[Adopted 4-13-1951 by Ord. No. 102 (Ch. 21, Part 2, of the 1978 Code
of Ordinances)]
[Amended 10-20-1958 by Ord. No. 200; 3-20-1978 by Ord. No. 375]
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to
make any opening or excavation in or under any Borough street, alley
or thoroughfare unless and until a permit therefor is secured from
the Borough Manager or his appointee for each separate undertaking,
such permit and the application therefor to be in such form as may
be required from time to time by the said Borough Manager or his appointee,
and which form shall contain among other things a statement that the
applicant agrees to the terms of this article. Permits herein required
include a permit to connect with the sanitary sewer systems of the
Borough or to open or to make an excavation in connection therewith.
The police officers of the Borough shall promptly prohibit any work
being done without a proper permit or contrary to the terms hereof.
The charge for said permit shall be a fee as set from time to
time by the Borough Council for each separate undertaking, which sum
shall be paid at or before the time of issuance of the said permit.
[Amended 10-20-1958 by Ord. No. 200; 3-20-1978 by Ord. No. 375]
The application for the permit and every such permit shall specify
a time when said opening or excavation may remain open and the place
where said opening or excavation may be made, together with the probable
length, width and depth thereof, and such further information as the
Borough Manager or his appointee may from time to time require, and
any additional surface to be disturbed and any additional time required
shall be endorsed on the permit by the said Borough Manager or his
appointee; provided, however, that emergency breaks or leaks may be
repaired and a permit therefor secured within 24 hours thereafter.
[Amended 2-16-1954 by Ord. No. 125; 10-20-1958 by Ord. No. 200; 3-20-1978 by Ord. No. 375; 5-19-1980 by Ord. No. 419]
No such permit shall be issued by the Borough Manager or his
appointee unless and until the applicant shall have filed with the
said Manager or his appointee the following:
A.
A certificate, issued by an insurance company properly authorized
to do business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, evidencing the
issuance to the applicant of a policy of public liability insurance,
including so-called XCU coverage, insuring against personal injury
or property damage which may be occasioned by the proposed opening.
The said policy shall provide for maximum coverage of at least $1,000,000
single sum for personal injury or property damage arising out of a
single occurrence. The certificate shall reflect that the Borough
is an additional insured party as to work performed upon or in streets
of the Borough.[1]
B.
A bond executed by the applicant and one corporate surety, and approved
by the said Borough Manager or his appointee, in a sum determined
by Council from time to time, indemnifying and saving harmless the
Borough from all damages of whatever kind which may not have been
paid by the aforementioned liability insurance policy and which might
be incurred by reason of the opening of said street or thoroughfare,
as aforesaid, and by reason of any failure to properly protect, maintain,
light and repair the same.
C.
Cash or certified check in such sum as the Borough Manager or his
appointee shall designate to be used for the following purposes:
(1)
In filling or refilling or generally repairing any opening which
the applicant has not properly repaired or filled; and
(2)
In paying for the proper improved surfacing, whether it be brick,
concrete or asphalt, the Borough to do this permanent sealing and
to pay for the same from the aforesaid fund.
D.
Any public utility company or municipal authority lawfully operating upon or in the streets and thoroughfares of the Borough may file, in lieu of separate certificates, bonds and cash deposits as described in Subsections A through C above for each separate excavation, a certificate of insurance, bond and deposit meeting the requirements of Subsections A through C above and covering all operations of the applicant upon or in Borough streets for a year or other period of time. The appropriate amount of the periodic deposit made by a particular utility or authority shall be determined by the Borough Manager or his appointee, based upon the applicant's then-recent volume of street excavations in the Borough. The certificate, bond and deposit shall conform in all other respects to the requirements of Subsections A through C.
[Amended 10-20-1958 by Ord. No. 200; 3-20-1978 by Ord. No. 375]
It shall be the duty of any person, firm or corporation causing
an opening or excavation to be made to protect and safeguard the same
while open by barriers and lights; to thoroughly and completely fill
the same, puddling and ramming so as to prevent any settling thereof;
and to continue to keep the same filled and level with the surface
until the permanent paving has been put in place. The permanent paving
(brick, concrete or asphalt) shall be placed by the Borough and paid
for by the holder of such permit. The obligation to keep the opening
filled and level with the surface shall continue with the permit holder
until the permanent paving has been placed by the Borough, provided
that, at the discretion of the Borough Manager, any such repaving
shall be performed by the permit holder.
If the work in opening or filling or maintaining the surface
shall not be promptly done or shall be unskillfully or improperly
or incompletely performed, the Borough Manager or his appointee, or
any other person designated by Council, may cause the same to be done
in such manner as the said Borough Manager or his appointee may deem
proper, and the expense thereof, including any overhead expense, shall
be charged to the person, firm or corporation by whom the opening
or excavation as aforesaid was made, together with a ten-percent additional
charge as a penalty. No permit shall be issued to any person, firm
or corporation in default under this section until the costs and penalty
herein provided for are paid, and no further permit shall be granted
to any person, firm or corporation unless and until the openings or
excavation already caused by them have been properly filled and the
surface maintained as aforesaid in a safe condition at the proper
grade, of which the said Borough Manager or his appointee or other
person so designated by Council shall be sole judge, and whose opinion
thereon shall be final.
[Amended 10-20-1958 by Ord. No. 200; 3-20-1978 by Ord. No. 375; 12-21-1992 by Ord. No. 536]
Any person, partnership or corporation violating any provision
of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay
a fine of not more than $1,000 and costs of prosecution or, in default
of payment of such fine and costs, to undergo imprisonment for not
more than 30 days, provided that each violation of any provision of
this article and each day the same is continued shall be deemed a
separate offense.
