[Adopted 7-28-1997 as Ord.
No. 582[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also superseded former Art. III, Excavations,
adopted 6-28-1978 by Ord. No. 239.
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons, firm or firms, association
or associations, corporation or corporations to make or cause to be made any
excavation of any nature whatsoever in any street, avenue, alley or lane within
the City limits without first securing a permit granting authority therefor
as hereinafter provided.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
Any person or persons, firm or firms, association or associations,
corporation or corporations applying for and to whom a permit may be issued.
The digging of any trench or excavation through or under the roadway
or sidewalk or the cutting into or opening and removal of any of the pavement
surfaces in any public street, avenue, alley or lane within the City limits.
A.
An application for the issuance of a permit shall be
filed in the office of the Department of Streets upon forms furnished by the
City for that purpose and shall be signed by the applicant. Said application
shall set forth the location and purpose of the proposed excavation, the dates
between which said excavation is to be open, the length, width and depth of
the trench, the area of the roadway surfaces to be removed and the names of
all persons interested in or to be benefited by the work to be done. The applicant
shall agree to protect and defend and indemnify and save harmless the City,
officers or agents thereof from all claims, suits, actions and proceedings
of every nature and description which may be brought against the City, officers
or agents thereof for or on account of any injuries or damages to persons
or public or private property, due to any materials or appliances used in
the work or by or on account of improper materials or workmanship or for or
on account of any accident or any other act, negligence or omissions of said
applicant or his agents, servants or employees, and the City shall not in
any way be liable therefor.
B.
The applicant shall agree to pay the entire cost and
expense incurred in the replacement of the excavations, and the City shall
at all times have the right and authority to correct any and all omissions
in the conduct of the work and to have the power to take possession of and
to do all the work and charge the expense thereof to the applicant. The expense
so charged shall be deducted and paid by said City out of such moneys as may
have been deposited with the City, and in case such expense shall exceed the
sum of deposit with said City, then said applicant shall pay the amount of
the excess to the City.
C.
The applicant shall further agree to abide by all the
terms and conditions of the ordinances under which the permit is granted,
whether specifically mentioned in the application or not.
D.
No permit shall be granted to any applicant unless said
applicant shall have paid to the City any and all moneys when due to the City
for prior excavations made or for any loss, damages or expenses in any manner
occasioned by or arising from the excavation of streets, alleys or highways
of the City under prior permit.
Said applicant during the progress of the work shall provide and maintain
such fences, barriers, "street closed" and "danger" signs, red lights and
watchmen as may be necessary to prevent avoidable accidents to the public
and adjoining tenants. The convenience of the public and temporary approaches
to and crossings of intersecting streets shall be provided for and kept in
good condition where practicable. The sidewalks or portions of the street
adjoining the work or its vicinity shall not be littered or obstructed more
than necessary, and the drainage gutters and inlets to the stormwater sewers
shall at all times be kept clean and unobstructed.
A.
Excavation shall be by open cut from the surface, and
no tunneling or drifting will be permitted except by permission, and so noted
on the permit. The amount of trench opened and also the amount unfilled shall
at all times be subject to the decision of the Department. No trench or excavation
shall be undercut or have a greater width at the bottom than at the top. In
case of slips or slides of the sides of the excavation, the same shall be
trimmed to solid earth and the top surface cut back to the limit of the same
before any backfilling is commenced. When necessary or required, the sides
of a trench shall be sheathed and braced and rendered secure until the construction
has been laid therein and the trench refilled. Care shall be taken not to
move or disturb other subsurface structures, and in crossing these or running
parallel with or near them, they shall be completed. The applicant shall maintain
their respective services and shall repair all damage done to any of said
structures. In rock excavation, all drilling and blasting shall be conducted
with the greatest possible care and all possible precautions taken to guard
against accidents.
B.
All excavations shall be commenced and completed by the
use of a reasonable work force working around the clock, or in the alternative,
all excavated material shall be removed and at the cessation of work suitable
steel or wooden plates shall be placed over the excavation in order that traffic
can continue over the excavation while it is not being worked.
In no case shall an applicant open or remove a greater area of surface
and at no other location than specified in the original application; provided,
however, that if at the time of actually doing the work it should be necessary
to open or remove a greater area of surface than originally applied for, the
applicant shall first notify and secure, by telephone or otherwise, the consent
of the Department to do so, upon the express condition that said applicant
shall and will before 12:00 noon of the following business day file a supplementary
application for the making of an additional excavation.
A deposit shall be made by the applicant with the Department of Streets
to cover the cost of street restoration in the event that the work performed
by the applicant is unsatisfactory. This deposit shall be based upon a rate
per square foot as affixed by the Director of the Department of Streets of
the City as set forth subsequently in this section, and said deposit shall
be retained by the City for 12 months from the completion of the work of restoration
and replacement. A fee will be paid by the applicant to cover the cost of
issuing the permit and inspections of the surface restoration. Said fee is
also to be established by the Director of the Department of Streets in accordance
with procedures subsequently established in this article. In all cases where
a permit has been issued and the work set forth in such permit has not been
done, the same shall be canceled and the deposit fee paid for the same shall
be repaid by the Department of Streets. Any fee for issuance of the permit
shall not be returnable.
