse for preserving the channel and providing for the flow of water therein so as to safeguard the public against flood drainage in accordance with Title 58 of the Revised Statutes, or lands required for the installation and maintenance of other utilities such as water mains, sanitary sewers and/or related appurtenances.
Presently constructed and used street, avenue, road, highway, lane, alley or any other way or means designed for vehicular traffic however designated, not included within the provisions of this article governing standards for street or road design and construction.
Any street which has not been dedicated to public use.
Land and space required on the subsurface and overhead for the construction and installation of materials necessary to provide safe passageway for vehicular traffic, pedestrians, utility lines, poles, conduits and mains, signs, hydrants, trees and shrubbery and the proper amount of light and air as established by local authorities, and shall be measured from lot line to lot line.
The following standards shall be the minimum requirements for width, grade and curvature of streets under this article:
A.
Drainage.
(1)
All streets will be provided with sufficient catch basins, storm sewers, culverts, french drains and other drainage appurtenances for the proper drainage of the area, with final disposition of stormwaters to an existing natural watercourse. The entire storm sewer installation shall be in accordance with plans and specifications prepared by the Township Engineer. Storm sewer drains shall be constructed of either reinforced concrete pipe, fifteen-inch minimum diameter conforming to the requirements of the Standard Specifications for Reinforced Culvert Pipes, ASTM Designation C-76 of the year of last revision, or corrugated metal pipe conforming to the requirements of Bituminous Coated Corrugated Metal Culvert Pipe and Pipe Arches, AASHO Designation M 190 of the year of last revision. Pipe shall be Type C, fully bituminous coated and paved.
(2)
Storm drainage features shall be based on a one-year storm frequency curve runoff, coefficient should be 0.3 to 0.45.
B.
Foundation and pavement. The Township Engineer shall examine any existing pavement and foundation, shall have cores made to determine the work necessary to bring the foundation and/or existing pavement up to the standards hereafter set forth and shall maintain a record of analysis reports related to the cores.
C.
Foundation course. A foundation course compacted in two approximately equal layers to a density of not less than 95% of maximum by a power roller weighing not less than five tons, or by an equivalent vibratory compactor, shall be placed over the entire paved area of the street. The foundation course shall consist of 12 inches of compacted bank-run gravel. The quality and size of the gravel shall be approved by the Hardyston Township Engineer in conformance with the New Jersey State Highway Department Standard Specifications, Type 2, Class A or B soil aggregate. The cross section consisting of the paved area and the shoulders shall then be brought to a smooth parabolic surface having a crown calculated at the rate of four inches per 20 feet.
D.
Pavement.
(1)
The entire cross section of the pavement area shall be primed with a penetration application of asphaltic oil, grade MC-1 (MC-70, new designation) containing an anti-stripping agent additive. The application rate shall be 0.40 gallon per square yards.
(2)
After the prime coat has properly cured, the following wearing surface shall be constructed: Apply 1/2 inch to No. 4 broken stone aggregate, Size 7 at the rate of 30 pounds per square yard; seal with 0.30 gallons per square yard of Asphalt Grade RS-2K roll. Apply 3/8 inch to No. 8 broken stone aggregate. Size 8 at a rate of 20 pounds per square yard; seal with 0.20 gallons per square yard of Asphalt Grade RS-2 or RS-2K and roll.
(3)
Bituminous material shall conform to Art. 8.1.7. Methods of Construction to Section 6, Art. 3.6.2 and Art. 3.6.3 as applicable of the New Jersey State Highway Department of Standard Specifications: aggregate size as per AASHO Designation M43, Cationic Emulsified Asphalt as per AASHO Designation M 208-64.
(4)
No work under this subsection will be permitted unless the subbase is frost-free and dry, and the ambient temperature for the previous 24 hours prior to the work has been 50º F. or more and the ambient air temperature where the work is in progress is 60º F. or higher.
E.
Gutters.
A.
The Township Council retains and shall have the right to require the owners of the roads or streets conveying said premises to make such improvements or changes in the roads which the Township Council may deem advisable before accepting any deed or deeds for conveyance of said roads or streets as hereinbefore provided.
B.
Road acceptance shall not be granted for any street unless the street connects directly with a street which has been accepted by either the Township of Hardyston, the County of Sussex or State of New Jersey.
C.
Each road acceptance shall include a written statement from the Township Engineer certifying that the street has been constructed in accordance with and meets the applicable road acceptance standards. The above certification shall be submitted to the Township Council, together with a statement of costs.
D.
Final approval of the road acceptance shall be contingent upon the submission by the applicant of any and all necessary deeds granting the street premises to the Township. The above deeds must be approved by the Municipal Attorney of the Township.
E.
No roads will be accepted by the Township Council to be maintained by the Township starting with January 1, 1976, unless all of the requirements of this section have been satisfied and certification by the Township Engineer in accordance with § 155-14 has been submitted to the Township Council on or before September 1 of the year preceding the aforementioned fiscal year.
F.
Prior to the acceptance of any street, the Township Engineer shall take representative core samples of the street to be accepted to verify construction compliance and shall maintain a record of analysis reports related to said core samples.
G.
Location drawings.
(1)
Prior to acceptance of the roads, the applicant shall furnish to the Township location drawings, certified by a licensed surveyor or engineer, of all underground utilities, such as the following:
(2)
In the event that at the time of the application for road acceptance the required location drawings are not available, and it is required that additional work be performed to bring the road up to road standards, then the Township Engineer shall include in his or her estimate the cost of preparing such certified location drawings.
H.
Prior to the acceptance of any road, the Township Road Supervisor shall make a written report to the Township Council regarding the prospective maintenance of the road.
I.
Prior to acceptance of any street by the Township, a maintenance guaranty shall be posted with the Township Council by the owners of the roads or streets to be taken over or by such other persons or surety as may be approved by the Township Council. The maintenance guaranty shall be in such form and in such amount as may be determined by the Township Council and shall be in effect until the improvements have been completed under the local improvements ordinance.
These rules, regulations and standards shall be considered the minimum requirements for the protection of the public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the Township of Hardyston. Any action taken by the Township under the terms of this section shall be given primary consideration to the above-mentioned matters and to the welfare of the entire community. Where by virtue of particular topographical features the application of the literal standards of this article would, in the opinion of the Township Engineer, be insufficient to provide for the protection of public health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the Township, the Township Council may, upon the written recommendation of the Township Engineer setting forth the reasons therefor, permit the construction to be other than as set forth herein, provided that the proposed construction shall be such as to satisfy the Township Engineer and the Township Council that the purposes of this article shall be fulfilled thereby.