The DPW Director or Planning Board may call for a design and
materials conference in order that the subdivider may be informed
as to the acceptability of the materials, methods and standards of
construction to be employed. The subdivider may be accompanied or
represented by his/her engineer or contractor, or both, at the conference.
[Amended 5-2-2000; 4-30-2002; 4-26-2016]
Notice shall be given to the DPW Director and to the Planning Board at least 10 days before the subdivider first commences construction in any subdivision, in addition to giving the notice called for in § 315-23A(2), below. No building permits will be issued until paved road (binder coarse), sidewalks berm, drainage systems, water and underground utilities are in place and inspected, and an approved driveway permit (issued by the DPW Director).
[Amended 4-26-2016]
Standards of construction not otherwise specified hereunder
shall be according to the Standard Specifications for Highways and
Bridges of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (latest
edition).
A.
Cross sections. Street construction shall conform to the typical
cross sections demonstrating good engineering practices.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See Figure 1, Typical Roadway Cross Section, included as an attachment to this chapter.
B.
Clearing. The entire width of pavement, shoulders and embankments
shall be cleared of all stumps, roots, brush and boulders, and all
trees not intended for preservation.
[Amended 4-26-2016]
C.
Subgrade preparation.
(1)
All existing material shall be removed to a depth of at least 16
inches below finished grade for a width of 30 feet on collector streets,
to a depth of at least 16 inches for a width of 26 feet on local streets
except, when in the opinion of the DPW Director, the existing material
is acceptable for use as gravel base, and provided further that sufficient
compactive effort be applied, said roadways to slope uniformly upward
from the edges to the center at the rate of 3/8 inch per foot (crown).
[Amended 4-26-2016]
(2)
Ledge and large boulders shall be removed to the depths specified in Subsection C(1) above, except that where existing material is used for a gravel base only ledge and boulders exposed in the course of construction need be so removed.
(3)
The Board will require the removal of existing material to a greater
depth when undesirable materials are found at the minimum depth indicated
above.
(4)
Backfill of approved, stable material shall be used to bring the
subgrade to a uniform grade at the specified depth.
D.
Gravel foundation.
(1)
Gravel shall be placed and compacted to the satisfaction of the Board, in layers at the widths specified in Subsection C(1) above, as follows:
[Amended 4-30-2002; 4-26-2016]
(a)
The first layer shall contain processed gravel to a depth of
six inches. No stones shall be greater than three inches. It must
be tested at the developer's expense and pass Massachusetts Department
of Transportation standards.
(b)
The second layer shall contain processed gravel having stones
no greater than two inches in greatest dimension to a depth of six
inches. It must be tested at the developer's expense and pass Massachusetts
Department of Transportation standards.
(2)
The surface shall be thoroughly compacted by a self-propelled roller
weighing not less than 10 tons to the satisfaction of the DPW Director
and brought to a true even grade, properly crowned, immediately preceding
the application of paving material.
E.
Shoulders. Shoulders four feet in width shall be constructed of gravel
covered with six inches of loam and brought to a finished grade flush
with or slightly above that of the adjacent pavement or curbing. Gravel
shoulders shall be constructed and compacted in conjunction with and
to the same degree as the gravel base for the road.
F.
Embankments. A level area at least two feet in width shall be provided
out of the shoulders and the beginnings of embankment slopes. Embankments
outside the shoulders shall be evenly graded and pitched at a slope
not greater than 1 1/2 horizontal to one vertical in cut and
two horizontal to one vertical in fill. Where cuts are made in ledge,
other slopes may be determined with the approval of the Board.
G.
Sidewalks.
[Amended 12-20-2005; 4-26-2016]
(1)
Sidewalks of not less than five feet in width shall be constructed
on both sides of the street six inches above center-line grade of
the street in conformity with the following: eight-inch processed
gravel base with four-inch poured concrete surface with expansion
joints every four feet in length.
H.
Surface treatments of roads. The pavement surface shall consist of
two-and-one-half-inch compacted bituminous concrete binder course
and a one-and-one-half-inch compacted hot asphalt concrete surface
course. Material and construction shall be to the Massachusetts Department
of Transportation standards.
[Amended 4-26-2016]
I.
Curbing. Curbing shall be constructed of bituminous concrete and
constructed according to sound engineering procedures (Cape Cod style
only). No curb cuts are permitted until an approved driveway permit
is issued for each lot.
