[Adopted 3-13-1989 by Ord. No. 89-2 (Ch.
136, Art. I of the 1984 Code)]
This article shall be known as and may be cited
as the "Independence Township Street Excavation Ordinance."
No person, firm or corporation shall disturb
the surface of or make any opening, cut or excavation of any kind
in any road, street, alley, highway, sidewalk or any other public
way under the jurisdiction of the Township of Independence for any
purpose without first having obtained a permit for the same as hereinafter
provided.
In the event of emergency where repairs must
be made immediately, then, and in that event only, the excavation
may be made for the purpose of alleviating the emergency. As soon
as the leak or interruption in service has been repaired, the person,
persons or corporation having made the excavation shall forthwith
apply for a permit and comply with all the other applicable provisions
of this article.
Street excavation or street opening permits
shall be obtained in the following manner:
A.
Application, in writing, shall be made to the Borough
Clerk and signed by the person, firm or corporation making the proposed
street opening or excavation, setting forth the location of the proposed
opening or excavation, the size thereof and the purposes therefor.
The application shall then be forwarded to the Township Engineer for
his review and approval. The Township Engineer shall then return the
application to the Township Clerk, who shall then issue the permit.
The Township Clerk shall thereupon notify the Township Police Department
of the streets or roads affected and the dates, times and nature of
the work to be performed.
[Amended 10-13-1989 by Ord. No. 89-22]
B.
Before the permit shall be issued by the Township
Clerk, the person, firm or corporation making the application shall
have on file with the Township Clerk a surety bond, issued by a surety
company authorized to do business in this state, in the amount of
$1,000, covering the opening or excavation set forth in the application
and any and all future openings and excavations to be made in a calendar
year. Said bond shall be conditioned upon the permittee's compliance
with this article and shall indemnify the Township for any loss, liability
or damage that may result or accrue from or because of the making,
existence or manner of constructing or guarding any such opening or
excavation during the term of said bond.
C.
The person, firm or corporation making and signing
the application shall comply with all the provisions of this article
as hereinafter set forth.
D.
The fee for such permit shall be $100 per opening.
Such fee shall be due and payable at the time the application is made
to the Township Clerk. In addition to the foregoing, the applicant
will be responsible for reasonable engineering and inspection fees,
the fees set forth in the following schedule:[1]
E.
Five-year
road opening moratorium.
[Added 3-8-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-02]
(1)
Prior to the start of any paving or repaving work on any Township
road, street or Township controlled right-of-way, the Director of
Public Works or the Township Engineer shall notify each utility company,
resident, and business impacted by paving or repaving work of said
work so any excavations, trench and patch repairs may be completed
before paving is started. Such notice shall provide that no excavation
permit shall be issued for openings, cuts, or excavations in said
street for a period of five years from the date of such paving unless
appropriate pavement restoration requirements are met. The notice
shall also provide that applications for excavation permits for work
to be done prior to such paving or repaving shall be submitted promptly
so that any work may be completed not later than 90 days from the
date of such notification.
(2)
During such five-year period, any permit issued to open, cut, or excavate in such a Township road, street or Township controlled right-of-way shall require a road opening permit in accordance with § 342-4. Additionally, the Director of Public Works or the Township Engineer shall ensure that any street opening on any Township road, street or Township controlled right-of-way paved within five years is restored satisfactorily using appropriate pavement restorations methods to include milling and paving, infrared pavement restoration, or any other acceptable pavement restoration technology approved by the Township Engineer.
(3)
The distances of pavement restoration in either direction of the
opening will be determined by the Township Engineer and Director of
Public Works based on proximity to other Township roads, streets or
Township controlled rights-of-way or utility concerns. In most cases,
final pavement restoration will encompass 50 feet in both directions
of the opening for a full width of the existing road. The Township
Engineer may allow resurfacing to the center line of the road only
if the opening is completed within one lane and does not involve disturbance
across the center line.
(4)
Temporary and final pavement restoration shall be completed in accordance
with Township standards, and milling will entail the full length and
width that must be repaved.
(5)
The restoration of the pavement shall be done no less than 60 days
after the opening, and no more than 120 days after the opening. This
will allow for any settlement in the trench to take place before the
final pavement is placed. Exemptions to this time frame may be allowed
by the Township Engineer dependent upon the time of year, which can
affect the availability of paving materials.
(6)
For roads which have a moratorium still in effect, which the Township
Committee has granted permission to the Township Engineer to permit
the road to be opened, via resolution, a bond in the amount to be
determined by the Township Engineer to mill and pave two inches thick
the entire frontage of the lot(s) from edge to edge, or curb to curb,
as the case may be, shall be provided. Said bond shall remain in force
for a period of two years or the remaining time of the moratorium,
whichever period is longer. For utility companies, or other entities
not associated with a specific property or properties, opening said
road, the limits shall be for the length of the opening, plus five
feet at both ends, or a minimum length of 25 feet, whichever is greater.
(7)
Proof of insurance. Any contractor hired to perform a street or roadway
excavation in the Township of Independence shall provide proof that
it is licensed and bonded within the State of New Jersey.
The Township Clerk shall provide each permittee,
at the time a permit is issued hereunder, a suitable placard upon
which is written the following notice: "Township of Independence,
New Jersey, Permit No. Expires: ." It shall
be the duty of any permittee to keep the placard posted in a conspicuous
place at the site of the excavation work. It shall be unlawful for
any person to exhibit such placard at or about any excavation not
covered by such permit or to misrepresent the number of the permit
or the date of expiration of the permit.
It shall be unlawful to make any opening or
excavation in any way contrary to or at variance with the terms of
the permit therefor. Proper bracing shall be maintained to prevent
the collapse of adjoining ground, and the excavation shall not have
anywhere below the surface any portion which extends beyond the opening
at the surface.
