[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Cornwall as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Parking at Town Hall — See Ch. 105.
Prior notice of defects — See Ch. 114.
Subdivision of land — See Ch. 125.
Trees — See Ch. 138.
Street specifications — See Ch. A161.
[Adopted 6-15-1964]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
EXCAVATION
Excavating, drilling, boring or the like.
[Added 11-13-2018 by L.L. No. 6-2018]
HIGHWAY
All or any part of any street, highway or right-of-way owned or controlled by the Town of Cornwall.
PERSON
Natural person and corporation.
[Amended 3-11-1985; 9-25-1989 by L.L. No. 4-1989; 11-13-2018 by L.L. No. 6-2018]
A. 
No person, governmental entity other than the Town of Cornwall, public service, water, light or power company, shall excavate in any highway or sidewalk in the Town for any purpose without first obtaining a permit as provided in this chapter.
B. 
Applications for permits for excavation totaling 50 or less linear feet shall be made to the Town Highway Superintendent. Applications for permits for excavation totaling more than 50 linear feet shall be made to the Town Board.
C. 
All applications for highway excavation permits shall be written and shall:
(1) 
Provide the name, address and direct contact information of the applicant;
(2) 
Provide the name, address and direct contact information of the party who will be performing the excavation work;
(3) 
Provide a statement of the location, nature, purpose, and extent of the proposed excavation;
(4) 
Provide a statement of whether there are any buried pipes or lines in the highway in the area of the excavation and, if so, what measures will be taken to avoid damaging the same.
(5) 
Set forth the proposed dates and times during which the proposed excavation will be conducted;
(6) 
Set forth the applicant's plans for restoring the highway upon completion of the excavation; and
(7) 
In the case of applications for excavation totaling more than 50 linear feet, shall include a set of engineering plans depicting all work to be performed in the course of the excavation.
D. 
The applicant shall be responsible for all engineering fees necessarily incurred by the Town in processing the application for a highway excavation permit and overseeing the work thereunder.
[Amended 3-11-1985; 9-25-1989 by L.L. No. 4-1989; 11-13-2018 by L.L. No. 6-2018]
A. 
Highway excavation permits shall be granted upon a finding that all of the requirements of this chapter have been met and the proposed excavation will be conducted in a safe and suitable manner which will not unduly damage the highway or adjoining properties and will not endanger or unduly inconvenience the traveling public.
B. 
In granting such permits, limitations on the timing and duration of the excavation activity and reasonable conditions may be imposed on the applicant, including, without limitation, imposition of restrictions of the location, days, work hours and manner of the excavation, and that written notice of the excavation be provided to property owners in the vicinity.
C. 
No excavation permit shall be issued until the damage and performance undertakings and the necessary liability insurance have been posted with Town and all applicable fees have been paid.
D. 
Highway excavation permits shall be issued in triplicate, of which one copy will be given to the applicant, one copy will be retained by the Town Highway Superintendent for his records, and the third copy will be filed with the Town Clerk.
[Amended 3-11-1985; 11-13-2018 by L.L. No. 6-2018]
Any such excavation in any highway shall be restored with materials equivalent to those excavated so that the excavated portion shall be left in as good, substantial and permanent a condition as before the excavation.The restoration work shall be done under the direction of the Town Highway Superintendent and Town's engineering consultants and shall be completed within a reasonable time after the excavation, which said time is to be determined by the Town.
[Amended 3-11-1985; 9-25-1989 by L.L. No. 4-1989; 11-13-2018 by L.L. No. 6-2018]
The applicant shall be responsible for all damages to adjoining property, sidewalks, drainage facilities, public utilities and private lines in the highway caused by the excavation. The applicant shall, under the supervision of the Town Highway Superintendent and the Town's engineering consultants, replace any mains, lines or pipes damaged in the course of the excavation and repair shall repair or replace any damaged swales, culverts, curbs, sidewalks or other improvements so that they shall be in as good a condition after the excavation as before the excavation.
[Amended 4-1-1966; 3-11-1985; 9-25-1989 by L.L. No. 4-1989; 11-13-2018 by L.L. No. 6-2018]
No permit for excavation in Town highways shall be issued unless the person applying for the permit shall present to the Town Clerk proof of coverage by liability insurance for bodily injuries and property damage in amounts equal to $1,000,000 for each person injured and $100,000 for property damage. Such liability insurance must name the Town as an additional insured.