[Amended 5-2-2000; 4-26-2016]
J.
Loam and seed. Loam shall be placed to a depth of six inches on all
shoulders, embankments and all other areas disturbed by the construction.
Grass seed mixture containing not less than 75% of permanent types
shall be placed at the rate of four pounds per 1,000 square feet.
Other types of ground cover may be employed with the approval of the
Board. The completed street and roadway construction shall present
a neat and orderly appearance with the subdivider performing all such
cleanup details as may be required.
[Amended 5-2-2000; 4-26-2016]
[Amended 4-30-2002; 4-30-2002; 4-26-2016]
A.
General requirements. Water system shall conform to the Water Department
rules and regulations.
(1)
Responsibility. The subdivider shall be responsible for laying out
the water distribution system within the subdivision and its connections
to the Town mains, with the approval of the Board of Water Commissioners.
He shall provide, store, inspect and install all pipes and appurtenances
thereto, in accordance with these regulations. He shall make main
and service connections and maintain the installations, prior to acceptance
of the roads by the Town, in accordance with the rules and regulations
of the Board of Water Commissioners of the Town of Southwick. Permits
for private wells will be issued by the Board of Health before occupancy.
Well water shall be analyzed by a state certified laboratory.
B.
Materials.
(1)
Handling and storage.
(a)
Pipe and accessories shall be handled with care to avoid damage.
Damaged pipe shall be rejected by the Water Commissioners.
(b)
The interior of all pipe and accessories shall be kept free
from dirt and foreign matter at all times. Valves and fittings shall
be kept drained and stored before installation in a manner protecting
them from damage due to freezing of trapped water.
(2)
Pipe. All water pipe shall be ductile iron or AWWA approved poly
900 or better and shall conform to the latest revision of Federal
Specification SS-P-351 and shall be of a strength suitable for test
pressure of 525 pounds, and shall be of an approved type.
(3)
Cast-iron fittings. Fittings for use with all pipe shall be cast
iron conforming to Federal Specifications WW-P-121 or to AWWA standard
of equivalent strength.
(4)
Hydrants. Hydrants shall be of the type currently required by the
Water Commissioners or an accepted equivalent.
(5)
Gate valves.
(a)
Gate valves shall be iron body, fully bronze mounted, with ends
to fit the type of pipe used. All buried valves shall have two-inch
square operating nuts and adjustable cast-iron valve boxes and covers.
(b)
Gate valves shall be left-hand opening and of one-hundred-fifty-pounds-per-square-inch
design. Valve boxes shall consist of cast-iron base, center section
and top section with cover marked "water." The top section shall be
adjustable for elevation.
(c)
Fittings and valves shall be at the required locations with
joints centered, spigots home and all valve stems plumb. Valve box
top sections shall be set to allow equal movement above and below
finished grade. The base shall be centered over the valve and shall
rest on compacted backfill. The top of the base section shall be approximately
on line with nut at top of valve stem, and the entire assembly shall
be plumb.
(6)
Service connections. All house services shall be of Type K copper
tubing with necessary standard AWWA fittings as used and approved
by the Water Department.
C.
Installation.
(1)
Excavation and bedding. The trench shall be excavated to a depth
sufficient to give the pipe a cover of four feet six inches. Rock
shall be removed to a depth of six inches below the bottom of the
pipe and replaced with sand.
(2)
Laying pipe and installing fittings.
(a)
Pipes shall be laid to the alignment and grade shown in the
definitive plan. Pipes shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's
installation instructions.
(b)
Tight bulkheads shall be used to prevent entry into the pipe
of dirt or water from the trench. Pipes may be angled from the straight
by a maximum of 3° at any joint. Ells will be used for larger
angles.
(3)
Hydrant installation. Hydrants shall be installed in accordance with
the typical hydrant installations. Thrust blocks required. To the
proper bury line as shown on hydrant. Minimum of five cubic feet of
stone shall be placed around hydrant drains and then covered with
silt screen.
(4)
Sterilization.
(a)
Before being placed in service the entire line shall be flushed
and chlorinated. Chlorine shall be applied in a manner approved by
the Water Department.
(b)
Water shall be fed slowly into the new line with chlorine applied
in amounts to produce a dosage of 40 to 50 parts per million. Mains
previously filled shall be treated to a concentrated dosage at intervals
along the line and retained for a period of eight hours or more. A
residual of not less than five parts per million shall be produced
in all parts of the line.