No injury shall be done to any pipes, cables
or conduits in the making of such excavations or openings, and notice
shall be given to the persons maintaining any such pipes, cable or
conduits which are or may be endangered or affected by the making
of any such excavations or openings before such pipes, cables or conduits
shall be disturbed.
A.
The area of pavement to be removed from the proposed
opening or excavation shall have straight, clean-cut edges, and the
material removed from the excavation shall be removed from the site
and disposed of in a manner directed by the Township Engineer.
B.
Upon completion of the proposed work in the excavated
area, the trench shall be backfilled with broken stone or stone dust.
The backfilling shall be made in layers not to exceed six inches in
depth and be thoroughly compacted and shall be carried to within six
inches of the surface of the existing bituminous pavement.
C.
Upon completion of the compacted backfilling of the
trench to the required elevation, the backfilled area shall be paved
with four inches compacted thickness or bituminous stabilized based
course and two inches compacted thickness of FABC-1 bituminous surface
course.
D.
In areas where concrete pavement is removed for the
proposed excavation, the compacted backfill shall be completed as
above to the subgrade of the existing pavement and repaved with an
equal thickness of concrete pavement.
E.
All of the backfilling and repairing of the excavated
area shall be done in a neat and workmanlike manner so that the restored
pavement meets the existing surrounding pavement as smoothly as possible.
All the cost of backfilling and repairing shall be borne by the permittee.
F.
All repairing shall be completed within three days
of the date that backfilling is completed.
No part of a trench or excavation shall be tunneled
or undermined, except in such cases as may be approved by the Township
Engineer.
If the permittee fails to complete the excavation
work covered by the permit, including backfilling as set forth in
this article, within the time set by said permit, the Township Engineer,
if he deems it advisable, shall have the right to do all work and
things necessary to complete the excavation work. The permittee shall
be liable for the actual cost thereof and 25% of such cost, in addition
to general overhead and administrative expenses.
Whenever the Mayor and Township Committee 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, firm or corporation owning any sewer main,
conduit or other utility in or under said street. Such notice shall
notify such persons, firms or corporations that no excavation permits
shall be issued for openings, cuts or excavations in said street for
a period of five years after the date of enactment of said ordinance
or resolution. Such notice shall also notify such person, firm or
corporation that application for excavating 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 shall be completed
as soon as practicable, and in no event later than the date specified
in the permit for the excavation therefor. During the 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 article exists which makes it absolutely essential
that the excavation permit be issued.
Each permittee shall conduct and carry out the
excavation work in such a manner as to avoid unnecessary inconvenience
and annoyance to the general public and occupants of neighboring property.
The permittee shall take appropriate measures to reduce, to the fullest
extent practicable in the performance of the excavation work, noise,
dust and unsightly debris and shall promptly remove from the street
all excess of excavated materials.
All persons, firms or corporations granted a
permit to make an opening or excavation in the public streets and
highways of the Township shall at all times maintain suitable barricades
and guards, display proper warning and signals and flags and provide
all necessary watchmen to prevent injury to any person or damage to
any vehicle by reason of the work. Such barricades shall be protected
by sufficient lights at nighttime. Streets and highways must be kept
open for traffic at all times, except when otherwise ordered or approved
by the Township Engineer.
No street or highway shall remain open because of any permit issued pursuant to this article for a period in excess of two weeks, unless the Township Engineer shall approve a greater period of time, either at the time of the application for the permit or subsequent thereto. If the Township Engineer shall approve such a period of time at the time the application is submitted, it shall be so endorsed upon the application, and if approved subsequently, such approval shall be in writing and an endorsement to that effect attached to the placard required in § 342-5. In any event, no such approval shall be granted except on written application, signed by the permittee or applicant, setting forth the reasons for such application.
Users of subsurface street space shall file
accurate drawings, plans and profiles showing the location and character
of all existing underground structures and installations with the
Township Engineer within two years after enactment of this article.
Corrected maps shall be filed with the Township Engineer within 60
days after new installations, changes or replacements are made.
A permittee, prior to commencement of excavation
work hereunder, shall furnish the Township Clerk satisfactory evidence,
in writing, that the permittee has in force and will maintain in force
during the performance of the excavation work and the period of the
excavation permit public liability insurance of not less than $100,000
for any one person and $300,000 for any one accident and property
damage insurance of not less than $25,000, duly issued by an insurance
company authorized to do business in this state.
The Township Engineer shall verify the extent
of the excavation or opening and shall inspect the work. No bond or
deposit money, as the case may be, shall be released until 18 months
after the completion of the project and receipt of written certification
from the Township Engineer stating that the work has remained in a
satisfactory condition for said 18 months.
Public utility corporations of the State of New Jersey may file a corporate bond on a yearly basis in an amount of $5,000 in lieu of cash bonds. Said bond shall be conditioned upon compliance with the provisions of § 342-8 hereof.
This article shall not be construed as imposing
upon the Township or any official or employee any liability or responsibility
for damages to any person injured by the performance of any excavation
work for which an excavation permit is issued hereunder; nor shall
the Township or any official or employee thereof be deemed to have
assumed any such liability or responsibility by reason of inspections
authorized hereunder, the issuance of any permit or the approval of
any excavation work.
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate
any of the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction thereof,
be liable to punishment by a fine of not more than $500 or, in the
case of individuals, may be imprisoned in the county jail for not
more than 90 days, or both such fine and imprisonment, for each offense,
at the discretion of the Judge before whom such conviction is had.
Each day that a violation thereof is allowed to continue shall be
considered a new and separate offense.
