[Adopted 7-18-1927 by Ord. No. 343; amended in its entirety 10-13-2009 by Ord. No.
2588]
The following words and terms, as used in this article, shall
have the following meanings:
Any tangible asset in the right-of-way required to provide
utility service or passage along or through the right-of-way.
Any individual, firm, corporation, association or partnership.
Includes the entire right-of-way of a public street, public
highway, public alley, public way, public road or public easement
within the Township.
A.
No portion of any street shall be opened or excavated by any person
for the purpose of laying pipes, sewers, drains or conduits of any
description or for making connections therewith or repairs thereto
or for the setting or planting of telegraph, telephone, electric light
or other poles on or along said streets, or for repairs thereto or
renewals thereof or for any and all other purposes without first obtaining
a permit. A permit is also required whenever any construction material
or debris is to be placed in the street.
B.
A permit will only be issued where the applicant satisfies the requirements
of this article. No permit shall be granted to any applicant unless
the applicant has paid to the Township any and all moneys due the
Township for prior excavations made or for any loss, damages or expenses
in any manner occasioned by or arising from any work done by the applicant
under the provisions of this article.
C.
The Township may impose reasonable conditions upon the issuance of
a permit in order to protect the public, health, safety, and well-being,
to insure the structural integrity of the streets, to protect the
property and safety of other users of the streets, and to minimize
the disruption and inconvenience to the traveling public.
A.
Before a permit is issued and any work begun, a written application,
on a blank form to be furnished for that purpose by the Board of Commissioners,
must be filed with the Township Secretary setting forth:
(1)
The name and address of the applicant;
(2)
The purposes for which the street is to be opened, excavated, or
occupied, including a narrative description of the work to be performed;
(3)
The time and location of the proposed work;
(4)
A drawing of the proposed excavation site; and
(5)
Such other information as may be required by the Township Engineer.
B.
In the permit application, the applicant shall agree to assume all
liability for all or any damages accruing to the public or to the
Township which may or might result from the opening, excavation, or
occupancy of said street. The filing of an application and the issuance
of a permit hereunder shall constitute an agreement on the part of
the applicant to comply with all the terms of this article and all
rules, regulations, standards, specifications, and other requirements
of the Department of Public Works now in force or hereafter adopted.
The filing of an application and the issuance of a permit hereunder
shall also constitute an agreement to indemnify and save the Township
harmless from and against all claims, demands and actions for damages
either to person or to property that may be sustained by any person
by reason of or arising out of any work done or action taken under
the application and permit.
A.
Bonds. Each applicant shall be required to post with the Township
a bond equal to the cost of restoration of the street. Restoration
shall include the removal of defective materials, restoration and
compaction of the subgrade, base and surface improvements. Said bond
shall be by cash deposit, letter of credit or performance in a form
as provided by the Township and shall automatically renew until such
time as all restoration is completed and accepted by the Township
Engineer. The following waivers from the bonding requirements may
be granted:
(1)
Where the owner of a dwelling in which the owner resides proposes
the repair of a driveway, driveway apron, curb or sidewalk performed
personally by the property owner; or
(2)
Where the excavation or opening is performed by a person holding
a franchise with Haverford Township wherein the said franchise agreement
provides the appropriate guarantees for the performance of work under
the terms of this chapter.
B.
Insurance.
(1)
An applicant shall secure a certificate of insurance and have the
certificate properly executed by his insurance company. Only certificates
from so-called "A-rated" companies will be acceptable to the Township
for this purpose. Properly executed certificates of insurance shall
be filed with the Department of Public Works annually. This certificate
will verify that the applicant is insured against claims for personal
injury as well as against claims for property damages which may arise
from or out of the performance of the excavation work, whether such
performance be by the applicant or any one directly employed by him.
