[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Cooperstown 5-29-2012 by L.L. No. 5-2012. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Streets and sidewalks — See Ch. 240.
This chapter shall be known as the "Village of Cooperstown Road
Preservation Local Law."
The Village Board of the Village of Cooperstown finds that a
well-maintained and good and passable street system within the Village
is vital to the Village's economic well-being and the well-being
of its residents. It is the purpose and intent of this chapter to
ensure that all Village-owned streets and roads as well as all other
streets, highways and roads within the legal boundaries of the Village,
regardless of whether or not owned by the Village, but which are repaired
or maintained by the Village, are not damaged or harmed to the overall
detriment of the Village by a few individual users who utilize said
streets, highways and roads in a manner that causes extraordinary
deterioration and/or wear and tear to said streets and roads.
This chapter is enacted by the Village Board of the Village
of Cooperstown pursuant to its authority to adopt local laws under
the New York State Constitution, the Municipal Home Rule Law and the
New York State Village Law. More specifically and in large part, this
chapter is enacted pursuant to the authority granted under the New
York State Vehicle and Traffic Law.
A.
All vehicles (other than vehicles owned by the Village, town, county
or state) having a gross weight of four or more tons are specifically
excluded and prohibited from travelling upon or over any portion of
the streets, highways or roadways owned by the Village of Cooperstown.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, vehicles performing local pickup or
delivery shall be considered exempt from the foregoing prohibition.
B.
No vehicles weighing in excess of 10 tons (other than vehicles owned
by the Village, town, county or state) shall use any such street,
highway or roadway maintained or repaired by the Village of Cooperstown,
within the legal boundaries of the Village (regardless of the ownership
thereof), except when performing local pickup and delivery services
or as hereinafter permitted.
(1)
Notwithstanding the foregoing prohibition, the foregoing exclusion
shall not be construed to prohibit "occasional" use as the same is
defined herein.
(2)
The provisions of the foregoing restrictions on use (§ 200-4B) may be waived by the Village of Cooperstown Superintendent of the Department of Public Works in accordance with the following provisions:
(a)
At least 30 days prior to the commencement of any activity that
will involve the use of roads or highways in the Village of Cooperstown
by vehicles having a gross weight in excess of 10 tons on more than
an occasional basis (as defined herein), the owner of the lands to
be served by said vehicles and the operator of said vehicle(s) or
the owner or operator of a fleet of vehicles shall obtain a permit
authorizing the proposed use, which permit shall be granted only in
accordance with the following terms and conditions:
[1]
The applicant shall submit a detailed plan to the Village of
Cooperstown Superintendent of the Department of Public Works evidencing
the exact route to be used; the direction of travel; the nature, type
and number of vehicles; the weight of each vehicle; the number and
frequency of the proposed use(s); dirt, dust and noise control and
mitigation measures to be employed; and the specific hours and duration
of use. A processing fee designed to cover the cost incurred by the
Village and/or the Village of Cooperstown Superintendent of the Department
of Public Works in reviewing and approving said plan, as established
and contained on the Village's Schedule of Fees, shall accompany
the plan.
