[Adopted 11-16-1998 by L.L. No. 8-1998]
This article sets forth a law regulating the construction and the dedication of any road ordained and other associated facilities (hereinafter referred to as "improvements") offered to the Town of Tusten, Sullivan County, New York. This article may be referred to as the "Town of Tusten Road Law."
This Road Law is enacted to ensure all improvements offered for dedication to the Town of Tusten meet the standards contained herein and have been reviewed and approved by the Town Engineer and the Town Highway Superintendent (Superintendent).
A. 
Application. Any person or persons proposing to dedicate any improvements to the Town of Tusten shall submit to the Town Clerk of the Town of Tusten five copies of a plan, prepared by a professional engineer, setting forth the details of the proposed dedication. Said plan shall be submitted prior to commencing the construction or reconstruction of the road proposed for dedication. Similar as-built plans shall be required in those instances where existing roads are proposed for dedication. The plan shall include all information necessary to document compliance with this article and shall include, as a minimum, the following information.
(1) 
A map at a scale of one inch equals 100 feet showing the following:
(a) 
Locations, distances and bearings of right-of-way lines.
(b) 
Locations of storm drainage systems and devices.
(c) 
Locations of any existing or proposed easements.
(d) 
Location of utilities.
(e) 
Locations and names of the record owners of real property over which the road passes, said properties abutting on the road proposed for dedication.
(f) 
Road name(s).
(2) 
Plans, profiles and cross sections of the roads.
(3) 
Detailed specifications for drainage facilities.
(4) 
Detailed specifications for any bridges.
(5) 
Documentation regarding the identity of each property owner along the right-of-way of the proposed road and certification that each such property owner has joined in the application for dedication and that each such property owner releases any right to assert any claim such property owner might otherwise have against any person, persons, partnership, corporation or political subdivision by reason of the dedication.
B. 
Plan distribution. The Town Clerk shall distribute the filed plans as follows:
(1) 
One with the Town Highway Superintendent.
(2) 
One with the Town Engineer.
(3) 
One with the Town Planning Board.
(4) 
One with the Town Supervisor.
(5) 
One in the Town Clerk's permanent files.
C. 
Plan review.
(1) 
No action shall be taken by the Town Board until such time as the Town Planning Board and the Town Engineer have reviewed the plan of the proposed dedication.
(2) 
The Town Planning Board and the Town Engineer shall, within 45 days of the Town Clerk's receipt of the application, review said application and make recommendations to the Superintendent.
(3) 
The Superintendent shall, within 60 days of receipt of said recommendations:
(a) 
Review the plans and make an inspection of the road site (The Superintendent may request the Town Engineer to assist with any inspection required by this article.);
(b) 
Notify the applicant of deficiencies, if any, in the plan, with such notification in writing; and
(c) 
Recommend acceptance or rejection of the plans to the Town Board.
(4) 
The applicant shall make any necessary modifications to the plan and resubmit the plans to the Superintendent, who shall have an additional thirty-day review and notification period from the date of submittal. However, if more than one year shall elapse between the original filing date and the amendment filing date, an additional filing fee shall be assessed.
(5) 
Upon receipt of the Highway Superintendent's recommendation to accept the plans, the Town Board shall, within 60 days, vote to accept or reject the plans. The Town Board may make its own inspection of the road site prior to taking action. If the plans shall be rejected for any reason, the applicant shall be notified in writing within 15 days of the reasons for rejection and how the plans can be brought into compliance with the law. The applicant may request a conference with the Town Board and Highway Superintendent to review the reasons the plans were rejected and how it can be corrected, which conference shall take place at the earliest date convenient to the Town Board. If the plans are accepted, the applicant shall be so notified and may proceed with construction pursuant to this article.
D. 
Construction procedure.
(1) 
The construction or reconstruction of any improvements for dedication shall be in accord with approval plans.
(2) 
Prior to the initiation of construction or reconstruction, the applicant shall propose an inspection schedule to the Superintendent for approval. The inspection schedule shall include inspections adequate to ensure compliance with this article. Inspections shall be required at all phases of construction when a failure to inspect the construction would result in a physical impossibility to verify compliance at the time of the final inspection.
(3) 
The applicant shall provide a minimum of two working days' notice prior to the time for each inspection required in the inspection schedule.
(4) 
If the Superintendent discovers construction is not in compliance with the approved plans, all construction shall be terminated until such time as the identified deficiency is corrected.
E. 
Dedication procedures. When the improvements proposed for dedication are completed to the standards of this article, the Superintendent shall make a final inspection and verify said completion to the Town Board. The Town Board, at its next meeting following receipt of the Superintendent's report, shall take action to initiate the dedication process as follows:
(1) 
The applicant shall provide to the Town three complete sets on Mylar and three complete sets on paper of all plans of the improvements, which shall be certified by a professional engineer as "AS CONSTRUCTED" plans with the plans labeled as such. The plans shall include the information required by § 236-3A of this article.
(2) 
The date of completion of the improvements shall be established by the Town Highway Superintendent and confirmed by the Town Board.
