[Adopted 4-4-1977 by L.L. No. 1-1977]
No civil action shall be maintained against
the town or Town Superintendent of Highways for damages or injuries
to person or property sustained by reason of any highway, bridge or
culvert being defective, out of repair, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed
unless written notice of such defective, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed
condition of such highway, bridge or culvert was actually given to
the Town Clerk or Town Superintendent of Highways, and there was a
failure or neglect, within a reasonable time after the giving of such
notice to repair or remove the defect, danger or obstruction complained
of; but no such action shall be maintained for damages or injuries
to person or property sustained solely in consequence of the existence
of snow or ice upon any highway, bridge or culvert, unless written
notice thereof, specifying the particular place, was actually given
to the Town Clerk or Town Superintendent of Highways and there was
a failure or neglect to cause such snow or ice to be removed or to
make the place otherwise reasonably safe within a reasonable time
after the receipt of such notice.
[Amended 7-14-1997 by L.L. No. 1-1997]
The Town Superintendent of Highways shall transmit,
in writing, to the Town Clerk within five days after the receipt thereof
all written notices received by him pursuant to this article and Subdivision
2 of § 65-a of the Town Law. The Town Clerk shall cause
all written notices received by him or her pursuant to this article
and Subdivision 2 of § 65-a of the Town Law, to be presented
to the Town Board within 10 days of the receipt thereof or at the
next succeeding town board meeting whichever shall be sooner.
[Added 7-14-1997 by L.L.
No. 1-1997]
The Town Clerk shall keep an indexed record,
in a separate book, of all written notices which he shall receive
of the existence of a defective, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed condition
in or upon or of an accumulation of ice or snow upon any town highway,
bridge, culvert or sidewalk, which record shall state the date of
receipt of the notice, the nature and location of the condition stated
to exist and the name and address of the person from whom the notice
is received. All such written notices shall be indexed according to
the location of the alleged defective, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed
condition or the location of accumulated snow or ice. The record of
each notice shall be preserved for a period of five years after the
date it was received.
[Adopted 12-14-2015 by L.L. No. 3-2015]
This article may be cited as the "Town of East Bloomfield Road
Preservation Law."
The purpose of this article is to maintain the safety and general
welfare of Town residents by regulating high-impact commercial activities
that have the potential to adversely impact roads and property. Well-maintained
roads are important to the economic well-being of the Town. Construction,
maintenance, and operation of high-impact commercial endeavors (e.g.,
timber harvesting, mining, natural gas drilling, wind energy facilities
and telecommunication facilities) can be economically beneficial.
This article is not intended to regulate such endeavors, but the intent
is to protect the Town roads and property from damage from such endeavors
that typically require use of heavy equipment with heavy loads.
The Town Board of the Town of East Bloomfield enacts this article
under the authority granted by § 10 of the New York State
Municipal Home Rule Law and the New York State Town Law.
The Town Board delegates to the Highway Superintendent (herein
called "Highway Superintendent") the oversight of assuring commercial
activities do not have an adverse impact on public roads and property.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
BOND
A commercial bond to ensure that the condition of the Town
roads and/or property impacted by high-frequency, high-impact truck
traffic is left in a good or better condition at the completion of
the project as they were at the start of the project.
ESCROW
Money put into the custody of a third party for delivery
to a grantee only after the fulfillment of the conditions specified.
HIGH-FREQUENCY TRUCK TRAFFIC
Traffic to and from a project site that generates more than
10 truck trips per day for more than three consecutive days, involving
trucks that exceed 20 tons (truck and load combined) that could impact
Town roads and/or property (not including the operation of year-round,
permanent facilities, such as commercial quarries).
HIGH-IMPACT TRUCK TRAFFIC
Other truck traffic of considerable weight (e.g., total weight
exceeding 30 tons) and/or size (e.g., trucks requiring escort vehicles)
as determined by the Highway Superintendent that could impact Town
roads and/or property. Any seismic testing by vibroseis trucks (aka
"thumper trucks") is considered high-impact truck traffic.
PERMITTEE
Includes the holder of a road preservation vehicle permit,
its contractors, subcontractors, employees and agents, issued pursuant
to this article.
PRELIMINARY BOND RELEASE
A bond release given by the Highway Superintendent based
on satisfactory road conditions at project completion.
PROJECT SITE
An area where construction work is performed on a short-term
basis (i.e., not including year-round, permanent businesses such as
commercial quarries). Construction work includes any of the following:
A.
Excavation, including the removal of soil or gravel for off-site
use or excavation or the filling of trenches, ditches, shafts, wells,
tunnels and pier holes, and the use of caissons and cofferdams.
B.
Building, including the construction (including the manufacturing
of prefabricated elements of a building at the place of work concerned),
alteration, renovation, repair, maintenance and demolition of all
types of buildings.
C.
Civil engineering, including the construction, structural alteration,
repair, maintenance and demolition of, for example, airports, dams,
river and landslide defense works, roads and highways, railways, bridges
and tunnels, viaducts, and works related to the provision of services
such as communications, drainage, sewerage, water and energy supplies.
PROPERTY
Includes any real property (including any improvements therein,
thereon or thereunder) in or personal property owned by, or leased
to, the Town of East Bloomfield.
ROAD
Includes any highway, road, street, avenue, boulevard, parkway,
shoulder, guardrail, concourse, driveway, easement, right-of-way,
bridge, culvert, sluice pipe, ditch, dock, tunnel, sidewalk or any
utilizes or improvements therein, thereon, or thereunder.
ROAD PRESERVATION LOCAL LAW WORKSHEET (APPENDIX A)
A worksheet to be completed by potential permittee, summarizing
the project, project location, start and completion dates, expected
maximum gross vehicle weight used for the project, proposed truck
routes, and any other items that the Highway Superintendent deems
necessary.
The Highway Superintendent and the Code Enforcement Officer
shall each have the right and authority to issue stop work orders
to those operating violations of the terms of the road preservation
vehicle permit, in violation of this article, in violation of applicable
provisions of law, or in violation of any conditions or requirements
set forth in any permit issued by the New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation, or contrary to the conditions upon which
its road preservation vehicle permit was issued.
Upon violation of any provisions of the road preservation vehicle
permit or violation of any provisions of this article, the Highway
Superintendent may suspend any such permit until there is remedy of
the violation in the allocated time period set by the Highway Superintendent.
Following a public hearing at which time the permittee shall have
the right to appear and be heard, the Town Board may permanently revoke
any road preservation vehicle permit on written notice to the permittee.
A nonrefundable processing fee as depicted in the Town of East
Bloomfield Fee Schedule, payable to the Town of East Bloomfield, must
accompany each worksheet submitted to the Highway Superintendent.
Request for a waiver from the standards set forth in this article shall be made to the Town Board in writing and shall contain the grounds on which the appellant relies for requesting the waiver, including all allegations on any facts on which the appellant will rely. Where the Town Board finds that due to special circumstances of the particular case a waiver of certain requirements as stated in §
115-7 is justified, then a waiver may be granted. No waiver shall be granted, however, unless the Town Board finds and records in its minutes that:
A. Granting the waiver would be keeping the intent and spirit of this
article and is in the best interests of the community.
B. There are special circumstances involved in the particular case.
C. Denying the waiver would result in undue hardship to the applicant,
provided that such hardship has not been self-imposed.
D. The waiver is the minimum necessary to accomplish the purpose.