Town of Cazenovia, NY Construction in Highways

Those roads and highways and related appurtenances of the Town which are owned or maintained by the Town or otherwise exist as Town highways by dedication or use, including, without limitation, roadways, shoulders, guide rails, bridges, tunnels, culverts, sluices, ditches, swales, sidewalks or any utilities or improvements therein, thereon or thereunder.

§ 142-26 Exceptions.

This article shall not apply to the following:

Any construction or excavation which has been contracted for by the Town Board, or approved by the Town Board pursuant to another local law, ordinance, regulation or resolution.

Highway repairs and maintenance performed at the direction of the Highway Superintendent.

§ 142-27 Prohibited acts; permit required.

No person shall excavate in, under, over or through a Town highway or perform any construction within or otherwise interfere with a Town highway without first obtaining a permit for such work from the Highway Superintendent. Any such work performed shall fully comply with all conditions under which said permit is granted.

No person shall erect, place, deposit or plant, or cause to be erected, placed, deposited or planted, any fence, structure, device, tree, shrub or other object of a permanent nature within a Town highway.

No person, including but not limited to the owner, lessee or occupant of any premises, shall sweep, throw or deposit or cause to be swept, thrown or deposited any snow or ice into any Town highway from lands or premises abutting or adjoining such highway.

§ 142-28 Driveway permits.

No person shall construct or install a driveway entrance or exit or driveway culvert along a Town highway, including, but not limited to, installation of new driveways and culverts and paving, repaving and regrading of driveways, without first obtaining a driveway permit from the Highway Superintendent, who may, as a condition to granting such driveway permit, impose such reasonable requirements as he deems necessary.

No certificate of occupancy shall be issued with respect to any property for which a driveway entrance or exit or driveway culvert has been constructed or installed until the Highway Superintendent has certified, in writing, that said construction or installation is acceptable and in conformity with all requirements established by him.

§ 142-29 Permit applications.

Applications for permits required under § 142-27 and for driveway permits required under § 142-28 shall be made to the Highway Superintendent on a form prescribed by the Town Board.

§ 142-30 Processing applications; revocation of permit.

Upon the filing of a permit application and after study of the same and a personal examination of the proposed construction, the Highway Superintendent may approve or disapprove the permit application. In approving or disapproving any permit application, the Highway Superintendent shall consider all proposals for drainage, stormwater, grades, culverts, fill, facing, site distance and any other pertinent matters which would in any manner affect the Town highway by the completion of the work or the construction of the driveway proposed in the permit application.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, in all instances wherein the work to be performed within the Town highway has a cost in excess of $5,000, the consent of the Town Board shall be required. The consent of the Town Board and/or the Town Planning Board shall also be obtained when required by any other local or general law.

If approved, such permits shall be granted upon the following conditions and upon such other reasonable conditions as the Highway Superintendent or the Town Board may deem necessary:

(1)

The construction, excavation or other work shall not interfere with the public travel upon the Town highway.

(2)

All work shall be performed in a manner satisfactory to the Highway Superintendent or his representative.

(3)

The applicant shall backfill and otherwise leave the highway in all respects in as good condition as before said work was commenced.

(4)

Any structure, equipment or apparatus of any nature, including, but not limited to, driveways and culvert pipes, which lie within the highway right-of-way upon completion of the permitted work, shall remain the property of the applicant and the applicant and/or its successors and assigns shall be fully responsible for any and all maintenance and repairs with respect to the same.

(5)

The applicant shall, upon notice from the Highway Superintendent, make any repairs required for the protection and preservation of the highway, including any such repairs as may be required after completion of the work. In the event that the applicant shall fail or neglect to make such repairs, then such repairs may be made by the Highway Superintendent without further notice at the expense of the applicant. In the further event that such expenses are not paid by the applicant, they shall be a lien, prior to any other lien, upon the land benefited by the construction for which the permit was granted.

(6)

The permit may be revoked by the Highway Superintendent in the event that the applicant shall fail or neglect to comply with any of the conditions upon which said permit is granted or with the provisions of this article.

§ 142-31 Security.

As a further condition to granting a permit for work under § 142-27, the Highway Superintendent may require the applicant to deposit with the Town cash or a certified check in an amount to be determined by the Highway Superintendent; the Highway Superintendent shall consider the nature of the work, the responsibility of the applicant and any recommendations of the Town's consulting engineers. The Town Board may authorize the acceptance of a surety company bond in lieu of cash or a certified check.

Such security shall secure the applicant's satisfactory compliance with the conditions upon which the permit is granted and with the provisions of this article. In the event that the applicant fails or neglects to make any repairs ordered by the Highway Superintendent or fails to restore the highway to its original condition or in any other manner fails or neglects to satisfactorily comply with the conditions upon which the permit is granted and the provisions of this article, the Highway Superintendent is authorized to expend all or as much of such security as may be necessary to correct and remedy the applicant's failure or neglect. In the event that the amount of security is insufficient to cover the entire costs of such correction of remedy, the applicant shall be liable for such excess cost.

§ 142-32 Penalties for offenses; other remedies.

Any person violating any of the provisions of this article shall be subject to a maximum fine of $250 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding 15 days, or both, and each seven-day period of continued violation shall constitute a separate offense hereunder. In addition, the Town, upon a violation of this article, may also institute an action or proceeding, including one seeking an injunction, to prevent or remedy such violation.