[2]
The Village of Cooperstown Superintendent of the Department
of Public Works shall determine if the described proposed terms of
use (i.e., frequency, weight, duration, nature of cargo, etc.) have
the potential to damage the highways and roadways lying within and
repaired or maintained by the Village. If the Village of Cooperstown
Superintendent of the Department of Public Works determines that no
or very minimal damage is likely to occur by virtue of the described
proposed use, a permit may be granted by the Village of Cooperstown
Superintendent of the Department of Public Works authorizing the specific
use, frequency and duration proposed in the waiver application. If
it is determined by the Village of Cooperstown Superintendent of the
Department of Public Works that damage to the Village's highways
may occur as a result of the described proposed use, said Village
of Cooperstown Superintendent of the Department of Public Works may
impose such conditions and restrictions on the use, frequency and
duration as are reasonable and as are designed to minimize damage
to Village streets and roadways [i.e., use of a specific route or
routes, dust and noise control measures, periodic (including daily)
restoration of the roadway(s) to "pre-use" condition, use only when
roads are not compromised by weather or moisture conditions, number
of trips, reduced weight of vehicles, etc.]. Such conditions may also
include the requirement that an indemnity bond be provided; indeed,
if the Village of Cooperstown Superintendent of the Department of
Public Works determines that damage to the streets, highways and roadways
within the boundaries of the Village of Cooperstown could, by reason
of the proposed use, exceed $5,000 in value, a bond shall be required
in an amount sufficient to cover the full cost of the repair of the
possible damage. If a bond is required, the original bond shall be
filed in the Village of Cooperstown's Clerk's office. Upon
completion of the activity requiring the use of the Village's
roadways, the operator or owner shall apply to the Village of Cooperstown's
Superintendent of the Department of Public Works for the release of
the bond. Upon inspection of the Village's roadways, as necessary,
the Village of Cooperstown's Superintendent of the Department
of Public Works may authorize the release of the bond. If, after inspection,
the release is not approved, the Village of Cooperstown Superintendent
of the Department of Public Works shall document the work to be performed
to restore the Village's streets and roadways to their pre-use
condition, which work must be performed before the bond is released.
[3]
If the Village of Cooperstown's Superintendent of the Department
of Public Works determines that a pre-use inspection or analysis by
a qualified engineer is needed prior to the issuance of a permit to
use the streets, highways or roadways within the boundaries of the
Village, the Village of Cooperstown's Superintendent of the Department
of Public Works is hereby authorized to hire such engineer and to
require that the applicant pay the cost of obtaining such engineering
analysis in advance.
[4]
The Village of Cooperstown's Superintendent of the Department
of Public Works shall have 30 days from the date the application to
use the highways and roadways within the boundaries of the Village
is filed or from the receipt of the engineer's pre-use inspection
report, whichever occurs later, to grant or deny the permit. Should
the permit not be acted upon by the Village of Cooperstown's
Superintendent of the Department of Public Works within the foregoing
period(s), it shall be deemed granted without condition.
Any landowner or vehicle owner who is shown to have prior knowledge
of this chapter and who benefits from the use of the streets, highways
and roadways within the boundaries of the Village of Cooperstown without
ensuring compliance with the aforesaid provisions shall be responsible
for any and all damage occasioned by said unpermitted or unauthorized
use to the Village's streets and roadways as well as to any highways
within the boundaries of the Village of Cooperstown which are repaired
or maintained by the Village.
The Village of Cooperstown, through its agents or employees,
may, in addition to any other remedy authorized under law, issue a
stop-order order or obtain such other necessary form of injunction
should an operator or owner fail to comply with the terms of this
chapter.
In addition to injunctive and other relief, violators may be
fined up to $500 for each and every separate violation of the provisions
of this chapter.
An applicant, owner or operator, or Village resident who is
dissatisfied with any decision of the Village of Cooperstown Superintendent
of the Department of Public Works under any section of this chapter
shall have the right to appeal such unfavorable decision or any of
its terms to the Village Board of the Village of Cooperstown within
20 days of the decision being complained of.
The following words shall, as used in this chapter, be defined
as follows:
A delivery commencing and/or terminating within the legally
defined boundaries of the Village of Cooperstown. For the purposes
of this definition only, the "Cooperstown High School Campus" and
the "Farmers' Museum/Fenimore Art Museum and NYSHA complex" shall
be considered as being within the legally defined boundaries of the
Village of Cooperstown.
No more than five uses of any highway or roadway within the
bounds of the Village of Cooperstown by a vehicle or vehicles weighing
more than 10 tons, which vehicles are individually or collectively
serving any one property or common project on any one day.
Wheresoever this term is used in this chapter it shall be
interpreted to include the phase "or other person(s) designated by
the Village of Cooperstown Board of Trustees."
