[Adopted 1-5-1976 by L.L.
No. 1-1976 (Ch. 78, Art. I, of the 1976 Code)]
A. Word usage. As used in this article, and when not inconsistent with
the context, words in the present tense include the future, words
in the plural include the singular, words in the singular include
the plural, and the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter.
The word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
B. Definitions. As used in this article the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
APPLICANT
Any person who makes application for a permit.
EMERGENCY
Any unforeseen circumstance or occurrence, the existence
of which constitutes a clear and immediate danger to persons or property.
PERMITTEE
Any person who has been issued a permit and has agreed to
fulfill all the terms of this article.
PERSON
Any natural person, partnership, firm, association, utility,
corporation or authority created pursuant to an act of the Board of
Trustees. Whenever used in any section prescribing and imposing a
penalty, the term "person" as applied to associations shall mean the
partners or members thereof and as applied to corporations shall mean
the officers thereof.
STREET
A public street, public easement, public right-of-way, public
highway, public alley, public way, public road or public sidewalk
accepted or maintained by the Village.
SUPERINTENDENT
The person in charge of the Department of Highways or the
highway operations in the Village, or his authorized deputy, representative
or inspector.
It shall be unlawful for any person to make any tunnel, opening
or excavation of any kind in or under the surface of an street without
first securing a permit from the Village for each separate undertaking;
provided, however, that any person maintaining pipes, lines or other
underground facilities in or under the surface of any street may proceed
with an opening without a permit when emergency circumstances demand
the work to be done immediately, provided that the permit could not
reasonably and practically have been obtained beforehand. Such person
shall thereafter apply for a permit on the first regular business
day on which the office of the Village Clerk is open for business,
and said permit shall be retroactive to the date when the work was
begun.
No person to whom a permit has been granted shall perform any
of the work authorized by such permit in any amount or quantity greater
than that specified in the permit, except that, upon the prior approval
of the Street Superintendent, additional work may be done under the
provisions of the permit in any amount not greater than 10% of the
amount specified in the permit. Any deposit and bond posted in connection
with the original permit shall be deemed to cover any such additional
work as may be approved pursuant to this section within the limit
mentioned herein.
Work for which a permit has been issued shall commence within
14 days after the issuance of the permit therefor. If not so commenced,
the permit shall be automatically terminated. Permits thus terminated
may be renewed upon the payment of an additional permit fee as originally
required.
Permits are not transferable from one person to another, and
the opening shall not be made in any place other than the locations
specifically designated in the permit.
Every permit shall expire at the end of the period of time which
shall be set out in the permit. If the permittee shall be unable to
complete the work within the specified time, he shall, prior to the
expiration of the permit, present in writing to the Village Clerk
a request for an extension of time, setting forth therein the reasons
for the requested extension. If, in the opinion of the Street Superintendent,
such an extension is necessary and not contrary to the public interest,
the permittee may be granted additional time for the completion of
the work.
All street openings required by utilities owned or operated
by the Village shall be made and restored under the direction and
supervision of the Street Superintendent. The permit, fee, deposit,
insurance and bond requirements of this article shall not be applicable
to any openings made by such municipally owned or operated utilities.
The provisions of this article shall not be applicable in those
instances where the highway is maintained by the State of New York
or by the County of Sullivan.
Every permit granted shall be subject to the right of the Village
and of any other person entitled thereto to use the street for any
purpose for which such street may lawfully be used, not inconsistent
with the permit.
A. Any permit may be revoked by the Village Clerk after notice to the
permittee, for:
(1) Violation of any condition of the permit or of any provision of this
article.
(2) Violation of any provision of any other applicable ordinance or law
relating to the work.
(3) Existence of any condition or the doing of any act constituting or
creating a nuisance or endangering the lives or property of others.
B. Written notice of any such violation or condition shall be served
upon the permittee or his agent engaged in the work. The notice shall
contain a brief statement of the grounds relied upon for revoking
the permit, and a permittee may be granted a period of three days
from the date of the notice to correct the violation and to proceed
with the diligent prosecution of the work authorized by the permit
before said permit is revoked. Notice may be given either by personal
delivery thereof to the person to be notified or by certified or registered
United States mail addressed to the person to be notified.
C. When any permit has been revoked and the work authorized by the permit
has not been completed, the Street Superintendent shall do such work
as may be necessary to restore the street or part thereof to as good
a condition as before the opening was made. All expenses incurred
by the Village shall be recovered from the deposit or bond the permittee
has made with the Village.
It shall be the duty and responsibility of any applicant to:
A. Make a written application for such permit to the Village Clerk on
forms providing all information necessary for the administration and
enforcement of this article. No work shall commence until the Street
Superintendent has approved the application and plan and the Village
Clerk has issued a permit, nor until the permittee has paid and provided
all fees, deposits and certificates required by this article.
B. Furnish, in duplicate, a plan showing the work to be performed under
said permit. If approved by the Street Superintendent, one copy of
such plan shall be returned to the applicant at the time the permit
is granted.
It shall be the duty and responsibility of any person receiving
a permit to:
A. Pay a permit fee, established by resolution of the Board of Trustees, per lineal foot of street opening measured along the length
of the street opening; provided, however, that public utilities or
authorities shall be billed quarterly for such fees as they shall
accrue.
B. Make a deposit to cover the cost of restoring the street damaged
by such work. The amount of deposit or bond shall be established by
the Board of Trustees from time to time by resolution.