(c)
During the chlorination process all valves and accessories shall
be operated.
(d)
After chlorination, the water shall be flushed from the line
at its extremities and at all hydrants until the replacement water
tests are equal chemically and bacteriologically to those of the permanent
source of supply.
(5)
Testing. The completed waterline shall be subjected to a water test
pressure of 200 pounds for a period of one hour. Any measurable leakage
shall be repaired. Tests shall be repeated following any repairs.
(6)
Backfilling. Select material containing no lumps or stones over two
inches in diameter shall be used up to a level one foot above the
top of the pipe, and shall be tamped as placed. The remainder of the
backfill to the top of the trench shall be compacted by puddling,
tamping or rolling; it shall contain no stones weighing over 50 pounds.
Before backfilling, a 12-gauge vinyl coated copper tracer wire shall
be laid alongside of the new main. Tracer wire is to be brought up
at each gate box in a continuous loop, leaving enough excess wire
to pull up and run tests. Wire shall be brought up on the outside
of the lower box section and inside the upper section.
A.
Function and capacity. Storm drains, culverts, ditches and related installations, including catch basins, gutters and manholes, shall be installed as necessary in the Board's opinion, to provide adequate disposal of surface and subsurface water, including control of erosion, flooding and standing water, from or in the subdivision and adjacent land. The drainage system shall be designed in accordance with the Southwick Stormwater Regulations as administered by the Planning Board through Chapter 183 Stormwater Management and Erosion and Sediment Control. The Planning Board may require a less frequent or more intense design storm to be used in any situation which in its judgment requires that a greater degree of protection should be afforded to public or private property, or for portions of the system not economically susceptible to future relief. Subsurface leaching street drains are not allowed.
[Amended 4-26-2016; ATM 5-18-2021 by Art. 30]
B.
Pipe. Drainpipe shall be at least 15 inches in diameter type ADS
N-12 pipe or equivalent (smooth interior) and shall be of approved
quality. At least three feet of cover will be required over drains.
Where special conditions of topography and/or hydrology require pipe
to be laid with less than three feet of cover, the Board may require
other materials or methods of construction to meet such conditions.
[Amended 4-26-2016]
C.
Catch basins.
(1)
Adequate disposal of surface water shall be provided. Catch basins
shall be built on both sides of the roadway on continuous grades,
at intervals of not more than 250 feet, at low points and sags in
the roadway and near the corners of the roadway at intersecting streets,
and all drainage pipe is to be of type ADS-N12 smooth interior pipe.
Catch basins and covers shall be constructed according to the type
currently used by the Town and shall be installed under the supervision
of the Director of Public Works.
[Amended 4-26-2016]
(2)
Where self-cleaning velocities are obtainable, drainage systems may
be designed without sediment sumps in the catch basins, provided that
the system into which the proposed drainage is to discharge is also
self-cleaning, and also that the accumulation of sediment, antidrainage
debris at the ultimate point of discharge does not create a nuisance
either public or private and is readily accessible to periodic inspection
and cleaning. The determination of the suitability of a self-cleaning
drainage system shall rest with the DPW Director. (See new stormwater
regulations by the DEP.) No basins can be interconnect. All should
have deep sumps, center of road pipe and manholes.
[Amended 4-30-2002]
D.
Continuity. Proper connections shall be made with any existing drains
in adjacent streets or easements. Where property adjacent to the subdivision
has not been subdivided, drains installed within the subdivision shall
be of such design as to make feasible their connection with drains
installed in such adjacent property when subdivided.
E.
Downstream drainage. The Board, with the assistance of other Town
departments, shall determine the effect of each proposed subdivision
on existing downstream drainage facilities outside the area of the
subdivision. Where it is anticipated that the additional runoff incident
to the development of the subdivision will overload an existing downstream
drainage facility during a one-hundred-year storm, the Board shall
not approve the subdivision until the subdivider has made such provisions
for the improvement of such potential conditions as the Board deems
reasonable to require of the subdivider. The Board shall notify the
appropriate Town officials and departments of such potential condition
where facilities may be involved, at the time of the preliminary discussions.
[Amended 4-26-2016]
A fire alarm system may be installed in conformity with the
specifications of the Fire Department.
