[Adopted 6-10-1930 by Ord. No. 204; amended in its entirety 10-5-1987 by Ord. No. 568 (Ch. 21, Part 1, of the 1987 Code of Ordinances)]
A. 
The following words, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except in those instances where the context clearly indicates otherwise:
EXCAVATION
Any activity within the right-of-way of any street, alley or cartway which involves cutting, breaking or disturbing the surface thereof. In this article, the term "opening" shall have essentially the same meaning as "excavation."
PERSON
Any natural person, partnership, firm, association, corporation or municipal authority.
STREET
Any public street, avenue, road, square, alley, highway or other public place located in the Borough and established for the use of vehicles, but shall not include state highways.
B. 
In this article, the singular shall include the plural and the masculine shall include the feminine and the neuter.
Any person who shall desire to make any opening or excavation in any of the streets in the Borough shall make application to the Borough Manager in writing for that purpose. Such application shall be made upon blanks to be furnished by the Borough and shall set forth the name of the applicant, the exact location of the proposed opening or excavation, and the approximate size or depth thereof, and shall contain an agreement on the part of the applicant that the work shall be done in full compliance with the ordinances of the Borough and the laws of the commonwealth in relation thereto, and that the applicant shall well and truly save, defend and keep harmless the Borough from and indemnify it against any and all actions, suits, demands, payments, costs and charges for or by reason of the proposed opening or excavation, and all damages to persons or property resulting in any manner therefrom or occurring in the prosecution of the work connected therewith, or from any other matter, cause or thing relating thereto.
A. 
Before any permit shall be issued to open or excavate any street in the Borough, the applicant shall pay a permit fee as established from time to time by resolution of Council to cover the cost of inspection and other incidental services in connection therewith. When application shall be made to open or excavate any longitudinal opening or excavation in excess of 10 feet, before any permit shall be issued so to open or excavate, the applicant shall pay, in addition to such minimum fee, an additional fee for each 100 feet or fraction thereof to be opened or excavated upon such street.
B. 
In case of roadway surfaces of concrete, warenite, fibertine, amiesite, asphalt mixture, penetrating or similar materials, openings and breaks shall be filled and finished as required by the Borough, and there shall be paid by the person applying for permit, in addition to the sum required in this section, an additional charge for bituminous concrete.
Permits shall be issued only to persons furnishing public utility services or the owner or owners of the real property adjoining the location where such opening or excavation is to be made.
Any permit issued hereunder shall specify the exact location where the opening or excavation is to be made, the approximate permitted size or depth thereof and the time within which the work for which the permit is granted is to be completed.
A permit may be issued to the applicant after all the requirements therefor have been filed. If the application is disapproved, written notice of disapproval, together with reasons therefor, shall be given to the applicant.
The work authorized by the permit is subject to all the provisions of the Act of December 10, 1974, P.L. 852, No. 287,[1] as amended or supplemented from time to time. It shall be the permittee's responsibility to contact the utilities that have recorded their facilities in compliance with said Act. A partial list of utilities providing services in the Borough and their office addresses may be obtained from the County Recorder of Deeds.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 73 P.S. § 176 et seq., the Underground Utility Line Protection Law.
[Amended 2-1-2010 by Ord. No. 671]
A. 
Any person who shall open or excavate any street in the Borough shall thoroughly and completely refill the opening or excavation in such a manner as to prevent any settling thereafter and shall restore the surface to the same condition as it was before the opening or excavation, and such restoration shall be in accordance with the specifications of the Department of Transportation of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, which are hereby adopted as specifications of the Borough for restoration of surfaces of streets in the Borough; as restored, the surface shall conform to the proper grade and be of the same surface covering as the part of the thoroughfare immediately adjoining the opening. If within two years after the restoration of the surface as herein provided defects shall appear therein resulting from defective backfilling by the applicant, the applicant shall reimburse the Borough for the cost of all necessary repairs to the permanent paving.
B. 
Permanent pavement restoration to all excavated streets shall be performed by the applicant within 30 days after completion of the initial work unless weather conditions prevent the completion of permanent restoration, at the discretion of the Borough Manager. In that case, the permanent pavement restoration shall be completed as soon as the weather conditions permit the restoration. Permanent pavement restoration shall consist of at least an eight-inch-thick bituminous concrete base course and a two-inch-thick wearing course, in accordance with the most recent Pennsylvania Department of Transportation standards. Additionally, edges of the excavation shall first be cut 12 inches and the edges shall be hot sealed with application of AC-20 bituminous sealer after placement of the paving.
C. 
When four or more openings, or one continuous opening, have been made within 100 linear feet of pavement, the applicant shall complete permanent pavement restoration as provided herein for the entire length of the street between the ends of the furthest openings, extending from the curbline into the street a distance one foot beyond the center line of the street or one foot beyond the trench, whichever is greater.
D. 
If the Borough Manager finds that the paving surface adjacent to the street excavation is damaged, or where a number of cross trenches are laid in proximity to one another, or where equipment used by the applicant causes damage to the street or adjacent streets where the street excavation occurs, the Borough Manager may order the permanent pavement restoration as provided herein to the damaged street from curbline to curbline.
All other work in connection with openings in any street, including excavation, protection, refilling and temporary paving, shall be done by or for the person to whom or which the permit has been issued at his or its expense, and all such work shall be subject to the provisions of this article and to the supervision and approval of the Borough Manager, provided that the Borough Manager may, if he deems it necessary to the proper performance of the work, require that cutting of the surface of streets and the backfilling of all excavations therein shall be done by the Borough; in which event the applicant shall pay the actual cost of the work performed by the Borough.