(3) 
No improvements shall be accepted by the Town for dedication until one year from the date of completion has passed. During said one-year probationary period, the applicant shall be responsible for all maintenance and repair of the improvements proposed for the dedication.
(4) 
At the end of the probationary period, the Superintendent shall conduct an inspection of the improvements and verify to the Town Board the improvements' integrity and functioning. Any deficiencies shall be corrected by the applicant.
(5) 
Following the probationary period and upon the final verification by the Superintendent of compliance with this article, the Town Board shall accept the improvements for dedication upon the receipt of the following:
(a) 
A maintenance guarantee in the amount of 25% of the cost of the construction of the improvements as certified by the applicant's professional engineer. Such guarantee shall comply with § 277 of the Town Law and shall be satisfactory to the Town Attorney as to form, sufficiency, manner of execution and surety. The term of the guarantee shall be for 12 months from the date of dedication. Upon the failure of any of the improvements, the Town shall enforce said guarantee and make any necessary repairs. If the proceeds of the guarantee are insufficient to complete the repairs, the Town shall institute legal or equitable action to recover the amount of the insufficiency.
(b) 
Deeds for the rights-of-way of all improvements, which deeds shall be of a bargain-and-sale type with covenants against grantors' acts and shall transfer all lands in fee simple.
[Amended 4-12-1999 by L.L. No. 2-1999; at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Improvements offered for dedication to the Town of Tusten shall be constructed to the standards contained in this § 236-4 and Chapter 241, Subdivision of Land, of the Town Code. In cases of inconsistency between the standards of this article and Chapter 241, the more stringent standard shall apply.
A. 
Right-of-way. Rights-of-way shall be provided as follows for roads/streets as defined by Chapter 241, Subdivision of Land, of the Town Code:
Type of Road/Street
Minimum Right-of-Way Width
(feet)
Major
60
Collector
60
Minor
60
Alley
25
B. 
Geometric requirements.
(1) 
All roads/streets shall be designed following generally accepted highway engineering principles.
(2) 
Road/Street jogs with center-line offsets of less than 125 feet shall be avoided.
(3) 
In general, all roads/streets shall join each other so that, for a distance of at least 150 feet, the road/street is approximately at right angles to the street it joins.
(4) 
The road/street plan shall bear a logical relationship to the topography of the property; and if building sites are proposed along said proposed road/street, the road/street shall be arranged so as to obtain as many of the building sites as possible at or above the grade of the roads/streets.
(5) 
Road/Street grades.
(a) 
Grade requirements.
[1] 
No road/street grade shall be less than 1/2% or exceed the following, with due allowances for reasonable vertical curves:
[a] 
Major traffic streets: 5% (up to 8% for 500 feet).
[b] 
Collector street: 8% (up to 10% for 500 feet).
[c] 
Minor street: 12% (up to 15% for 500 feet).
[2] 
Roads/Streets shall have a grade not to exceed 3% for a distance within 50 feet of the road/street right-of-way line of any intersecting road/street.
(b) 
The gradients of roads/streets shall be not less than 0.5% without curbs and gutters, and 0.3% with curbs and gutters. On roads/streets where curbs, gutters and sidewalks are not required, there shall be a berm.
(c) 
Minimum vertical and horizontal visibility (measured 4 1/2 feet eye level to tail lights 18 inches above ground level) for curves shall be as follows:
[1] 
Major highways: 500 feet.
[2] 
Collector streets: 300 feet.
[3] 
Minor streets: 300 feet.
[4] 
Roads/Streets shorter than 500 feet: 150 feet.
(d) 
All road/street right-of-way lines at intersections shall be rounded by curves of at least twenty-foot radius, and curbs, if required, shall be adjusted accordingly.
(e) 
A tangent of at least 100 feet shall be introduced between reversed curves on all roads/streets.
C. 
Construction.
(1) 
General.
(a) 
The applicant shall establish and clearly mark the side of the limits of the right-of-way, and location and elevation of drainage structures. Such markers shall be maintained at the applicant's expense until construction of roadway, drainage and shoulder have been completed and accepted by the Town of Tusten.
(b) 
Concrete monuments or other permanent markers shall be installed every 300 feet on both sides of the right-of-way.
(c) 
Unless otherwise directed in writing by the Town Superintendent, final grading of the right-of-way and construction of road/street pavement shall be delayed until all utilities, including house connections, have been installed and backfill in trenches has thoroughly settled. Earth shoulders and flow lines of ditches shall be maintained at all times at the applicant's expense during the course of construction.
(d) 
Samples of materials to be used in the construction of the roadway shall be furnished to the Town Superintendent. The applicant shall be required to pay for any standard engineering tests which the Town Superintendent shall deem necessary.
(e) 
The Town Superintendent shall be granted full access to any construction taking place under these specifications and shall be allowed to take any standard engineering field test which may be appropriate.
(f) 
All thicknesses called for are compact thicknesses.
