[Adopted 12-9-1991 by Ord. No. 18-91]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
EMERGENCY
A condition of circumstance which involves immediate danger to life or property, or both, or which involves a possibility of interruption or curtailment of any service furnished to the public by a public utility.
PERMITTEE
Any public utility, individual or company to which a permit has been issued under and pursuant to this article.
PUBLIC UTILITY
Any public utility as defined in N.J.S.A. 48:2-13.
It shall be unlawful for any person to perform any excavation work or to dig up, break, excavate, tunnel, undermine or in any manner break up any street or to make or cause to be made any excavation in or under the surface of any street for any purpose or to place, deposit or leave upon any street any earth or other excavated material obstructing or tending to interfere with the free use of the street or dig up, break, excavate or undermine or in any way affect any other public improvement within a public right-of-way, unless such person shall first have obtained a permit therefor from the Borough Clerk as herein provided.
Application for a permit shall be made on forms to be provided by the Borough. The application shall state the purpose of the excavation and the name and address of the person who will restore the permanent pavement when the same is not to be done by the Borough or the applicant. The application shall be accompanied by a diagram indicating the nature and extent of the excavation to be made and work to be done, the proposed dates of commencement and completion of the excavation, which date shall be the expiration date of any permit issued pursuant to the application and other data as may reasonably be required. If, during the course of the work, any major variation is required, the permittee shall file an amended diagram showing the manner in which the work is actually being done.
A. 
Application for a permit shall be accompanied by a fee of $10 to cover administrative costs for excavations up to 100 square feet and by a fee of $25 for larger excavations. In addition to the permit fee, the applicant shall pay an inspection fee, before the permit is issued, equal to 10% of the cash repair deposit but not less than $25 for openings up to 1,000 square feet, plus 5% of the cash repair deposit for that portion of any opening in excess of 1,000 square feet. Such inspection fee shall be paid even though the applicant shall post a bond in lieu of a cash repair deposit.
B. 
The Borough Clerk shall forward a copy of each application for a street opening permit to the state police for a determination whether traffic control shall be needed during the period of construction. If it is determined that the permittee shall need the assistance of a law enforcement officer to control traffic in the vicinity of the construction site, then the applicant shall be required, in addition to the other fees provided for in this article, to pay all costs associated with having a police officer direct traffic at the site.
A. 
The application for an excavation permit to perform excavation work under this article shall be accompanied by a cash repair deposit. Such cash repair deposit will take the form of cash or certified check made payable to the Borough of Hampton and shall be received by the Borough Clerk prior to the issuance of any permit. The amount of the cash repair deposit required shall be:
(1) 
For openings in streets paved with concrete or bituminous concrete:
[Amended 11-9-1992 by Ord. No. 14-92[1]]
(a) 
Three dollars and fifty cents per square foot of surface for openings not exceeding 100 square feet.
(b) 
Two hundred fifty dollars, plus $2.50 per square foot of opening in excess of 100 square feet.
(c) 
Two thousand five hundred dollars, plus $2.50 per square foot of opening in excess of 1,000 square feet.
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I).
(2) 
For excavations made in streets of less construction: 1/2 the preceding fees.
(3) 
In the case of excavation or removal or alteration of other public improvements, such as drainage, sidewalks, driveways, driveway aprons, etc., the Borough Engineer shall determine in each case the amount of the cash repair deposit in sum total sufficient to allow the Borough to perform all required repairs and restorations. Said amount shall be estimated to include gross Borough costs, including fees, temporary maintenance costs, permanent restoration costs, etc. In no case shall a cash deposit be less than $50.
B. 
Any cash repair deposit made hereunder shall serve as security for the inspection, repair and performance of work necessary to put the street in as good a condition as it was prior to the excavation, if the permittee fails to make the necessary repairs or to complete the proper refilling of the opening and the excavation work under the excavation permit.
C. 