[Amended 1-12-1998 by Ord.
No. 589]
All applicants for permits required by this article shall pay to the
City a fee as set forth in the following schedule for any opening, drilling
or excavation on any public street:
A.
Any utility, upon proper notification to the Department
of Streets, may secure a booklet of permits. When these utilities require
a permit for a street opening, they shall:
B.
The utility shall notify the Department of Streets 24
hours in advance of the street opening, unless said opening is deemed an emergency.
In this event, the utility shall so inform the Department of Streets.
[Amended 1-12-1998 by Ord.
No. 589]
A.
Every applicant shall deposit with the Department of
Streets sums for making excavations as provided in the Pennsylvania Code,
Title 67, Transportation, Chapter 459, Occupancy Of Highways By Utilities,
Section 4, Permit Fees, Subsections (b)(1) and (2), Surface Openings.
B.
In computing the area for the purpose of determining
the amounts to be deposited, the size of the opening shall include the total
area within the pavement cut (including the one-foot perimeter.)
Every applicant prior to commencing excavations shall deposit with the
Department of Streets the fees required, unless a waiver is granted by the
Department of Streets. In the event that a waiver is granted for payment prior
to excavation, the applicant shall pay the City all fees by the 10th of the
month following the month in which the excavations were made. It shall be
the responsibility of each applicant who receives a waiver to tabulate the
size of the opening and forward the moneys due to the City. These moneys should
include permit fees and resurfacing fees.
A.
In the event that an applicant requests a waiver from
payments required prior to the excavation, a performance bond in the amount
of $2,000 shall be filed with the Department of Streets.
B.
An annual bond in the amount of $125,000 may be posted
by a utility company.
[Added 1-12-1998 by Ord.
No. 589]
A.
When an opening is made in an existing paved street,
the pavement shall be cut one foot wider around the entire perimeter of the
intended excavation.
B.
All lines shall be neat and not irregular.
C.
Prior to the excavating of any opening, the applicant
shall contact all utilities having underground installations in the City in
accordance with 73 P.S. § 176 et seq., concerning prevention of
damage to underground utility lines by excavation or demolition. Any person
obtaining a permit for a street opening shall accept full responsibility for
any damage caused in any way whatsoever to underground installations other
than his own and shall make complete restitution for their repair or replacement.
A.
All openings or excavations shall be backfilled immediately
upon completion of work and in no case shall remain open for a period exceeding
24 hours from the completion of repair work, unless otherwise approved by
the Department of Streets.
B.
Material excavated from a street opening shall not be
used for backfill.
C.
If the excavation is in an area that has been reconstructed
or resurfaced within the last 36 months, it shall be backfilled with flowable
backfill, Type A or Type B, conforming to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
specifications, unless otherwise approved in writing by the City of Pottsville.
All other areas shall be backfilled with 2A modified aggregate conforming
to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation specifications and compacted
with pneumatic or mechanical tampers in eight-inch lifts. The surface shall
be temporarily covered with one inch of BCBC or cold patch until permanent
restoration is made.
[Amended 3-13-2006 by Ord. No. 726]
D.
Permanent restoration shall be made with four inches
of bituminous concrete base course and two inches of ID2 wearing course. All
openings shall be sealed in accordance with Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
specifications.
E.
In the event that bituminous material is not available,
temporary cold patch conforming to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
specifications shall be used as a temporary surface only, and it shall be
the responsibility of the holder of the permit to maintain the street surface
until permanent repairs can be made.
F.
If the holder of the permit fails at any time to place
sufficient bituminous material as a temporary surface or maintain such temporary
bituminous material to a level of the adjacent street surface unaffected by
the opening, the City reserves the right to immediately take over maintenance
of such opening and charge the cost thereof in addition to the cost of permanent
paving restoration.
G.
A permit is valid for 90 days or until final restoration
is made, whichever is less. Any final restorations made in less than 90 days
would be at the direction of the City's Department of Streets.
[Added 1-12-1998 by Ord.
No. 589]
Every opening or excavation made in any public street or alley of the
City shall be inspected by an authorized representative of the City. It shall
be the responsibility of the applicant to inform the Department of Streets
of its excavating and backfilling schedule in order for the City to properly
inspect said opening. Fifteen percent of the applicable resurfacing fee shall
be paid to the City of Pottsville for this inspection.
Any person, firm or corporation who or which shall fail, neglect or
refuse to comply with any of the terms or provisions of this article or of
any regulation or requirement pursuant hereto and authorized hereby shall,
upon conviction thereof, be ordered to pay a fine of not more than $300 and,
in default of payment of a fine and cost, be imprisoned no more than 90 days.
Each day's violation shall constitute a separate offense.