A. 
No opening or excavation in any street shall extend from the curbline into the highway a distance greater than one foot beyond the center line of the street before being refilled and the surface of the highway restored to a condition safe and convenient for travel.
B. 
No more than 500 feet longitudinally shall be opened in any street at any one time.
C. 
The work of excavation shall be so conducted as not to interfere with the water mains, sewers or their connections with the houses, or any other subsurface lines or constructions, until permission of the proper authorities in connection with such subsurface lines or constructions shall have been obtained.
D. 
No tunneling shall be allowed without the express approval of the Borough Manager and permission therefor endorsed upon the permit. The backfilling of a tunnel excavation shall be made only in the presence of the Borough Manager or an inspector designated by him and shall be done only in a method approved by him.
E. 
All openings or excavations shall be backfilled promptly with modified 2A stones and thoroughly compacted in layers, each of which layers shall not exceed eight inches in depth. Backfilling shall be placed to within 10 inches of the surface.
F. 
A temporary paving of cold-patch premix, thoroughly bound and compacted, shall be installed flush with the surface of the adjoining paving and maintained for a period of 90 days.
G. 
On concrete base streets, such base shall be replaced with concrete and the minimum size of the opening or excavation shall be 16 square feet.
H. 
During the making of any excavation in the street, every necessary and reasonable precaution shall be taken by the applicant and the parties making the same to keep the street in a safe and passable condition both day and night by guards, barriers, lanterns and other devices, and all excavating permits granted hereunder are granted under and subject to the express condition that the person to whom the same is issued shall indemnify, save and keep harmless the Borough from any loss in damages or otherwise whatsoever which may or shall be occasioned at any time by the said excavation or by any leak, explosion or other injury from any pipe, apparatus, conduit or any other matter placed in the said excavation.
I. 
The applicant shall notify the Borough Manager when the opening or excavation is ready for backfilling before any backfilling is done, when backfilling work is completed, when the temporary paving has been installed and when the street has been permanently restored so that inspections may be made.
J. 
In the event that any work performed by or for a permit holder shall, in the opinion of the Borough Manager, be unsatisfactory and the same shall not be corrected in accordance with his instructions within the time fixed by him, or in the event that the work for which the permit was granted is not completed within the time fixed by the Borough Manager, the Borough may proceed to correct such unsatisfactory work or complete any such work not completed, and charge the cost thereof, plus 20%, to the applicant.
In the case of any leak, explosion or other accident in any subsurface pipe, line, construction or apparatus, it shall be lawful for the person owning or responsible for such pipe, line, construction or apparatus to commence an excavation to remedy such condition before securing a permit, provided that application for a permit shall be made immediately and not later than the next business day thereafter and that all other provisions of this article are fully complied with. If any such emergency condition shall not be immediately attended to by the owner or person responsible for such pipe, line, construction or apparatus, the Borough Manager, after such notice as he shall deem necessary under the circumstances of the particular case, shall proceed to do the work necessary and required by such emergency and charge the same on the basis of cost, plus 20%, to such owner or person.
The permission herein granted does not confer upon the permittee or its contractors the right to cut, remove or destroy trees or shrubbery within the legal right-of-way except under specifications, regulations and conditions as the Borough may prescribe.
The Borough Manager shall give timely notice to all persons owning property abutting on any street within the Borough about to be paved or improved, and to all public utility companies operating in the Borough, and all such persons and utility companies shall make all water, gas or sewer connections, as well as any repairs thereto which would necessitate excavation of the said street, within 30 days from the giving of such notice, unless such time is extended in writing for cause shown by the Borough Manager. New paving shall not be opened or excavated for a period of five years after the completion thereof, except in case of emergency; the existence of which emergency and the necessity for the opening or excavating of such paving is to be determined by the Borough Manager. If it is sought to excavate upon or open a sewer within five years after the completion of the paving, the applicant shall make written application to the Borough Council, and a permit for such opening shall be issued only after express approval of the Borough Council.
If at any time in the future the roadway is widened, reconstructed or the alignment or grades are changed, the permittee further agrees to change or relocate all or any part of the structures covered by his permit which interfere with the improvement of the roadway at his own cost and expense.
No new water, sewer, steam or gas main or electric, telephone or other utility line shall hereafter be laid or constructed, and no such existing main or line shall be extended in any of the streets of the Borough until the plan therefor shall have been first filed with the Borough Manager and such plan, and the exact location of such main or line, approved by him. The Borough Manager shall not approve the locating of any such main or line at a depth of less than 30 inches from the surface of the street unless he shall be convinced that locating the same at a depth of more than 30 inches from the surface is impossible or impractical.
No company, corporation or association shall dig up any street or alley without first giving to the Borough a bond with some acceptable trust or surety company as surety, in the sum of $10,000, conditioned for the faithful performance of these provisions and also for any and all damages, claims, demands, suits, costs and counsel fees occasioned or arising from the digging up, opening or closing of said streets and alleys.
Payment for all work done by the Borough under the provisions hereof shall be made by the person made liable therefor under the provisions hereof within 30 days after a bill therefor is sent to such person by the Borough. Upon failure to pay such charges within such time, the same shall be collectible by the Borough by an action in assumpsit or in the manner provided by law for the collection of municipal claims.
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $300 and/or to imprisonment for a term not to exceed 90 days. Every day that a violation of this article continues shall constitute a separate offense.