(2)
The applicant must maintain during the life of the excavation public
liability insurance to protect the applicant, contractor, subcontractors
and the Township from injury or damage caused directly or indirectly
by the applicant, contractor, subcontractors or their employees in
a minimum of the following limits:
(3)
The following waivers from the insurance requirement may be granted:
(a)
Where the owner of a dwelling in which the owner resides proposes
the repair of a driveway, driveway apron, curb or sidewalk performed
personally by the property owner; or
(b)
Where the excavation or opening is performed by a person holding
a franchise with Haverford Township wherein the said franchise agreement
provides the appropriate guarantees for the performance of work under
the terms of this chapter.
A.
At the time of the filing of an application for a permit under this
article, an applicant shall pay a permit fee, the components of which
are set forth on the Township Schedule of Fees, as adopted and amended
from time to time by the Board of Commissioners. The permit fee components
include the following, where applicable:
(1)
Permit application fee, established to recover Township costs associated
with processing, reviewing, verifying, issuing, and managing permit
applications.
(2)
Street degradation fee, established to recover Township costs associated
with the decrease in useful life of the right-of-way caused by the
work in the permit area.
(3)
Pole fee, established to recover Township costs associated with inspecting,
evaluating, and documenting the setting, repair, and replacement of
utility poles and other poles.
(4)
Occupancy fee, established to recover Township costs associated with
inspecting and managing a street and activities on the street when
the street is occupied or otherwise being used by a permittee.
(5)
Traffic management fee, established to cover the cost of a Township
police officer engaged in traffic management and control.
B.
All measurements required to be made by the applicant in applying
for a permit shall be verified by the Department of Public Works and
shall include any enlargement of openings which may be required to
be made as an incident of the repair of such paving.
No street shall be tunneled nor shall any cement-concrete road
be opened or broken except with the approval of and upon such terms
and conditions as may be imposed by the Engineer. In no case shall
a permit area or any part thereof be closed to traffic without the
written consent of the Township Engineer.
A.
It shall be the duty of the permittee to furnish to the traveling
public suitable protection surrounding the location of all openings,
excavations, structures, and stored materials within the permit area
by means of suitable flags and barricades, supplemented, where necessary,
by flashing amber lights, which shall be kept lighted from sunset
to sunrise, or to provide such other means of protection, including
one or more flagmen to direct traffic, as may be required by the Department
of Public Works.
B.
The applicant shall provide written notice to all property owners
where the work is being done if the excavation is on their lawn area.
This shall be done at least five days before the work is to begin.
The applicant shall provide a copy of the written notice to the Township
upon issuance of the permit. This provision does not apply to emergency
repairs.
No permit granted under this article shall be valid unless the
operation specified therein shall be begun within a period of 30 days
from the date of its issuance, but a renewal thereof may be had without
further payment by filing a new application as prescribed in preceding
sections of this article, together with a statement in writing that
the work has not been begun.
A.
A permittee shall comply with all applicable federal, state, and
local laws and regulations in performing any work under this article,
including registration with Pennsylvania's "One Call" system pursuant
to 73 P.S. § 176 et seq. All work shall be performed in
an orderly and workmanlike manner and in close coordination with public
utilities serving the Township, following accepted industry construction
procedures and practices.
B.
No work shall commence before 7:00 a.m. nor continue after 8:00 p.m.
unless specifically authorized by the Township Manager to reduce interruption
of services.
[Amended 9-13-2021 by Ord. No. 2937-2021]
A.
All work commenced in pursuance of said permits shall be prosecuted
without interruption to the completion thereof, and said openings
or excavations shall be immediately refilled by the parties making
the same or by the holder of the permit with suitable materials thoroughly
compacted by tamping or puddling.
B.
Sidewalks and curbs shall be replaced and restored to their former
condition by the parties making the excavations or by the holder of
the permit.
C.
Whenever, in connection with any work covered by this article, a
tunnel is to be made under an improved surface, this fact shall be
disclosed in the application. Before a tunnel is excavated, specific
approval must be obtained from the Township and endorsed upon the
permit. The backfilling of the excavation shall not be done except
in the presence of a special Township inspector. It shall be made
with a damp concrete mix of 1:4:8, thoroughly tamped in six-inch layers
or according to a similar method approved by the Township Engineer.
