[Amended 6-13-1996 by Ord. No. 354]
From and after the adoption of this article,
it shall be unlawful for any property owner or any person, firm, partnership,
corporation, public utility or agent of the above to dig, open up,
excavate or operate heavy machinery and equipment of any type likely
to cause road damage on any Patterson Township road or street without
strictly complying with the provisions hereinafter established. As
used herein, "heavy machinery/equipment" shall mean any motor vehicle
or other vehicle, tractor, trailer or tractor-trailer combination,
having a gross weight in excess of 10 tons; however, this does not
include the driving of vehicles hauling food or household goods, public
utility vehicles, fire-fighting equipment, garbage and rubbish vehicles
or school and public transportation buses.
[Amended 2-8-1996 by Ord. No. 348; 6-13-1996 by Ord. No.
354; 5-8-2003 by Ord. No. 399]
Any property owner or any person, firm, partnership,
corporation, public utility or agent of the above desirous of digging,
opening up, excavating or operating heavy equipment likely to cause
road damage on any Patterson Township street or road shall first deposit,
at their own expense, with the Township of Patterson a performance
and maintenance bond, in the amount as set by the Board of Commissioners,
so as to ensure the proper performance and maintenance of said work
and the prompt and proper repair of road surface damage caused by
said act or acts. Said property owner or person, firm, partnership,
corporation, public utility or agent of the above shall also obtain
a permit executed by the Patterson Township Street Commissioner prior
to digging, opening up, excavating or operation of any heavy equipment
over said Township road or street. The cost of the permit is $200.
The required performance and maintenance bond shall be posted in the
amount of $100,000 per mile/per road for the portion of the road to
be used. In all cases, the minimum amount of the bond shall be $100,000.
The bond must be posted in sufficient time to allow a representative
of the Township to inspect the road before the requested usage begins.
[Added 2-8-1996 by Ord. No. 348]
Permit fees shall be as set by resolution of
the Board of Commissioners.
In addition to the provisions of §
164-8 above, the digging, opening up, excavating or operation of heavy equipment over said roads and/or street shall be subject to the following conditions and procedures:
A. The excavation of or for any service line, the laying
or replacing of any service line and the backfilling for the same
shall be at the expense of the property owner or person, firm, partnership,
corporation, public utility or agent of the above performing the above-enumerated
act or acts.
B. No ditch may be left open for a period of more than
48 hours.
C. All backfilling must be thoroughly tamped with proper
backfill.
D. Each property owner, as well as any person, firm,
partnership, corporation, public utility or agent of the above, performing
some or all of the above-enumerated acts shall jointly and severally
be responsible for furnishing barricades, flares, lights and the operation,
placement and maintenance thereof in and about the work area for the
protection of the public.
E. Where an opening is made on any paved Township street or road, the
surface thereof must be restored as follows:
[Amended 12-10-2015 by Ord. No. 454]
(1) On any road that has been paved within three years of the date of
opening or excavating, the restored surface must be the entire length
of the opening plus 25 feet on each side of the opening for the entire
width of the road.
(2) On any road that has been paved more than three but less than six
years prior to the opening or excavating, the restored surface must
be the entire length of the opening plus 10 feet on each side of the
opening for the entire width of the road.
(3) On any road that has been paved more than five years prior to the
opening or excavating, the restored surface must be the entire length
and width of the opening plus one foot (minimum) on each side of the
opening or as directed/marked by the Township after field review.
(4) All restorations must be performed in strict accordance with the
applicable Street Excavations Pavement Restoration Standard Detail,
available at the Township Office, and/or specifications and directions
of the Township Engineer. It is the responsibility of the individual
completing the restoration to contact the Township to schedule a field
review prior to completion of any road restoration.
F. All the above work must be completed within 96 hours
of the street opening or road damage.
G. Each property owner, as well as any person, firm,
partnership, corporation, public utility or agent of the above, shall
notify all other affected utility companies (i.e., gas, electric,
telephone) prior to excavation.
H. In the event that an emergency arises during street excavations that
threatens the safety and welfare of adjoining property residents and/or
the general public as determined by the Street Commissioner, police
or fire personnel, or other authorized Township official, operations
may be suspended at the work site and necessary steps taken immediately
to remediate the emergency. The Township Solicitor and Board of Commissioners
will be notified of the situation as promptly as possible.
[Added 12-10-2015 by Ord.
No. 454]
[Amended 2-8-1996 by Ord. No. 348]
Instead of making individual deposits for performance
and maintenance bonds for each opening, excavation or operation of
heavy machinery by a public utility, it shall be lawful for said public
utility to post a bond in such amount as shall be approved by the
Township Commissioners to guarantee faithful performance in accordance
with this article, but the posting of such bond shall not prevent
the Township of Patterson from instituting a suit in assumpsit against
said utility for the cost to the Township of making the necessary
repairs caused by failure of the public utility to comply with the
terms of this article.
[Amended 2-8-1996 by Ord. No. 348]
Any property owner or person, firm, partnership,
corporation, public utility or agent of the above violating the terms
of this article shall be subject to a fine of not more than $600 plus
costs of prosecution and, in default of payment of such fine and costs,
to imprisonment in the county jail for a period not exceeding 30 days.