[Amended 6-23-2009; 4-26-2016]
Where, in the opinion of the Board, existing trees are inadequate,
shade trees no less than four inch caliper (at a point 4 and 1/2 feet
above the ground) and of such species as the Board may approve shall
be planted; such trees shall usually be spaced not more than 40 feet
apart, on both sides of the street, no closer than 5 feet or more
than 10 feet of the front lot line or as otherwise approved by the
Board, and planted in 1/2 cubic yard of loam. Trees shall be properly
wrapped and guyed in a manner to ensure their survival. In wooded
areas existing specimen shade trees shall be left in place where practicable
and lots in such areas shall not be cleared except as approved by
the Board.
Monuments with lead centers shall be installed on both sides
at all intersections of streets with each other, at all points of
change in direction of curvature of streets and at all such other
points as in the opinion of the Board may be necessary to show the
location of projected streets or easements. Monuments shall be of
four-inch-by-four-inch (4x4) stone or concrete, embedded 3 1/2
feet below and extending one inch above finished grade. Drill holes
shall not be installed until all road construction which would destroy
or disturb the monuments is completed. A letter from the designer
or surveyor shall be submitted certifying that the monuments have
been installed as indicated on the definitive plan.
A.
Underground services. Insofar as possible the subdivider will see
that any underground services are installed and individual lot services
carried to the lot front lines prior to completing pavement foundation.
B.
Sewerage system.
[Amended 4-30-2002]
(1)
Sewer lines shall be installed in subdivisions where sewer mains
are available or will be within four years in accordance with a good
sanitary engineering practice conforming to applicable laws and regulations.
Where Town-operated lines are not available for connection but will
be within four years, the subdivision sewers shall be capped until
such connections are available.
(2)
The installation of sanitary sewers will be at the expense of the
developer and shall be under the direct supervision of the Sewer Commission,
DPW and Planning Board.
[Amended 4-26-2016]
C.
Electrical transmission lines.
(1)
All lines or wires used for the transmission of electricity or intelligence
shall be placed underground within the subdivision in a location as
approved by the DPW Director and in accordance with the Building Code
of Southwick.[1] All primary and secondary lines placed between street
lines shall be buried at a minimum depth of three feet below the approved
final grade of streets, walks or tree belts. Common trench installation
is permitted. All electrical, telephone, cable TV and gas transmission
lines must be in conduit and on opposite side of the street from the
waterline.
[Amended 5-2-2000]
(2)
Related equipment and accessories shall be located so as to minimize
hazards to the public.
(3)
Where looping of power lines is required, the utility company must
secure a ten-foot wide easement on private property tangent to extreme
road rights-of-way.
[Added 5-2-2000]
A.
At all intersections street signs, of a design approved by the Board,
shall be installed before occupancy permits can be issued. All signs
shall meet the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) latest
edition.
[Amended 4-26-2016]
B.
Until such time as each street is accepted by the Town as a public
way, the sign posts at the intersection of such street with any other
street shall have affixed thereto a sign designating such street as
a private way.
C.
Naming of streets (preliminary plans) must be submitted to the Select
Board for their approval.
A.
Inspection by Board or its representative. No water main, drainage,
catch basins, sewer, manhole, road subgrade or foundation or other
utilities or any other item of work designated for inspection shall
be backfilled or paved over until inspected by the Board or its representative.
[Amended 4-26-2016]
B.
The subdivider shall notify the designated Town representative upon completion of each item as listed in Subsection A.
[Amended 4-26-2016]
C.
Final release. The Board may withhold final release of the subdivider's
bond or delivery of a certificate of performance on the subdivider's
covenant until satisfied as to:
(1)
Pavement integrity intact after one full calendar year.
[Amended 4-26-2016]
(2)
Permanent type of grass on all seeded areas.
(3)
Shoulders and embankments intact.
(4)
Functional integrity of all parts of the drainage system.
(5)
Satisfactory installation of utilities as required by the Board.
(6)
Sidewalks in place.
(7)
As-built plans shall be submitted to the DPW Director in a suitable
electronic format and hard copy form with three Massachusetts NAD83
reference points to be used to match points in Southwick G.I.S. drawings.
[Amended 5-2-2000; 4-30-2002; 4-26-2016]
(8)
All lot boundaries surveyed and pinned.
(9)
Road surface swept.
(10)
Catch basins vacuumed.
(11)
Street signs in place and paid for by the developer.
(12)
Highway bounds installed in place.
The invalidity of one provision shall not invalidate any other
provision of these rules and regulations.
