[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of Mahanoy City 9-4-1990 by Ord. No. 90-6,[1]; amended in its entirety 3-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-3. Subsequent amendments noted where applicable.]
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 - Table 1 - Fee ScheduleAttachment 2 - Application for Opening and Excavation of StreetsAttachment 3 - Figur 1 - Street Opening Permit Restoration Detail
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 93, Excavations in Streets, adopted 7-8-1969 by Ord. No. 361, as amended.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person or persons, firm or firms, association or associations, corporation or corporations, utility or utilities, or authority or authorities to make or cause to be made any excavation of any nature whatsoever in any street, avenue, alley, lane, or right-of-way within the Borough limits without first securing a permit granting authority therefor as hereinafter provided.
B. 
For excavations in Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) rights-of-way, SR 0054 (East and West Centre Streets), SR 0339 (North Main Street), and SR 1010 (South Main Street and East Spruce Street), applicant is responsible for obtaining the applicable PennDOT approval (highway occupancy permit) and providing a copy of the approved permit to the Borough Secretary-Treasurer prior to initiating any work.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
APPLICANT
Any person or persons, firm or firms, association or associations, corporation or corporations, utility or utilities, or authority or authorities applying for and to whom a permit may be issued.
EMERGENCY
A serious situation or occurrence that happens unexpectedly and demands immediate action. Instances of emergencies include, but are not limited to, water main breaks, sewer line breaks, stormwater main breaks, and power failures that endanger the health and welfare of the public.
EXCAVATION and EXCAVATIONS and ROAD OPENING
The digging of any trench or excavation through or under the roadway or sidewalk or the cutting into or opening and removal of any of the pavement surfaces of any street, avenue, alley or lane within the Borough limits.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
Legal property of the Borough, including paved and unpaved roadway, shoulders, or alleys.
A. 
An application for the issuance of a permit shall be filed in the office of the Secretary-Treasurer of the Borough upon forms furnished by the Borough for that purpose, and shall be signed by the applicant. Said application shall set forth the location and purpose of the proposed excavation, the dates between which said excavation is to be open, the length, width and depth of the trench, the area of the roadway surfaces to be removed, the names of all persons interested in or to be benefited by the work to be done, and such further information as the official may require.
B. 
The applicant shall agree to protect and defend and indemnify and save harmless the Borough or officers or agents thereof from all claims, suits, actions and proceedings of every nature and description which may be brought against the Borough or officers or agents thereof for or on account of any injuries or damages to persons or public or private property due to any materials or appliances used in the work or by or on account of improper materials or workmanship or for or on account of any accident or any other act, negligence or omissions of said applicant or his agents, servants or employees, and the Borough shall not in any way be liable therefor.
C. 
The applicant shall agree to pay the entire cost and expense incurred in the replacement of the excavations, and the Borough shall at all times have the right and authority to correct any and all omissions in the conduct of the work and have the power to take possession of and to do all the work and charge the expense thereof to the applicant. The expense so charged shall be deducted and paid by said Borough out of such moneys as may have been deposited with the Borough, and in case such expense shall exceed the sum of deposit with the Borough, then the applicant shall pay the amount of the excess to said Borough. The applicant shall agree to restore the street, alley or lane, including proper backfilling and repaving, and to pay the entire cost.
D. 
The applicant shall also agree to safeguard and maintain in good order the excavation until such time as the Borough may temporarily or permanently restore the street surface and to assume all cost and expense due to defective backfilling for the period of one year after the date of the completion of the excavation, provided that said date does not lie between November 15 and May 1, otherwise to date from the latter date.
E. 
The applicant shall further agree to abide by all the terms and conditions of the ordinances under which the permit is granted, whether specifically mentioned in the application or not.
F. 
No permit shall be granted to any applicant unless said applicant shall have paid to the Borough any and all moneys when due to the Borough for prior excavations made or for any loss, damages or expense in any manner occasioned by or arising from the excavation of streets, alleys or highways of the Borough under prior permit.
G. 
The Borough may revoke any permit granted to an applicant and order all work to stop should the permittee fail to follow the requirements, specifications and directives set forth in this chapter or in the Borough Code or for failure to perform the work in a safe manner. A permit may be restored if the Borough Engineer or other appropriate Borough official deems that the conditions leading to the revocation have been removed or satisfied, but such restoration of a permit may require additional fees for inspection or the like.
A. 
