[Adopted 3-16-1982 by Ord. No. 555-82 as Sec. 14-1 of the 1982 Revised General Ordinances (Ch. 287, Art. I, of the 1993 Code)]
[Amended 9-4-2012 by Ord. No. 1511-12]
No person shall dig up or excavate any street, avenue, alley, lane, highway, road, sidewalk, curb, pavement or other public place or any part thereof, the responsibility for maintenance of which is that of the Township, within the Township for the purpose of laying rails, pipes, mains, conducts or for any other purpose whatever, unless and until a written application as hereinafter provided is first made to and a permit granted by the Superintendent of Public Works.
The written application shall be signed by the applicant and shall delineate and accurately describe the section or sections to be dug up or excavated, the purposes, nature, scope, area and extent of the work and the length of time the work will require, and shall be supplemented by such other reasonable information as the Township may require. The procedure to be followed with respect to application for and issuance of a permit, together with the excavation of and restoration of a street or other public place to its original condition, shall be as set forth in an applicable resolution adopted by the Township Committee.
[Added 11-14-1994 by Ord. No. 965-94]
The applicant shall be charged the following fees for the issuance of each permit applied for:
A. 
Standard three feet by three feet or less opening: $50.
B. 
Everything in excess of three feet by three feet: $100.
Prior to the issuance of a permit, the applicant shall deposit with the Township a sum, by cash or certified check, equal to $5 per square yard to be excavated where there is no permanent hard surface and a sum equal to $10 per square yard where the surface or treatment to be excavated is brick, asphalt, bituminous, concrete, wood block or other permanent surface or treatment. In lieu of the deposit by cash or certified check, the applicant may deposit a surety bond of equal amount. Such bond must be approved by the Township Committee. Where several permits are desired throughout the year, a blanket bond in a sum to be fixed by the Township Committee, based on the estimated number of permits to be issued, may be given in lieu of a separate bond or deposit for each separate excavation. No permit shall become effective unless and until the deposit herein required shall be made. Any permit issued may be on such other reasonable terms and conditions as the Township may require in the public interest. Any deposit shall be retained by the Township until 30 days have elapsed from the date of the completion of the work of restoring at least to its original condition and appearance any section or sections so excavated, and shall be, until that time, security for any restoration herein provided, as well as security for any other damage or other loss the Township may incur or become subject to by reason of such excavation or any work connected therewith. In the event that any restoration herein provided shall not be completed within the time and on the terms and conditions set forth in the application or permit or in the event that such restoration shall be done otherwise than in good workmanlike and approved manner and in accordance with standard practice or in the event that the Township shall incur or become subject to any damage or other loss by reason of the work or excavation, then the deposit may be used and applied by the Township to the Township's work of restoration or to any such damage or loss. If the deposit is insufficient to answer therefor, the applicant shall be and become liable to the Township for any excess of the cost thereof over the deposit. In the event that the deposit is entirely sufficient and there is any surplus, the Township shall repay to the applicant any such surplus or balance remaining of the deposit.
[Amended 9-2-1997 by Ord. No. 1064-97]
All openings shall be backfilled with the excavated material approved by the Superintendent of Public Works or Township Engineer. The last eight inches will be six-inch bituminous stabilized base, rolled with equivalent capacity of a five- to ten-ton roller. All openings shall then be milled three inches beyond opening, two inches deep, saw cut edges to square off, then should be paved with bituminous FABC paving of two inches.
In the event that it shall be necessary to make an excavation in order to prevent an interruption of utility service or restore service, in order to conserve property, in order to protect the traveling public or under the other exigent or emergency circumstances, the excavation may be made, provided that an application for the permit provided for herein shall be made within 48 hours thereafter, and provided that compliance shall be made with the other provisions of this article. No excavation shall be made, however, unless the bond or deposit provided for herein shall first have been posted.
[Added 9-17-2013 by Ord. No. 1538A-13]
No permit shall be issued for any street opening which would disturb the pavement of any road having been constructed, reconstructed, paved, repaved, or overlaid until a period of five years after the completion of said construction, reconstruction, or overlay, except in the event of an emergency or hardship as described below. The five-year period as articulated herein shall be calculated from December 31 of the year in which said road was constructed, reconstructed or overlaid and run five years thereafter.
A. 
Emergency opening.
(1) 
Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section to the contrary, a road opening shall be permitted under the following circumstances which shall be deemed an "emergency" for purposes of this section:
(a) 
In order to repair a broken waterline.
(b) 
In order to repair a broken gas line.
(c) 
In order to repair a broken sanitary sewer line.
(d) 
In areas of documented groundwater contamination, to install a water service in order to abandon a potable water well that has become contaminated.
(e) 
In order to repair a broken underground electric, cable television, fiber optic, telecommunications or telephone line.
(2) 
Any person that has opened any street except under the circumstances set forth above, will be subject to the maximum penalty set forth in Chapter 1, Article III, of the Township Code. Each and every violation of any provision herein shall be considered a separate violation and shall subject the person so charged to the maximum penalty.
B. 
Waivers. The Township Committee shall have the authority to grant waivers from the provisions of this section. Written requests shall be submitted to the Township Clerk demonstrating that there is good cause to grant said waiver or that the applicant will suffer undue hardship if said waiver is not granted. The request must identify the location of the opening by reference to street address and indicate the size of the opening and the purpose for which it is needed.
C. 
Roadway restoration.
(1) 
In the event that an emergency or hardship requires the opening of a roadway that has been resurfaced by the Township during the previous five years, a full-width restoration will be required. The restoration shall be consistent with Township specifications. The restoration area shall extend 20 feet beyond the limit of excavations after proper settlement in the trench area. The allowable time for settlement shall be 60 days unless otherwise directed by the Township Engineer.
(2) 
Trench restoration may be permitted under special circumstances and at the option of the Township Engineer for openings having a minimum impact on the longevity and serviceability of the street in question.
[Added 8-13-2024 by Ord. No. 1753-24]
For all streets that have not been paved within the last five years, the applicant must patch and restore the street with infrared pavement repair technology so as to blend uniformly with the adjacent existing roadway. If the street opening to be trenched is greater than or equal to 50 linear feet, upon completion of same, the applicant shall restore (milling and repaving) the entire street surface from edge to edge, or curb to curb, for the full length of the excavation to the nearest intersection or as directed by the Township Engineer.
[Added 9-21-1993 by Ord. No. 923-93]
For violation of any provision of this article, the maximum penalty, upon conviction, shall not exceed the maximum penalties set forth in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article III. Each and every violation of any provision of this article shall be considered a separate violation and shall subject the person so charged to the maximum penalty.