[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Colts Neck as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 222.
[Adopted 12-26-1969 as Ch. 49 of
the 1969 Code]
From and after the adoption of this article,
it shall be unlawful for any person or persons, firm or corporation,
their agents, servants or employees, to drive upon or operate or cause
to be driven upon or operated on any of the Township roads or streets
or any portion or portions thereof, any motor vehicle, tractor or
machinery or equipment which is or which may be mechanically operated
or drawn, unless each and every such motor vehicle, tractor or mechanically
operated or drawn machinery and equipment shall be equipped with rubber-tire
wheels or metal or wooden wheels with tread of sufficient width and
smoothness, or such other device or devices, as shall prevent any
damage being done to any part of the roads or streets by reason of
said motor vehicle, tractor or mechanically drawn or operated machinery
or equipment using said roads or streets or any portion or portions
thereof.
From and after the adoption of this article,
it shall be unlawful for any person or persons, firm or corporation,
their agents, servants or employees, to use or cause to be used any
portion or portions of any of the Township roads or streets as a "headland"
or for the turning around of or crossing over by any motor vehicle,
tractor or machinery or equipment being used in connection with farming
operations on land adjacent to any Township road or street, in such
a manner so as to cause damage to any portion or portions of the roads
or streets by reason thereof.
[Amended 7-13-2016]
A.
Permit required.
(1)
It shall be unlawful for any person, company, firm, corporation or
other legal entity to perform any excavation work, dig up, excavate,
tunnel, undermine, or in any manner break up a street or to make,
or cause to be made, any excavation in or under the surface of any
street for any purpose or to place, deposit or leave upon any street
any earth or other excavated material, obstructing or tending to interfere
with the free use of the street, or dig up, break, excavate or undermine
or in any way affect any other public improvement without first obtaining
a street opening permit from the Township Planner.
(2)
In the event of any emergency in which a sewer, main, conduit or
utility in or under any street breaks, bursts or otherwise is in such
condition as to immediately endanger the property, life, health, or
safety of any individual, the person owning or controlling such sewer,
main conduit, or utility, without first applying for and obtaining
an excavation permit hereunder, shall immediately take proper emergency
measures to cure or remedy the dangerous conditions for the protection
of property, life, health and safety of individuals. However, such
person owning or controlling such facility shall apply for an excavation
permit not later than the end of the next succeeding day during which
the Township office is open for business and shall not proceed with
permanent repairs without first obtaining a street opening permit
hereunder.
(3)
The Township Planner shall issue a street opening permit to any person,
company, firm, corporation or other legal entity who performs work
under contract to the Township without fee.
B.
Application and procedures for a street opening permit. The permit
application shall be obtained and submitted to the Township Planner.
(1)
The application shall contain the following information:
(a)
Name and address of the applicant;
(b)
Name of the street where the opening is to be made, and the
street number, if any, of the abutting property;
(c)
The Township Tax Map block and lot number of the property for
the benefit of which the opening is to be made;
(d)
Nature of the surface in which the opening is to be made;
(e)
Character and purpose of the work proposed;
(f)
Proof of insurance. Evidence of a comprehensive general liability
insurance policy naming the Township as an additional insured;
(g)
Time when the work is to be commenced and completed; and
(h)
The name and address of the workman or contractor who is to
perform work.
(2)
Two complete sets of construction plans and details showing the extent
of the proposed excavation work, the excavation dimensions, the elevation
of both the existing and proposed ground surfaces, the location of
the excavation work and such other construction plans as may be prescribed
by the Public Works Department or Township Engineer including complete
plan, profile and details of any proposed curb, sidewalk, pavement,
drainage structure or other proposed improvement. All work shall be
in accordance with N.J.A.C. 5:21 et seq., Residential Site Improvement
Standards and the 2007 Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge
Construction of the New Jersey Department of Transportation as currently
amended.