Said applicant, during the progress of the work, shall provide and maintain such fences, barriers, "street closed" or "danger" signs, red lights and watchmen as may be necessary to prevent avoidable accidents to the public and adjoining tenants. The convenience of the public and temporary approaches to and crossings of intersecting streets shall be provided for and kept in good condition where practicable. The sidewalks or portions of the street adjoining the work or its vicinity shall not be littered or obstructed more than necessary, and the drainage gutters and inlets to the stormwater sewers shall at all times be kept clean and unobstructed.
B. 
Borough roads shall not be closed unless requested, in writing, and approved by the Borough. Applicants must submit a detour plan, signing plan and any additional information required by the Borough Engineer along with a road closure request. Roadways to be closed shall be conspicuously posted along the roadway to be closed a minimum of 48 hours in advance of the proposed closure. The posting shall be visible and easily read from vehicles utilizing the roadway and shall indicate the dates and times the roadway is to be closed. Provisions shall be made by the applicant for detours around the proposed road closure. All detour signs and additional traffic control shall be at the expense of the applicant. In all instances, emergency vehicles must be provided access to areas of the road closure. The applicant must submit a copy of the road closure request to the Police Department and Borough Fire Chief.
A. 
Excavation shall be by opencut from the surface, and no tunneling or drifting will be permitted except by permission and so noted on the permit. The amount of trench opened and also the amount unfilled shall at all times be subject to the decision of the Borough. No trench or excavation shall be undercut or have a greater width at the bottom than at the top. In case of slips or slides of the sides of the excavation, the same shall be trimmed to solid earth and the top surface cut back to the limit of the same before any backfilling is commenced. When necessary or required, the sides of a trench shall be sheathed and braced and rendered secure until the construction has been laid therein and the trench refilled. Care shall be taken not to move or disturb other subsurface structures, and in crossing these or running parallel with or near them, they shall be completed. The applicant shall maintain their respective services and shall repair all damage done to any of said structures. In rock excavation, all drilling and blasting shall be conducted with the greatest possible care and all possible precautions taken to guard against accidents.
B. 
All excavations shall be commenced and completed by the use of a reasonable workforce working around the clock, or, in the alternative, all excavated material shall be removed, and at the cessation of work, suitable steel or wooden plates shall be placed over the excavation in order that traffic can continue over the excavation while it is not being worked on. It shall be the duty of any person or persons, firm or corporation to whom a permit is issued or by whom any opening or excavation is made as aforesaid to provide and maintain proper vehicular and pedestrian traffic control, including adequate guards, barriers and lights to prevent accidents, and they shall assume all risks and be liable for all damages by reason of the openings and excavations or any failure to properly fill the hole or trench and maintain the disturbed surface in a safe condition.
C. 
In backfilling, only approved crushed-stone screenings, as shown on Figure 1,[1] shall be used. The method of backfilling shall be such as to ensure that the fill is thoroughly compacted to 97% Proctor density. The method or methods used to compact shall be subject to the approval of the Borough, which shall have the power to issue regulations as to such method. In all unimproved streets, the surface of the trenches, after being filled and settled, shall be finished in a most workmanlike manner, without needless delay, and shall in every respect be equal in quality, character and materials to the street surface existing previous to making the excavation. In all improved streets, the crown of the surface must conform to the adjacent street surface until sufficient time has elapsed to warrant the restoration, either temporarily or permanently, of the pavement surface. All such restorations of pavement surfaces will be made by the Borough under existing contracts or by its own forces and the cost thereof charged to the applicant.
[1]
Editor's Note: Figure 1 - Street Opening Permit Restoration Details is included as an attachment to this chapter.
D. 
In the replacement or restoration of permanent roadway surfaces, the Borough shall have the right and authority to require the applicant to cut back the surfaces and supporting base as far as may be deemed necessary to afford a good support upon firm earth or to remove any part of the surface and base which may have become injured by reason of said excavation.
E. 
State and Borough forms and regulations. Should the forms, specifications and/or regulations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the Borough, which are incorporated by reference in this chapter, be subsequently amended, replaced or in any other way changed, this chapter shall be automatically amended to incorporate herein the subsequent, similar forms, specifications and/or regulations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Borough. It is the intent of this chapter to achieve a strong degree of uniformity therewith.
F. 
Any damage to a Borough road, signage, sidewalk, pavement markings, etc., must be repaired or improved in-kind, at no cost to the Borough.
In no case shall an applicant open or remove a greater area of surface and at no other location then specified in the original application; provided, however, that, if at the time of actually doing the work it should be necessary to open or remove a greater area of surface than originally applied for, the applicant shall first notify and secure, by telephone or otherwise, the consent of the Borough to do so, upon the express condition that said applicant shall and will, before 12:00 noon of the following business day, file a supplementary application for the making of an additional excavation.