D.
Backfilling excavations. All openings or excavations shall be backfilled
promptly with suitable materials such as 2A or 3A modified stone thoroughly
compacted in layers, each of which shall not exceed 12 inches in depth,
and tamped to within three inches of the surface or puddled, where
required. Excavated material shall not be used for backfill.
E.
A temporary paving of three inches of compacted asphaltic concrete
shall be installed flush with the surface of the adjoining paving.
The applicant shall keep and maintain such paving in proper condition
until such time as the permanent paving is installed. If the applicant
fails to install such temporary paving within a reasonable time after
completion of the improvement or fails to properly maintain such paving,
the Township shall perform the work and charge the cost thereof to
the applicant.
F.
Permanent pavement restoration to bituminous concrete roadways shall
be performed by the permittee within 30 days and after completion
of the initial work. An eight-inch-thick bituminous concrete base
course and a two-inch-thick wearing course, in accordance with the
most recent Pennsylvania Department of Transportation standards, shall
be provided. Edges of the excavation shall first be cut 12 inches.
Edges shall be hot sealed with application of AC-20 bituminous sealer
after placement of the paving.
G.
The permittee shall include base repair, surface milling and overlay
for the full-width of the cartway, to include edge of paving to edge
of paving for the greater of the entire block or 100 lineal feet,
under any of the following circumstances:
H.
If, within one year after the installation of the permanent paving,
defects appear, the permittee shall make all necessary repairs to
the permanent paving at the applicant's expense.
I.
Within 30 days after completion of all work and restoration, the
permittee shall provide the Township with as-built drawings of the
permit area. The as-built drawings shall show the location and type
of all utilities, structures, and other facilities installed in the
permit area as well as the location of all restored surface areas.
The filing of an application for the installation or repairing
of pipes, sewers, drains, conduits, sidewalks, curbs, driveways and
similar structures, or for erecting or replacing poles, shall constitute
an agreement that the applicant will, upon notice from and without
expense to the Township, make such changes in the location thereof
as may be required by the Township Engineer. The issuance of a permit
hereunder shall not confer upon the applicant a permanent right to
maintain such structures in the permit area. If any such structure
is not removed upon receipt of notice so to do from the Township,
the Department of Public Works may thereupon remove it and charge
the cost of such removal to the permittee.
A permittee or other person who has discontinued use of all
or a portion of its facilities in a Township right-of-way shall notify
the Township of such discontinued use and shall provide the Township
with a drawing describing the type and location of all discontinued
facilities. A permittee or other person who has discontinued use of
or abandoned facilities in a Township right-of-way shall remove such
facilities if required by the Township.
[Amended 3-12-2012 by Ord. No. 2660]
Any person violating any provision of this article shall, upon
summary conviction before any District Justice of the Peace, pay a
fine not exceeding $600 and costs of prosecution, and in default of
one payment of the fine and costs, the violator may be sentenced to
the county jail for a term of not more than 30 days. A separate and
distinct violation shall be deemed committed each day on which a violation
occurs or continues.
Whenever the exigencies of public health or safety require that
instant repairs to gas, electric or water or sewer lines be made and
the procurement of a permit prior to the commencement of the work
is impracticable, it shall be lawful for said work to be begun without
a permit, provided that an application for said permit is filed and
the proper fee paid therefor within 48 hours from the time when an
emergency arose, which application shall set forth the nature of the
exigency aforesaid, and provided further that any person beginning
said work under the provisions of this section shall do so subject
to the conditions and obligations imposed by this article upon persons
opening, excavating, or using streets as though an application for
a permit had been filed.
No permit fee paid under this article shall be considered to
be in lieu of any annual license fees now required to be paid or which
may at any time be required to be paid by ordinance of Haverford Township.