(3)
Restoration of any excavation in any paved areas shall be thoroughly
compacted and have a minimum pavement section of four-inch dense graded
aggregate and six-inch HMA base course initially installed. After
a sixty-day time period, the excavated area shall be infrared heated
to a distance of one foot beyond the excavation and two inch asphalt
material removed and two inches of HMA surface course installed. Excavation
in other than paved areas shall be restored to a condition equivalent
to that which currently exists.
(4)
The Township Planner, after conferring with the Township Engineer
and/or Director of Public Works, may issue the street opening permit,
issue the permit, subject to conditions, or deny the permit.
(5)
Each street opening shall be accompanied by cash or check made payable
to the Township of Colts Neck in the amount of $100.
C.
Performance guarantee. A street opening permit involving excavation and/or modification to any pavement, curb, driveway apron, drainage structure or other Township improvement shall be accompanied by a performance guarantee calculated by the Township Engineer and administrated in accordance with § 102-16, Guarantees and inspections.
[Amended 4-26-2017]
D.
Inspection fee. Application for a street opening permit shall be
accompanied by a nonrefundable inspection fee. The inspection fee
will be used to cover the cost of inspection of the excavation during
construction, as well as inspection of the temporary repair and inspection
of the final repair. In the event an additional inspection fee is
required, the Township Engineer will calculate the cost of the additional
inspection fee which shall not exceed the actual costs thereof. The
amount of the inspection fee to be collected shall be:
[Added 4-26-2017[1]]
(1)
Excavations
in grass rights-of-way only and do not involve excavation in or under
the paved surface of any street and that do not involve disturbance
to any curb, sidewalk, drainage structure or other public improvement
shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable inspection fee in the amount
of $1 per square foot or part thereof with a minimum inspection fee
of $100.
(2)
Excavations
in or under the paved surface of any street or involving disturbance
to any curb, sidewalk, drainage structure or other public improvement
shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable inspection fee in the amount
of $5 per square foot or part thereof with a minimum inspection fee
of $250.
E.
Insurance. No permit shall be issued until the applicant has furnished
the Township with satisfactory proof of insurance, on which naming
the Township of Colts Neck as an additional insured, indemnifying
and holding harmless the Township and its agencies, employees and
agents against injury to persons and damage to property caused by
any act or omission of the applicant, his agents, employees or subcontractors
done in the course of the work to be performed under the permit. The
insurance shall cover all hazards likely to arise in connection with
the work, including, but not limited to, collapse and explosion, and
shall also insure against liability arising from completed operations.
The limits of the policy of insurance shall be $1,000,000 for injury
to any one person, $500,000 for property damage for a single incident.
In cases where the character or nature of the proposed excavation
work are such as to present an unusual hazard of a higher than normal
risk of damage or injury, the Township may require increased amounts
of liability and property damage insurance.
F.
Restrictions on opening new, reconstructed or resurfaced streets.
No street opening permit shall be issued by the Township Planner to
any person allowing an excavation or opening in a paved, reconstructed
or resurfaced street less than five years old, unless an emergency
condition exists. The Township Committee reserves the right to waive
or relax this restriction for cause.
G.
Barriers to be erected; lights; enforcement. It shall be the duty of every person, persons or corporation engaged in digging down any street, in paving any street or section of a street, building any sewer or drain, digging any trench for gas pipes or water pipes or making any opening or excavation in any of the public streets where such work, if left exposed, would be dangerous to passengers, to erect a fence or railing at such excavation or work in such a manner as to prevent danger to passengers who may be traveling such streets and to continue and keep up the railing or fence until the work shall be completed or the obstruction or danger removed; and it shall also be the duty of such person or persons or corporation to place upon such railing or fence, at twilight in the evening, suitable and sufficient lights and keep them burning through the night during the performance of such work under penalty as provided in § 1-9 for every neglect or violation of any of the provisions of this section.
[Amended 10-8-1997; 3-8-2006]
A violation of any provision of this article shall be punishable as provided in § 1-9 of this Code.
[Adopted 9-27-2017]
It is the intent of this article to establish uniform procedures
to reimburse residents for damage to mailboxes due to snow removal
operations. The Township of Colts Neck's primary obligation is
to ensure that its roadways are as clear as possible of snow and ice.
