[Adopted as Title 8, Ch. 4, of the 1977 Code[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This article was adopted 2-9-1997 by Ord.
No. 703 and amended 6-7-1977 by Ord. No. 866 and 9-6-1988 by Ord.
No. 1165.
[Amended 1-22-2018 by Ord. No. 1685]
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons, firm, association
or corporation to open or break the surface of the ground within the
boundaries of any public highway, road, street, avenue, public lane,
public alley, sidewalk or footpath for the purpose of setting, replacing
or planting of poles, cabinets, sheds, fences, retaining walls, obstructions,
structures, pipes, conduit, telegraph, telephone, electric light or
other poles, or for repairs thereto or renewals thereof, or for the
addition of any wireless, cellular, distributed antenna systems, telephone,
electric or any other facilities to poles, traffic or light standards,
or structures in a right-of-way without first obtaining from the said
Board of Commissioners a permit therefor before such work is begun,
and complying with the other requirements herein specified. The permit
shall be in force for the period of 90 days from its date.
Before such permit is issued and said work begun, a written
application on a blank form, to be furnished for that purpose by the
said Board of Township Commissioners, must be filed with the Department
of Highways, setting forth the purpose for which the said highway,
road, street, avenue, public lane, public alley, sidewalk or footpath
is to be opened, excavated or occupied, and the location of the said
proposed work, and in such application the applicant shall agree to
assume all liability for all or any damages to person or property
accruing to the public or to the said Township which may or might
result from the opening, excavating or occupying of said highway,
road, street, avenue, public lane, public alley, sidewalk or footpath.
All placements within the cartway or the sidewalk area shall be subject
to the right of the Township to thereafter require the same to be
relocated.
A.
The said application must be signed and filed, together with a bond
payable to the Township in the amount required by the Township, but
not less than $500, with surety approved by the Township, conditioned
to save the Township from loss or damage to its property and conditioned
to indemnify the Township against any and all claims, demands or actions
for damages sustained to persons or property by reason of anything
done in pursuance of the permit.
B.
Furthermore, the applicant shall, if required, file with the Township
certificates showing the issuance of a policy or policies of insurance
to the applicant, in amount of $100,000 to $200,000 public liability,
and $10,000 for property damages, insuring the applicant and the Township
against any loss by reason of any action, claim, payment or demand
made by anyone by reason of anything done by the applicant in pursuance
of such permit. The provisions of this section, however, shall not
apply to corporations whose operations are subject to the supervision
of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, provided that, upon
completion of the work, a maintenance bond approved by the Township,
guaranteeing repair of any excavation or other work for a period of
two years, be filed.
Before the issuance of a permit, the applicant shall make payment to the Township of the fees required by the fee schedule adopted by the Board of Commissioners and found in Chapter 140, Fees, Rates and Permits, § 140-28, of the Upper Moreland Township Code. Further, a license fee shall be assessed as provided in the above fee schedule.
All telegraph, telephone, trolley, electric light and similar
poles erected within the boundaries of any public highway, road, street,
avenue, public lane or public alley in the Township of Upper Moreland
shall be lettered or stenciled with the initials of the owners or
with some other designation of ownership, together with a number for
the same.
All materials, openings or excavations made or obstructions
created under such permits must be properly marked from sunset to
sunrise by red lights or an approved flashing yellow illuminating
device so placed as to indicate from the roadway in both directions
the exact location and limits of said work or obstruction and at all
times must be properly guarded. Any barricade or other stationary
device guarding the said work or obstruction must bear the name of
the permittee making the excavation.
[Amended 1-22-2018 by Ord. No. 1685]
The filing of an application by a public service corporation
or by anyone else and the issuance of a permit for the purpose of
setting, replacing or planting of poles, cabinets, sheds, fences,
retaining walls, obstructions, structures, pipes, conduit, telegraph,
telephone, electric light or other poles, or for repairs thereto or
renewals thereof, or for the addition of any wireless, cellular, distributed
antenna systems, telephone, electric or any other facilities shall
constitute an agreement on the part of the applicant that it will
at any time thereafter, upon notice from the Township or PennDOT,
at its own expense make such change in location or construction of
such pole as may be necessary in the exercise by the Township of its
right to control its rights-of-way. No pole utilized for a distributed
antenna system (DAS) may exceed 45 feet in height, with an antenna
installation no greater than three feet above that height, and a change
in the height of any existing pole shall be by permit only.
[Amended 1-22-2018 by Ord. No. 1685]
Unless otherwise permitted to a public utility, anyone seeking
a permit to install or alter a pole or other structure in a public
right-of-way must submit a completed right-of-way agreement with Upper
Moreland Township or the owner of the right-of-way, and with the owner
of the pole or other structure which is proposed to be altered or
installed or to which any facilities, antennae and appendages are
proposed to be installed. The agreement shall provide for the structural
integrity of the pole or other structure as well as insurance and
an indemnity to the Township and nearby landowners for any damage,
harm or injury caused by the pole or facilities thereon. Permit holders
shall provide proof that its devices, appendages, and antennae are
certified by Underwriters Laboratory or by another nationally recognized
testing laboratory as safe and that the poles, traffic signals, light
standards or other structure to which and appendages are to be attached
are structurally sound. No antennae may be installed in a right-of-way
that is not located in or along a sidewalk, street, road or highway.
Any deviation from the restrictions imposed by this article and any
amendment thereof must be approved by the Board of Commissioners or
a committee designated by it to authorize such deviations. Any deviation
so authorized must be set forth on the face of the permit under which
the excavation or construction is being carried out.
Any owner, person, firm, association or corporation who shall
violate any of the provisions of this article or who shall fail to
comply with the conditions or requirements of any permit granted in
accordance with the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction
thereof, be liable to pay a fine of not less than $50 nor more than
$600 for each and every offense. A new and separate offense shall
be deemed to have been committed for each day that said violation
exists. All fines imposed by the article are recoverable by summary
proceedings before any magisterial district judge in the Township
of Upper Moreland and, upon recovery thereof, all such fines are to
be paid into the treasury of the Township. In default of the payment
of any fine imposed by any magisterial district judge under the provisions
of this article, the person or persons so offending may be committed
to the jail, workhouse or other penal institution of Montgomery County
for a period not exceeding 30 days.
