Unless acting under a contract with the City, it shall be unlawful for any person, other than a duly authorized City official or employee in the course of his employment, to make or cause or permit to be made any excavations or opening in or under the surface or pavement of any street, City right-of-way, alley, sidewalk or other public place within the City, or to construct, reconstruct, repair, alter or grade any curb, curb cut, driveway or street on the public streets without first obtaining and having in force a permit to do so. Any excavation or construction in City right-of-way shall also require a permit. Such permit shall be issued by the Department of Public Works.
A. 
Any person making or causing to be made any excavation or opening in any street, City right-of-way, alley, sidewalk or other public place, or within 25 feet of the line of any street, shall, between sunset and sunrise on every night that the same remains open or danger exists therefrom, keep such excavation or opening fenced and barricaded with substantial barriers to assure public safety and adequate warning lights placed so as to properly warn all persons of such excavations or opening and all obstructions. No unauthorized person shall remove or interfere in any way with any such lights, danger signal or any such barriers. If the person who made the excavation fails to provide adequate protection, the City may perform such services and charge the same to such person. If a permit fee has been paid, the charges shall be deducted from the refundable deposit.
B. 
All barriers, signs, lights and any other maintenance and protection of traffic equipment and barrier protection must be provided by the contractor and be in conformance with all applicable federal, state and local safety standards.
A. 
No person shall be issued a permit for street openings until he/she shall have furnished satisfactory proof to the City Engineer and the Supervisor of Streets and Parks that he/she is qualified to perform the work under the provisions and conditions of the permit and that all past and/or present permits meet standards as set forth and that he/she has deposited with the City Clerk a bond or liability insurance policy or a certificate of issuance of said bond or liability insurance policy conditioned on the strict compliance with the terms of the permit and indemnifying the City and/or persons damaged against any loss or damage occasioned by his performance under this permit. Such bond, policy or certificate must clearly state that the insurance has coverage for performing excavations for the purpose of repairing water, sewer or gas piping in City of Oneonta rights-of-way. Such bond or liability insurance policy must be in the sum of at least the amounts as set from time to time by resolution of the Common Council for bodily injury and property damage combined and shall not be cancelable except on not less than 10 days notice to the City and must be first approved by the City Attorney before filing with the application.
B. 
No City street or right-of-way shall be closed off unless the City Engineer specifically approves the street closing plans and alternates. In the event that a street closure is approved, it shall be the responsibility of the permittee to notify all emergency and relevant public services of the closure at least 24 hours prior to any closure.
No change in the established grades for streets or drainage shall be permitted without first submitting a profile and such other data necessary for proper consideration and formal approval of the Board of Public Service.
A. 
It shall be the duty of the permittee before any street opening to give notice to the owner of any pipes, conduits or other structures laid in the street in which the work is to be done by the permittee at least 48 hours prior to such opening. Before commencing such opening or work; such person doing such work shall, at his own expense, carefully support, maintain in operation and protect from injury such pipes, conduits or other structures and, in case of damage, shall restore the same at his or her own expense to as good a condition or better as they were before the beginning of such opening or work. Repair or replacement of utilities will be as ordered by the City Engineer.
B. 
At least three working days in advance of any excavation, the appropriate on-call clearing house shall be contacted.
A. 
Use of backfill material. Backfill material replacements will vary depending on the street subsurface material. All backfill material must be approved by the Department of Public Works or Engineering Department. If the existing excavated materials is approved for use as backfill, no excavated material shall be used in the top 18 inches of the street. In certain street rights-of-way the use of only controlled density fill (cementitious flowable fill) will be required. The material and supplier must be approved by the City of Oneonta Engineering Department prior to use.
B. 