It is also understood that most mailboxes are located within the public
right-of-way and, therefore, while fulfilling the primary objective,
mailboxes may be unintentionally and unavoidably damaged. This policy
assumes there is a shared responsibility between the Township of Colts
Neck and the homeowner when mailboxes located in the public right-of-way
are damaged during snow removal operations.
Snowplow operators make every effort to remove snow as close
to the curbline as practical and to provide access to mailboxes for
the Postal Service. However, it is not possible to provide perfect
conditions and minimize the damage to mailboxes with the size and
type of equipment the Township operates. Therefore, the final cleaning
adjacent to mailboxes is the responsibility of each resident.
Landscaping/hardscape. Property owners should assume all risk
of damage for landscaping/hardscape, including nursery and inanimate
materials that are installed or encroach on the Township right-of-way.
The Township assumes no responsibility for damage incurred to these
nonpermitted elements as a result of snow plowing and ice control
activities with the exception that lawns that are scraped or gouged
by Township equipment will be repaired by top dressing and seeding
the following spring. In addition, inanimate materials such as boulders,
timbers, etc., are a hazard and can cause damage to plow equipment.
While there is no legal requirement, it is the policy of the
Township of Colts Neck to reimburse residents up to $100 for eligible
mailbox damage caused by direct plow contact or thrown snow coming
off the plow on the part of the Township's Department of Public
Works or Township private contractors. Residents seeking reimbursement
greater than $100 for mailbox damage caused by Township operators
may file a tort claim under Title 59 of New Jersey Statutes Annotated.
Nothing in this article shall be construed to entitle any resident
to reimbursement prior to an investigation and determination by the
Director of Public Works or designee that the claimed damage is eligible
for reimbursement pursuant to this section.
For the purpose of this article, boxes used for receipt of United
States mail and placed outside of residences and established for such
purposes shall be referred to herein as "mailboxes." All mailboxes
must be installed in accordance with the United States Postal Service
Mailbox Guidelines.
A.
Eligibility; mailbox damage claim. The reimbursement provisions shall
only apply to those homeowners who satisfy the following criteria:
(1)
The mailbox is securely fastened to a sturdy post which is sufficiently
anchored in the ground to resist the impact of plowed snow.
(2)
The damaged mailbox and/or post must meet the requirements of the
United States Postal Service Mailbox Guidelines, as well as all other
requirements in regard to construction and location. Mailboxes that
do not meet the requirements of the United States Postal Service and/or
any other applicable regulations are not eligible for reimbursement.
(3)
The damage must have been caused by direct contact with or thrown
snow from Township Department of Public Works or Township private
contractor plows or snow removal equipment.
(4)
The homeowner must notify the Township within 90 days of the date
the damage occurred. Damage reported outside of this time frame will
not be eligible for reimbursement.
(5)
The homeowner must sign a general release[1] discharging the Township from all debts, claims, demands,
damages, actions or further tort claims under Title 59.
[1]
Editor's Note: A copy of the general release form is included as an attachment to this chapter.
B.
Claim procedure.
(1)
Within the time period above, a homeowner making a claim for reimbursement
shall contact the Department of Public Works and file a mailbox damage
claim.[2]
[2]
Editor's Note: A copy of the mailbox damage claim form is included as an attachment to this chapter.
(2)
The mailbox damage claim shall be accompanied with the following:
(3)
After submission of the claim, the Director of Public Works or designee
shall investigate the alleged damage to determine if the damage was
caused by the plow blade, vehicle and/or thrown snow coming off the
plow. A written response on the findings of the investigation will
be mailed to the resident.
(4)
If it is determined that the mailbox was damaged by the plow blade,
vehicle and/or thrown snow coming off the plow, the homeowner will
be reimbursed for the cost of the mailbox and/or post in an amount
not to exceed $100 upon the submission of an itemized receipt for
the cost of the new mailbox and/or post. If it is determined that
the damage was not caused by the plow blade, vehicle and/or thrown
snow coming off the plow, no reimbursement will be given. All actual
repairs and/or replacements shall be the responsibility of the homeowner.