C. Furnish a certificate of insurance, as required by §
220-47.
D. Submit, when required by the Village Clerk, a list of owners and
tenants of all properties abutting the area where the work authorized
by the permit is to be performed.
E. Present evidence that all materials, labor and equipment needed to
complete such work as authorized by the permit are available.
F. Keep the original copy of the permit and an approved copy of the
plan at all times while such work is in progress at the location for
which said permit was granted, and show such permit and plan upon
demand by the Village authorities.
A. No opening or excavation in any street, shall extend beyond the center
line of the street before being backfilled and the surface of the
street temporarily restored.
B. No more than 250 feet, measured longitudinally, shall be opened in
any street at any one time without special permission, in writing,
from the Board of Trustees, and only in instances where a special
hardship can be shown.
C. All utility facilities shall be exposed sufficiently ahead of trench
excavation work to avoid damage to those facilities and to permit
their relocation, if necessary.
D. Pipe drains, pipe culverts or other facilities encountered shall
be protected by the permittee.
E. In the event that the permittee damages the property or facilities
of another, the permittee shall repair this damage within 12 hours
in the case of a utility and within 48 hours in the case of any other
private party. If the damage has not been repaired within these time
limits, the party sustaining the damage shall undertake to have the
repairs made at his own expense and report to the Village as soon
as possible the amount of expense incurred. This amount may be withheld
from the permittee's deposit or bond by the Village Clerk pending
final determination and settlement of any liability for this damage.
Whenever damage occurs, the injured party shall notify proper Village
authorities within 24 hours so that steps can be taken to determine
the extent of the damage and plans can be made for its repair.
F. When work performed by the permittee interferes with the established
drainage system of any street, provision shall be made by the permittee
to provide proper drainage to the satisfaction of the Street Superintendent.
G. Safety devices.
(1) Every permittee shall place around the project such barriers, barricades,
lights, warning flags and danger signs as shall be determined by the
Street Superintendent to be necessary for the protection of the public.
Additional safety requirements may be prescribed by the Street Superintendent
and, where applicable, shall be in conformance with the requirements
set forth in the United States Department of Army Corps of Engineers
publication, Safety Requirements (1941 Edition, revised 1951). Copies
of this publication shall be made available in the office of the Village
Clerk for inspection by the public.
(2) Whenever any permittee fails to provide or maintain the safety devices
required by the Street Superintendent, such devices may be installed
and maintained by the Village. The amount of the cost incurred shall
be paid by the permittee or deducted from his deposit or bond. Such
costs shall be determined by the Village.
(3) No person shall willfully move, remove, injure, destroy or extinguish
any barrier, warning light, sign or notice erected, placed or posted
in accordance with the provisions of this article.
H. Work authorized by a permit shall be performed between the hours
of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, unless the permittee
obtains written consent from the Street Superintendent to do the work
at an earlier or later hour. Such permission shall be granted only
in case of an emergency.
I. In no case shall any opening made by a permittee be considered in
the charge or care of the Village or any of its officers or employees,
and no officer or employee is authorized in any way to take or assume
any jurisdiction over any such opening, except in the exercise of
the police power when it is necessary to protect life and property.
The deposit or bond shall be made at the time the permit is
received, and the deposit or bond shall be used to reimburse the Village
for the cost of any work and materials furnished by it in connection
with the work authorized by the permit and for any other purpose set
forth in this article.
The deposit or bond may be either in the form of a certified
treasurer's or cashier's check or in lawful money of the
United States.
If any deposit or bond is less than sufficient to pay all costs,
the permittee shall, upon demand, pay to the Village an amount equal
to the deficiency. If the permittee refuses or fails to pay such deficiency,
the Village may institute an action to recover the same in any court
of competent jurisdiction. Until such deficiency is paid in full,
no additional permits shall be issued to such permittee.
The amount of deposit or bond for street openings shall be as
established from time to time by resolution of the Board of Trustees.
The deposit and bond requirement set forth in this article may
be waived by the Board of Trustees if the work of excavation is being
performed by the Village itself.
Upon notification by the permittee that all work authorized
by the permit has been completed and after restoration of the opening
and final inspection, the Village Clerk shall refund to the permittee
his deposit or release his bond less all costs incurred by the Village
in connection with said permit and any other expenses required by
this article for which final settlement has not been made. In no event
shall the permit fee be refunded once work has been undertaken.
Each applicant, upon the receipt of a permit, shall provide
the Village with an acceptable certificate of insurance indicating
that he is insured against claims for damages for personal injury,
as well as against claims for property damage which may arise from
or out of the performance of the work. Such insurance shall cover
any and all possible hazards of whatsoever kind or nature and shall
include protection against liability arising from completed operations.
The amount of the insurance shall be prescribed by the Village Clerk
in accordance with the nature of the risk involved; provided, however,
that the liability insurance in effect shall be in an amount of $1,000,000
for bodily injury, $250,000 for damages to private property and $250,000
for damages to Village property. Public utilities and authorities
may be relieved of the obligation of submitting such a certificate
if they are insured in accordance with the requirements of this article.
[Amended 6-21-1999 by L.L. No. 5-1999]
Any person committing an offense against any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a violation, punishable as provided in Article
III, General Penalty, of Chapter
1 of the Code of the Village of Monticello.