A deposit shall be made by the applicant with the Secretary-Treasurer of the Borough to cover the cost of street restoration in the event that the work performed by the applicant is unsatisfactory. This deposit shall be based upon a rate per square foot as fixed by the Borough of Mahanoy City, as set forth subsequently in this chapter, and said deposit shall be retained by the Borough for 12 months from the completion of the work of restoration and replacement. A fee will be paid by the applicant to cover the cost of issuing the permit and inspections of the surface restoration. Said fee is also to be established by the Secretary-Treasurer of the Borough in accordance with procedures subsequently established in this chapter. In all cases where a permit has been issued and the work set forth in such permit has not been done, the same shall be canceled and the deposit fee paid for the same shall be repaid by the Borough. Any fee for issuance of the permit shall not be returnable.
The Borough shall, by proper voucher, refund to said applicant the difference in cost of the replacement of said excavations and the amount deposited, and in case the cost of replacement shall exceed the amounts so deposited, then the excess shall be charged to the applicant. The sums due the Borough shall be paid within 30 days from the date of rendering a statement to said applicant, and no permit shall be issued to any applicant until all accounts due the Borough on previous permits granted to him and owing shall have been paid.
A. 
All applicants for permits required by this chapter shall pay to the Borough a fee as set forth in the Fee Schedule, Table 1,[1] for any opening, drilling or excavation on any public streets, including the following elements:
(1) 
Permit issuance.
(2) 
Inspection fee.
(3) 
Restoration deposit fee.
[1]
Editor's Note: Table 1 - Fee Schedule, is included as an attachment to this chapter.
B. 
These fees, as provided in Table 1 - Fee Schedule, may be adjusted from time to time by the Borough Council by resolution.
A. 
Any utility, upon proper notification to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Borough, may secure a booklet of permits. When these utilities require a permit for a street opening they shall:
(1) 
Complete the permit as required.
(2) 
Notify the Secretary-Treasurer of the Borough by telephone of the number of the permit, the location of the opening and the size of the opening.
(3) 
Immediately mail the permit to the Secretary-Treasurer of the Borough.
B. 
The utility shall notify the Secretary-Treasurer of the Borough 24 hours in advance of the street opening unless said opening is deemed an emergency. In this event, the utility shall so inform the Secretary-Treasurer of the Borough as soon as the decision to excavate is made.
A. 
Every applicant shall deposit with the Secretary-Treasurer of the Borough the sums for making excavations as herein provided, as provided in Table 1 - Fee Schedule,[1] including the following elements:
(1) 
Blacktop streets or sidewalks: charged per square foot of opening, with a minimum as noted.
(2) 
Concrete paved street or sidewalk or concrete base with bituminous surface: charged per square foot of opening, with a minimum as noted.
(3) 
Drill hole (maximum six-inch diameter): charged per hole. All holes with a diameter greater than six inches shall be determined to be excavations subject to the other resurfacing and excavation fees set forth in this section.
(4) 
When street surface is unimproved: charged per square foot of opening, with a minimum as noted.
(5) 
A charge per square foot per foot of depth shall be added to the above fees for any excavations greater than six feet in depth.
[1]
Editor's Note: Table 1 - Fee Schedule, is included as an attachment to this chapter.
B. 
In computing the area for the purpose of determining the amounts to be deposited, the size of the opening shall include the total area within the pavement cut, including the one-foot perimeter.
Every applicant prior to commencing excavations shall deposit with the Secretary-Treasurer of the Borough the fees required unless a waiver is granted by the Secretary-Treasurer of the Borough. In the event a waiver is granted for payment prior to excavation, the applicant shall pay the Borough all fees by the 10th of the month following the month in which the excavations were made. It shall be the responsibility of each applicant who receives a waiver to tabulate the size of the opening and forward the moneys to the Borough. These moneys should include permit fees and resurfacing fees.
In the event that an applicant requests a waiver from payments required prior to the excavation, a performance bond, in an amount sufficient for the total cost of all street excavations and restorations contemplated in the applicant's application for a permit, shall be filed with the Secretary-Treasurer of the Borough after computation by the Borough Engineer. In no event shall the bond be set at an amount less than $2,000.
A. 
When an opening is made in the existing paved street, the pavement shall be cut one foot wider around the entire perimeter of the intended excavation.
B. 
All lines shall be neat and not irregular.
C. 
