As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
EXCAVATE
Includes any excavation, digging, removal or disturbing of
any kind of the surface of a public place.
PUBLIC PLACE
Includes any public street (including curbs, gutters and
sidewalks), any public park or any public way or place of any kind.
UTILITY COMPANY
Any company regulated by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
and granted permission by said board or by the laws of the State of
New Jersey to operate a public utility within the City and shall include,
without limitation, Public Service Electric and Gas Company, Hackensack
Water Company, New Jersey Bell Telephone Company, Bergen County Sewer
Authority, and any corporation granted a franchise to operate a cable
television system within the City.
No person shall excavate a public place without first obtaining
a written permit therefor from the City Engineer; provided, however,
that in the event of an emergency rendering it impossible or impractical
to obtain such written permit prior to such excavation, verbal permission
therefor may be given by the City Engineer, the Director of the Department
of Public Works, the City Manager, the Mayor or the President of the
Council.
An application for such permit shall include a designation of
the area in which the work is to take place and a plan of the proposed
work, including any utility facility which is to be constructed, removed
or altered in any way, with sufficient detail to enable the City Engineer
to identify, locate and determine dimensions of the project.
The fee for a permit shall be as provided for in Chapter
191, Fee Schedule; provided, however, that no utility company shall be required to pay such permit fee.
All applicants for a permit, including utility companies, shall
pay a fee for inspections to be made by the City Engineer as follows:
A. The fee for inspection shall be based on the number of hours spent by the City Engineer or his representative in inspecting the work covered by the permit, computed at the rate provided for in Chapter
191, Fee Schedule.
B. Prior to issuance of a permit, the applicant shall pay to the City
Engineer, on account of such inspection fees, a sum estimated by the
City Engineer to represent the probable total inspection fees, and
following completion of the work the applicant shall pay to the City
Engineer such additional amount as may be required, based on the actual
amount of time spent performing such inspections, or the City Engineer
shall refund any excess payment to the applicant in the event that
the total time spent on such inspections is less than that originally
estimated; provided, however, that a utility company may establish
an account with the City and maintain on deposit with the City funds
to cover anticipated costs of inspections, such accounts to be opened
and maintained in a manner to be prescribed by the City Engineer and/or
the City Finance Director.
In the event that material excavated from within a public place
cannot be replaced within the excavated area or is not suitable for
such purpose, the permittee, upon instructions from the City Engineer,
shall deliver such material to such location within the City as shall
be designated by the City Engineer, and such material shall be available
for use by the City as it deems fit, or, if the City Engineer so directs,
the permittee shall dispose of such material at some location outside
the City.
Any person who violates any provision of this article shall,
upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not exceeding $500
or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days, or both. A separate
offense shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which a
violation occurs or continues.