[Amended 3-11-1985; 9-25-1989 by L.L. No. 4-1989; 11-13-2018 by L.L. No. 6-2018]
A. 
Prior to issuance of a permit for highway excavation totaling more than 50 linear feet, the applicant shall pay into escrow with the Town Clerk such amount of funds as shall be determined by the Town Board as reasonably necessary to pay the engineering fees incurred by the Town in reviewing and processing the permit application and conducting inspections of the work performed under it. The Town shall draw on such escrow account as it incurs engineering costs, and shall render a statement of the account balance to the applicant upon request. Such escrow account must be replenished by the applicant upon request of the Town when the balance therein reaches 50% or less of the initial deposit. Audit of charges upon the escrow account shall be conducted upon written request by the applicant.
B. 
Prior to issuance of a permit for highway excavation totaling more than 50 linear feet, the applicant shall post with the Town Clerk, by letter of credit in favor of the Town of Cornwall or cash deposit, an undertaking in such amount as shall be established by the Town Board based upon a reasonable approximation of the cost of repair of the potential damage presented by the excavation, out of which the cost of any damage caused by the excavation caused to adjoining property, sidewalks, drainage facilities, public utilities and private lines in the highway shall be paid in the event that the applicant fails to make repairs upon reasonable written notice from the Town.
C. 
Prior to issuance of any permit for highway excavation, the applicant shall deposit with the Town Clerk an undertaking by letter of credit or cash deposit in favor of the Town of Cornwall, as security that the proposed excavation work will be carried out in conformity with the approved plans and that, upon completion of the excavation the restoration of the highway will be properly accomplished.
D. 
The amount of the performance undertaking on a permit for highway excavation totaling 50 or less linear feet shall be $2 per square foot of highway surface excavation, provided however, that regardless of the amount of surface area in the said excavation, the minimum performance undertaking shall be $2,500.
E. 
The amount of the performance undertaking on a permit for highway excavations totaling more than 50 linear feet shall be determined by the Town Board based upon a reasonable approximation of the cost of repair and restoration of the highway surface, subsurface improvements and adjoining lands in the event that the applicant fails to conform to the excavation plans and/or to complete the excavation work and highway restoration.
F. 
Upon completion of the excavation and road restoration work, the applicant shall submit a request to the Town Highway Superintendent for a final inspection of the completed excavation. The Town Highway Superintendent and, as necessary, the Town engineering consultants, shall conduct such an inspection and render a report to the applicant as to whether the completion of the excavation and road restoration is satisfactory. Upon receipt of a report that the excavation and road restoration is satisfactory, the applicant may submit such report to the Town Clerk along with request to release the applicant's undertakings.
G. 
In the case of permits for excavation totaling 50 or less linear feet, the Town Clerk shall release the applicant's undertaking upon receipt of a written request for such release and a copy of a letter from the Town Highway Superintendent opining that the completion of the excavation and road restoration is satisfactory. In the case of highway excavations totaling more than 50 linear feet, upon receipt of such written request from the applicant, prior to release of the applicant's damage and performance undertakings, the applicant shall deposit with the Town Clerk a maintenance undertaking, in the form of a letter of credit in favor of the Town of Cornwall or cash deposit, as security against items of damage to buried lines and adjoining improvements caused by the excavation and defects in the roadway restoration which are not discovered or otherwise do not manifest themselves at the time of completion of the excavation. The amount of such maintenance security shall by 20% of the performance undertaking and shall remain in effect for two years following the date of posting.
H. 
In the event that an undertaking is drawn upon by the Town due to the applicant's failure to make repairs, and the amount of the undertaking is insufficient for purposes of funding the costs incurred by the Town in making the necessary repairs, the applicant shall be liable for all additional costs and fees incurred by the Town, including any attorney's fees incurred in the event that it is necessary to sue the applicant to recover such costs.
No person making or having made any such excavation in or upon any highway shall permit such excavation to remain open or uncovered, either day or night, without having or causing the same to be properly guarded by day or night. In addition, the person making the excavation shall place at such location flares, red lanterns or other warning devices by night so as to properly warn all persons of the danger of such excavation.
[Amended 9-25-1989 by L.L. No. 4-1989]
Any person committing an offense against any of the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a violation and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punishable for each offense by a fine of not more than $250 or by imprisonment for not more than 15 days, or both. In addition to the above-provided penalty, the Town Board may also maintain an action or proceeding in the name of the town in a court of competent jurisdiction to compel compliance with or to restrain by injunction the violation of the terms of this article.