Upon the permittee's completion of the work covered by such permit, in conformity with this article as determined by the Borough Engineer, 2/3 of the remaining cash deposit shall be promptly refunded by the Borough to the permittee and the balance shall be refunded by the Borough to the permittee upon the expiration of such twelve-month period, provided that, if the amount of the cash deposit does not exceed $100, the entire cash repair deposit will be returned, upon the Borough Engineer's determination that the permittee has performed the work in conformity with this article, and provided further that the Borough may use any or all of such deposit to pay the cost of any work the Borough performs to restore or maintain the street as herein provided in the event that the permittee fails to perform such work, in which event the amount refunded to the permittee shall be reduced by the amount thus expended by the Borough.
D. 
Cash repair deposits will be waived in the case of installation or repair of sidewalks by the owner or by a person acting for the owner of real property and may be waived in the case of installation of new public improvements by a subdivider of site development in accordance with the approved plans and without cost to the Borough; provided, however, that such waiver will not be granted if, in the opinion of the Borough Engineer, a cash repair deposit is necessary to assure protection of existing improvements or to guarantee against damages during construction.
A. 
If an individual cash repair deposit required by § 209-14 exceeds $500, or if the applicant is a public utility regulated by the federal government and/or the State of New Jersey, the applicant may deposit with the Borough Clerk a surety bond in the amount of the cash repair deposit or an annual bond in the amount of $5,000, made payable to the Borough of Hampton. The required surety bond must be:
(1) 
With good and sufficient surety.
(2) 
By a surety company authorized to transact business in the State of New Jersey.
(3) 
Satisfactory to the Borough Attorney in form and substance.
(4) 
Conditioned upon the permittee's compliance with this article and to secure and hold the Borough and its officers harmless against any and all claims, judgments or other costs arising from the excavation and other work covered by the excavation permit or for which the Borough, the Borough Council or any Borough officer may be made liable by reason of any accident or injury to person or property through the fault of the permittee, either in not properly guarding the excavation or for any other injury resulting from the negligence of the permittee, and further conditioned to fill up, restore and place in good and safe condition, as nearly as it can be to its original condition and to the satisfaction of the Borough Engineer, all openings and excavations made in streets and to maintain any street where an excavation is made in a condition as good as before said work shall have been done, for the period of 12 months after said work shall have been done, usual wear and tear excepted. Any settlement of the surface within said one-year period shall be deemed conclusive evidence of defective backfilling by the permittee.
B. 
Nothing herein contained shall be construed to require the permittee to maintain any repairs to pavement made by the Borough if such repairs should prove defective.
C. 
Recovery on such bond for any injury or accident shall not exhaust the bond but it shall, in its entirety, cover any or all future accidents or injuries during the excavation work for which it is given.
D. 
In the event of any suit or claim against the Borough by reason of the negligence or default of the permittee, any final judgment against the Borough requiring it to pay for such damage shall, upon the Borough giving written notice to the permittee of such suit or claim, be conclusive upon the permittee and his or her surety.
E. 
An annual bond may be given under this provision which shall remain in force for one year, conditioned as above, in the amount specified above and in other respects as specified above but applicable as to all excavation work in streets by the principal in such bond during the term of one year from said date.
F. 
Public utilities may deposit a corporate bond, conditioned as in the case of a surety bond, in the amount of $5,000, in lieu of said surety bond, but such corporate bond must be in addition to a cash repair deposit of $500. Such cash repair deposit may, by Council action, be returned with interest to the utility after a twelve-month period wherein the Borough has made no charges or written demands against the deposit.
In case of emergency, any public utility, individual or company may make an excavation in or tear up the surface of any road without first having obtained from the Borough of Hampton a permit therefor, in which case the public utility, individual or company shall make application for such permit within five working days after the occurrence of such emergency, provided that the public utility, individual or company first telephones to the office of the Borough Clerk and Borough Engineer a statement concerning the emergency in question.
The permittee shall comply with the following general conditions with regard to the opening of excavation and the backfilling and resurfacing of any public street or public place:
A. 