(g) 
The roadway shall be constructed as shown on the attached typical section.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: The typical section diagram is on file in the Town offices.
(h) 
Guide rails shall be installed in accordance with the latest New York State Department of Transportation requirements.
(i) 
All signs installed shall be in conformance with the New York State Manual of Uniform Control Devices.
(2) 
Earthwork.
(a) 
Clearing and grubbing. Clearing and grubbing shall consist of clearing the area of all trees, down timber, snags, brush and other vegetation and shall include grubbing stumps or roots. The area to be cleared and grubbed shall be limited to that area to be covered by the roadway proper, shoulders, side slopes and ditches. All cleared materials shall be removed from the development or burled in a lot unsuitable for a building or otherwise disposed of in a manner approved by the Town Board.
(b) 
Subbase. All rock and boulders larger than six inches in diameter shall be excavated six inches below the finished subgrade of the roadway. All topsoil or otherwise soft or unstable materials shall be removed from within the roadway, shoulders and ditches and shall be replaced with suitable borrow. Fill required to complete the approved grades shall be acceptable to the Town Board.
(3) 
Road/Street section. Cut and fill slopes in earth shall be not less than 1 on 2. Subbase, at least 30 feet in width, shall consist of a bottom course of at least 12 inches of ROB gravel and a top course of at least six inches of well-graded ROB gravel or washed gravel with no particles of material larger than two inches in diameter. The subbase shall be crowned, shaped to a smooth grade and well compacted.
(4) 
Surfacing.
(a) 
Base course shall be 12 inches thick, 30 feet wide and will consist of either eight inches of shale (shale to be approved by the Highway Superintendent) with four inches of processed gravel (two-inch-maximum stones) on top or bank-run gravel with maximum stone size of six inches. Upon installation of the base, 5/10 of a gallon of MC 30 road oil per square yard shall be applied. Gravel base with MC 30 coating shall be allowed to settle for at least one year before pavement is put on.
(b) 
Pavement. Pavement shall be two inches thick (compacted), of sufficient width to meet standards provided in Chapter 241, Subdivision of Land, of the Town Code, and consist of one of the following:
[1] 
A penetration pavement consisting of two inches of No. 2 crushed stone coated with at least one gallon per square yard of MC 3000 road oil and blotted with No. 1 crushed stone. Surface is to be coated with 4/10 of a gallon per square yard of MC 3000 road oil and blotted with sufficient No. 15 crushed stone to prevent bleeding.
[2] 
A cold-mix pavement consisting of No. 2 stone mixed with latex MP emulsion at 13 gallons to 20 gallons per ton (amount varies in order to provide coating of different type stones) in an approved motor paver, then blotted with No. 1 stone to fill the voids and sealed with RS-2 emulsion at 0.4 gallon per square yard, No. 1S stone at 12 pounds per square yard.
[3] 
An asphaltic concrete pavement consisting of one two-inch course of dense binder and sealed with RS-2 emulsion at 0.4 gallon per square yard and No. 1S or 1A stone at 12 pounds per square yard.
(5) 
Design and construction of drainage structures.
(a) 
All drainage facilities with waterway area of 25 square feet or less shall be designed to accommodate runoff for a storm of five-year frequency.
(b) 
Drainage structures with a waterway area over 25 square feet will be designed by a professional engineer and shall be capable of carrying the runoff from a storm of ten-year frequency.
(c) 
In no event shall the diameter of any sluice pipe be less than 15 inches.
(d) 
Drainage channels shall be designed following generally accepted hydraulic engineering principles. Channels shall be normally of trapezoidal cross-section with side slopes of two feet on one foot.
(e) 
The banks on both sides of drainage facilities and bridges servicing a stream or larger watercourse shall have rip-rapped construction of the banks beyond the head walls. The amount of rip-rap required shall be determined by the Town Highway Superintendent.
(6) 
Turf establishment. All areas designated for turf establishment by the Town Highway Superintendent shall be seeded, fertilized, limed and mulched.
(7) 
Signs and road/street names. Any proposed road/street name shall be approved by the Town of Tusten. In general, roads/streets shall have names and not numbers or letters. The applicant shall pay for the cost of approved road/street signs and sign posts.
(8) 
Utilities.
(a) 
Wherever possible, utilities shall be underground and shall be placed in the road/street right-of-way between the ditches and outside boundary of the right-of-way to simplify location and repair of lines when they require attention.
(b) 
Whenever it is necessary that utilities cross the roadway, they shall do so at a right angle to the roadway.
Variations to the standards contained herein may be approved by the Town Board on the recommendation of the Town Highway Superintendent in cases where unreasonable hardship would result from strict application of the standard.
A. 
Interpretation. In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this article shall be held to be the minimum requirements for the promotion of the public health, safety, and general welfare.
B. 
Conflict. This article is not intended to interfere with, abrogate, or annul any other law, rule or regulation, statute or provision of law. Where any of the provisions of these regulations impose restriction different than any other law, rule or regulation or other provision of law, whichever provisions are more restrictive or impose higher standards shall control.