Prior to the excavation of any opening, the applicant shall contact all utilities having underground installations in the Borough in accordance with Pennsylvania Act 287, Underground Utility Line Protection Law, also known as the "PA One Call Law," as amended.[1] Any person obtaining a permit for a street opening shall accept full responsibility for any damage caused in any way whatsoever to underground installations other than his own and shall make complete restitution for their repair or replacement.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 73 P.S. § 176 et seq.
A. 
All openings or excavations shall be backfilled immediately by the permit holder upon completion of work and in no case shall remain open for a period exceeding 24 hours from the completion of repair work, unless otherwise approved by the Borough. Restoration shall follow Figure 1 - Street Opening Permit Restoration Details[1].
[1]
Editor's Note: Figure 1 - Street Opening Permit Restoration Details, is included as an attachment to this chapter.
B. 
Material excavated from a street opening shall not be used for backfill.
C. 
The excavation shall be backfilled with 2A modified aggregate conforming to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation specifications and compacted with pneumatic or mechanical tampers in eight-inch lifts to within six inches of the existing surface. The last six inches shall be completed with four inches of bituminous concrete base course and 1 1/2 to two inches of Superpave wearing course. All openings shall be sealed in accordance with Pennsylvania Department of Transportation specifications.
D. 
All sidewalks shall be restored in accordance with the Borough's standard curb and sidewalk details and approved by the Borough Engineer.
E. 
In the event that bituminous material is not available, temporary cold patch conforming to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation specifications shall be used as a temporary surface only, and it shall be the responsibility of the holder of the permit to maintain the street surface until permanent repairs can be made. If the holder of the permit fails at any time to place sufficient bituminous material as a temporary surface or maintain such temporary bituminous material to a level of the adjacent street surface unaffected by the opening, the Borough reserves the right to immediately take over maintenance of such opening and charge the cost thereof in addition to the cost of permanent paving restoration.
F. 
Restoration details shall be forwarded to the Borough for approval by the Borough Engineer.
A. 
Every opening or excavation made in any public street or alley of the Borough shall be inspected by an authorized representative of the Borough. It shall be the responsibility of the applicant to inform the Secretary-Treasurer of the Borough of its excavating and backfilling schedule in order for the Borough to properly inspect said opening.
B. 
If the work in filling or maintaining the surface shall not be promptly or shall be unskillfully or improperly or incompletely done, the Borough Engineer and/or the Road Foreman may cause the same to be done in the manner they deem proper after at least 10 days' written notice to the permittee that the same be done; and the expense thereof, including any overhead expense, shall be charged to the permittee, together with 10% additional as penalty. No permit shall be issued to any person, firm or corporation in default under this section until the costs and penalty herein provided are paid, and no further permit shall be granted to any person, firm or corporation, bureau or utility unless and until the openings or excavations already caused by him or it have been properly filled and the surface maintained as aforesaid, in safe condition and at the proper grade, of which said Engineer and/or Road Foreman shall be the judge.
All public-service corporations desiring to disturb the paving on any Borough street shall adhere to all the foregoing provisions in the previous sections, with the exception that final street restoration work will not be done by the Borough. All restoration work, including application of a wearing surface, shall be accomplished by the public-service corporation. In the event that the Chairman of the Street Committee determines that a substantial area of a street or highway will be disturbed by excavation to be performed by the public-service corporation, the Borough Council may require that the public-service corporation place a one-inch ID2 overlay to cover the entire length and width; that is, from curb to curb of the street disturbed. Any public-service corporation desiring to disturb the paving on any Borough street may furnish a properly executed and approved surety company bond, conditioned for the faithful compliance with the ordinances of the Borough of Mahanoy City relating to the making of excavations in the streets and highways and regulations made in pursuance thereof, in place of the cash deposit required under § 93-7 of this chapter. However, the public-service corporation shall be required to pay to the Borough of Mahanoy City an amount equal to 15% of the applicable resurfacing fees for payment of supervision and inspection by the Borough. In the event that any public-service corporation makes a number of openings each year, the amount of the bond shall be 40% of the previous year's permit fees, but in no event shall it be less than the particular project.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person who violates or permits a violation of this chapter shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough in the enforcement proceedings. Upon judgment against any person by summary conviction, or by proceedings by summons on default of the payment of the fine or penalty imposed and the costs, the defendant may be sentenced and committed to the county correctional facility for a period not exceeding 30 days. Each day that such violation exists shall constitute a separate offense, and each section of this chapter that is violated shall also constitute a separate offense. In addition to or in lieu of enforcement under this section, the Borough may enforce this chapter in equity in the Court of Common Pleas of Schuylkill County.