The permittee shall keep each opening properly guarded and, at night, have lights placed thereat and, in doing the work, interfere as little as possible with the travel along the road and open no greater part of the road at any time than shall be allowed by the Borough. If the excavation is to extend the full width of the road, no more than 1/2 of the road shall be opened at one time, and such 1/2 shall be backfilled before the other 1/2 is opened, so as to permit the free flow of traffic.
B. 
The opening shall be backfilled immediately, and the pavement shall be restored with at least a temporary pavement or bituminous concrete base material, within three weeks. Beyond this period, a time extension must be obtained from the Borough.
C. 
The restoration of the opening shall be maintained for 60 days after completion, at the expense of the permittee, and any cash deposit, as set forth hereafter, shall not be returned until at least 60 days have passed from the time of repair and the road is in acceptable condition.
D. 
The applicant shall give a twenty-four-hour notice to the Borough Engineer prior to making an opening prior to beginning surface restoration.
E. 
No opening shall be commenced on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, except in a case of emergency.
F. 
On a bituminous surface treated road, the edges of the opening shall be cut straight through the bituminous surface before the trench is excavated.
G. 
The work shall be so conducted as not to interfere with the water mains, gas lines, sewer lines or their connections with houses unless the permission of the proper authorities shall have been obtained. All rock within five feet of a water main or other pipe, which might be damaged thereby, shall be removed without blasting. No excavation which will damage trees shall be made.
H. 
After the underground installation has been completed, the permittee shall promptly backfill the excavation. The backfill may consist of the excavated materials but shall be free of all organic material, debris and clay. It shall be placed in lifts of no more than 12 inches, each lift to be thoroughly compacted to a grade of 24 inches below subgrade, the remainder to be backfilled with bank-run gravel. Should the excavated material be unsuitable for backfill, in the opinion of the Borough Engineer, then the entire trench shall be backfilled with bank-run gravel and compacted as described above. Bank-run gravel shall conform to New Jersey State Department of Transportation soil aggregate dry Type 1A.
I. 
After the backfill has been placed, the permittee shall install a temporary pavement of bituminous material over the opening and shall keep such temporary pavement to grade until it has been replaced by a permanent pavement.
J. 
When final settlement has taken place, the permittee shall replace the temporary pavement with a permanent pavement, which shall not be less than 12 inches larger than the length and width of the opening. The permanent pavement shall be of the same type as the original pavement, unless authorized by the Borough Engineer. The Borough Engineer shall be given one day's written notice previous to the time when the permanent pavement is to be installed in order to permit an inspection thereof.
In accepting a permit, the permittee shall be deemed to have agreed to indemnify and save harmless the Borough from and against any and all loss, costs or damages incurred by reason of any damage to any property, injury to any person or any loss of life resulting from any negligence of the permittee, its agents or servants in performing the work covered by the permit.
The provisions of this article shall not be applicable to any excavation work under the direction of competent Borough officials, by employees of the Borough or by any contractor of the Borough or agency or department of the Borough performing work for and on behalf of the Borough necessitating openings or excavations in streets, nor shall the provisions of §§ 209-13 and 209-14 apply to any excavation work performed adjacent to or within public rights-of-way by subdividers or site developers in accordance with approved subdivision or site plans, provided that such subdividers or site developers have posted cash guaranties and surety in accordance with the applicable article requirements.
A. 
A permittee, prior to the commencement of excavation work hereunder, shall furnish the Borough Clerk with satisfactory evidence, in writing, that the permittee has in force and will maintain in force, during the performance of the excavation work and the period of the excavation permit, public liability insurance of not less than $500,000 for any one person and $1,000,000 for any one accident and property damage insurance of not less than $500,000 duly issued by an insurance company authorized to do business in this state.
B. 
In cases where the character or nature of the proposed excavation work is such as to present an unusual hazard or a higher than normal risk of damage or injury, the Borough Council may require provision of increased amounts of liability and property damage insurance. Any permits which occasion such increased hazard or liability shall be referred by the Borough Clerk for the consideration of the governing body prior to the issuance of a permit.