Use of granular material. Granular material for backfilling shall conform to New York State Department of Transportation specifications, having durable particles graded from fine to coarse in a uniform combination, with no boulders or stones larger than two inches in size. It shall be free from cinders, ashes, refuse or other deleterious or objectionable materials. It shall not contain loam or clay and shall not be frozen. Select granular fill shall be used in the top 18 inches of backfill of all ditches in the paved areas of City streets. If pipe or conduit are present, they shall be bedded in sand or gravel to a thickness of not less than six inches and be covered to a thickness of not less than six inches compacted. If run-of-bank sand is used for bedding, it shall not contain more than 10% of material finer than a No. 200 sieve (silt or clay) by weight. All bedding material must be capable of passing a three-fourths-inch sieve and not more than 5% shall remain on a No. 4 sieve.
C. 
Placing. Backfill placed up to and alongside pipes shall be placed in six-inch layers and each layer tamped by mechanical means to ensure good compaction. Care shall be taken not to disturb the pipe or conduit located in the ditch. Excavating or backfilling shall not be done in freezing weather, except by permission of the City Engineer. No fill shall be made where the materials already in the trench are frozen. Completed backfill shall be left at an elevation two inches above the pavement surface for settlement. This material shall be excavated when permanent restoration of the pavement is undertaken.
A. 
All pavement surface will be restored to original or better condition. All permanent restoration of pavement shall be done by the permittee. The pavement is to be cut with a spade or a pavement saw. The granular backfill shall be placed in horizontal six-inch layers and compacted to 95% of the standard proctor maximum density until the excavation has been filled to the lower elevation grade of existing pavement. This grade shall be maintained opened to traffic for a minimum of seven days, after which the top six inches shall be excavated and four inches of Item 403.16 asphalt concrete binder course shall be installed and compacted and two inches of Item 403.18 asphalt concrete Type 7 top course of compacted asphalt to the grade of the surrounding pavement. All asphalt is to be compacted, and the work should be done to conform with the drawings in the approved permit.
B. 
The permittee shall be required to guarantee this work for a period of one year after acceptance.
C. 
Restoration of pavement and right-of-way must be done in a timely manner, but in no case can it be greater than 30 days after work is initiated. Failure to comply will result in forfeiture of the permit fee.
A. 
The fee for permits for excavations and/or work within the City street right-of-way shall be set from time to time by resolution of the Common Council. The fee shall be deposited with the application, from which will be deducted a permit fee and inspection fee.
B. 
If the installation does not meet with the City of Oneonta standards as outlined above or the contractors neglect to repair as required, the City of Oneonta will effect the necessary repairs.
C. 
Any and all costs incurred will be deducted from the deposit.
D. 
The balance, if any, will be returned to the applicant or the applicant will be billed for the excess, as the case may be, at the completion of the paving restoration. No further permits shall be issued to any applicant having amount due for excess work or for guaranteed work performed by the City of Oneonta.
No person shall excavate, nor shall the owner of property allow any excavation to be made, to the line of any street, City right-of-way, sidewalk or public place within the City without providing adequate lateral support thereto, or unless the street, sidewalk or public place be fully and completely protected as to all persons and vehicles by adequate railings or similar means or otherwise as the case may require.
A. 
Driveway approach. No person shall construct a driveway approach without obtaining a permit and paying the fees as provided in this article. In addition to complying with all other provisions of this article, and in particular §§ 254-3 and 254-8, no driveway approach shall be constructed which changes or raises the grade at the curbline so as to impound or trap water. A driveway approach must terminate at the gutter. Plans shall be submitted to and approved by the City Engineer before a permit shall be issued.
B. 
No person shall make or cause to be made any curb cut in an existing curb without obtaining a permit and paying the fees as provided in this article. Before issuance of a permit, submission of plans and approval by the City Engineer shall be obtained. All work must be performed to the satisfaction of the City Engineer or his representative. Only one permit shall be required, however, for construction of a driveway approach and a curb cut.
All City street right-of-way excavations are to be made in conformity with and subject to the provisions of § 7.5 of the Oneonta City Charter.