[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Head-of-the-Harbor 9-10-2003
by L.L. No. 3-2003. Amendments noted where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known as the "Incorporated Village of Head-of-the-Harbor
Road Openings/Street Excavations Law."
No person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, company or organization
of any kind shall alter the grade, dig or excavate in the roadbed, pavement
or shoulders of any street within the Village for any purpose without first
obtaining a permit from the Village Building Inspector, as hereinafter provided.
Application shall be made in writing, on a form to be approved by the
Village, to the Building Inspector, who shall have the responsibility of issuing
such a permit. Such application shall state:
A.
The name of the applicant and whether the applicant is
either a contractor or a representative of a division, a department or branch
of government, or a utility corporation, or a plumber or electrician licensed
by the County of Suffolk.
B.
The person or entity for whom the work is to be performed.
C.
The nature, extent and purpose of the proposed excavation.
D.
The precise place whether the applicant desires to dig
or excavate, including the distance from the nearest street intersection or
from the property abutting the street at the point proposed for excavation.
The application must be accompanied by a general undertaking in such
form and surety as may be approved by the Village Board of Trustees, or a
cash deposit, approved by the Board of Trustees, in an amount fixed by the
Board at not less than $2,000, adequate to cover the cost of restoring the
street and its pavement to a condition that meets the approval of the Village
Engineer. Upon the completion of the excavation, and upon the approval of
all work performed hereunder, a maintenance bond of an amount equal to 25%
of the performance security shall be deposited with the Village for a period
of one year from the date of approval.
Each application for a permit shall further be accompanied by a certificate
of insurance, in a form approved by the Village Attorney and issued by an
insurance company authorized to do business in this state, running to the
Incorporated Village of Head-of-the-Harbor, guaranteeing that the applicant
has provided public liability coverage of not less than $500,000/$1,000,000
and property damage insurance of $100,000/$300,000 to hold the Incorporated
Village of Head-of-the-Harbor harmless from all claims, actions and proceedings
brought by any person for injury to person or property resulting from or occasioned
by any fault or default of the applicant, or by anyone acting thereunder on
his or her behalf.
A permit fee of $250 shall accompany each application submitted in accordance
with this chapter for any excavation up to 100 feet; fees for additional excavation
to be determined by the Building Inspector in an amount proportional to the
extra area.
The Board of Trustees shall require any person making a street excavation
pursuant to the permit granted hereunder to give notice of such excavation
to public service companies or municipal districts having lines, mains or
other property in the streets, and no work shall be commenced or done under
such permit until such requirement of notice to the Building Inspector and
each affected utility has been fully complied with under the rules of the
Public Service Commission.
Construction specifications and regulations will be promulgated by the
Village Engineer and must be strictly adhered to by the permittee.
A.
In the event of an emergency, such as the breaking of
a main, or other condition calling for immediate opening of a street to prevent
loss or injury to property, application may be made to the Board of Trustees
or its designee for an emergency permit, in person or by telephone, and the
authority shall be granted to proceed with necessary work forthwith.
B.
In case of an emergency arising outside of office hours,
at night, weekends, or legal holidays, when an immediate excavation may be
necessary for protection of public or private property, the same shall be
reported to the Police Department, which shall grant permission to make the
necessary excavation upon the express condition that an application be made
in the manner herein prescribed on or before 12:00 noon of the next following
business day.
C.
In the alternative, upon a determination by the Board
of Trustees or its designee that an emergency exists that threatens loss or
injury to person or property, the Board may direct the Village Engineer to
perform the necessary repair and charge the applicant the costs of such repair.
Applicants shall notify the Village Engineer when work has been completed,
after which a final inspection will be made by the Village Engineer or his
duly authorized agent. Upon approval of the work, and receipt of the maintenance
security required, the Village Engineer shall authorize the Village Treasurer
to release the performance security provided hereunder.
Whenever the Building Inspector or, in his or her absence or unavailability,
the Village Engineer or, in the absence or unavailability of both the Building
Inspector and the Village Engineer, the Village Police Department has reasonable
grounds to believe that work is being conducted in violation of any applicable
law, ordinance or regulation or not in conformity with an application, drawing
or specification on which a permit was issued or in an unsafe or dangerous
manner, he or she shall issue a stop order notifying the owner of the property
or his or her agent or the permittee or person performing the work to suspend
all work, and such person shall forthwith stop such work until the stop order
has been rescinded. The stop order shall be in writing, shall state the conditions
under which the work may be resumed and shall be served upon the person to
whom it is directed either by personal delivery or by posting upon a conspicuous
portion of the structure under construction or by sending a copy by registered
or certified mail.
A.
Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision
of this chapter shall be guilty of an offense punishable by a fine or imprisonment,
or both. However, for the purpose of conferring jurisdiction upon courts and
judicial officers, such violation shall be deemed a misdemeanor, and for such
purposes only those provisions of law relating to misdemeanors shall apply
to such violations. In lieu of the foregoing, any person violating any provision
of this chapter shall be subject to a penalty in the sum of not more than
$500 for the first violation and $1,000 for subsequent violations, such penalties
to be recovered in a civil action in the name of the Incorporated Village
of Head-of-the-Harbor.
B.
The application of the above penalty shall not be held
to prevent the enforced removal of the prohibited conditions.
If any part or provision of this chapter or the application thereof
to any person or circumstance be adjudged invalid by any court of competent
jurisdiction, such judgment shall be confined in its operation to the part
or provision or application directly involved in the controversy in which
such judgment shall have been rendered and shall not affect or impair the
validity of the remainder of this chapter or the application thereof to other
persons or circumstances, and the Board of Trustees of the Incorporated Village
of Head-of-the-Harbor hereby declares that it would have passed this chapter
or the remainder thereof had such invalid application or invalid provision
been apparent.
This chapter shall take effect immediately upon filing in the office
of the Secretary of State of New York.