A. 
Definitions. As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
VAULT
Every opening below the surface of the street in front of any shop, store, house or other building, or lot, if covered over.
B. 
Applicability. The owner or the person for whom the same shall be made, constructed or continued shall be subject to the provisions, payments and penalties of this article severally and respectively; provided, however, that this section shall not be construed to refer to areas or to openings for gas, electric or water service pipes or conduits.
[Amended 2-10-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-04]
The City Engineer, on application for that purpose, is empowered, provided that, in the opinion of said City Engineer, no injury or unwarranted inconvenience will accrue to the City or the public thereby, to grant a license for the construction of vaults or covered areas in the streets and to continue the existence of any already constructed or made.
[Amended 6-2-1986 by L.L. No. 3-1986; 2-10-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-04]
A. 
For new and existing vaults. No person shall cause or procure a vault or covered area to be constructed, made, altered, repaired, or modified in any of the streets, sidewalks or other property of the City without the written license therefor of the City. In addition to being criminally liable and subject to all actions at law or in equity, such property owner shall be responsible for all costs and expenses related to the closure and restoration of the area where the vault is located and shall fill in the space occupied by such vault or covered area and restore the ground to its former condition within 10 business days after the service of written notice so to do; in default whereof, or at its choosing, the City may perform said work, and the cost thereof shall constitute a debt of such person to the City, which shall be reported to the City Clerk. The City Clerk shall certify the same to the City Council, and such debt may be collected in an action at law or may be determined, assessed and collected in a manner provided by the Charter of the City; or, at the option of the City Council, if the same is not paid within 10 business days of demand thereof, an attested bill of said cost shall become a municipal lien for the amount thereof, and the amount of said attested bill shall be added to the next tax bill of the owner. At any time, the City may require proof of adequate insurance coverage, in the City's reasonable opinion, covering any vault.
B. 
For existing vaults. The City shall have the right to inspect all vaults at all times. The City may, in its discretion, require all property owners adjacent to any existing vault to execute a written license agreement documenting the terms of its continued use. Such license agreement shall include indemnification of the City and insurance requirements to be determined from time to time. Such license agreement shall also include a reciprocal license allowing the City or its designee to enter upon and work within the property adjacent to a vault for purposes of assessing, repairing, closing, altering, or modifying a vault and the infrastructure or utilities housed therein. All license agreements shall be terminable by the City in its discretion with 30 days' notice to the applicable landowner. Should there be any conflict between the terms of this chapter and any license agreement, the terms of this chapter shall control. In the absence of an express written license agreement, the owner adjacent to any vault shall be deemed to have an implied license, containing the applicable terms contained in this chapter.
Every application for a license to construct or make a vault or covered area shall be in duplicate and shall be in writing and shall be signed by the owner of the premises, or the lessee thereof, whose lease requires him to erect a building on such premises, with the address of the applicant and the location of such proposed vault or covered area and shall state the number of square feet of ground which is required for such vault or area and the intended length and width of the same. Every such application shall be accompanied by duplicate drawings to scale showing the exact location on the sidewalk of such proposed vault or covered area and specifications for its construction. Every such application shall be kept on file in the office of the City Engineer as a public record, and the reference thereto, with the date of filing thereof, shall appear on every license issued on every such application.
Upon the presentation of an application to the City Engineer, if, in his opinion, no injury or unwarranted inconvenience will accrue to the City or to the public by the granting of such application, and if the plan and specifications for the vault or area shall, in all respects, comply with the provisions of this article, he shall sign and deliver a license therefor in such form as shall be approved by the Corporation Counsel and shall deliver the same to the applicant, together with one of the duplicates of such application and plan.
The applicant for a license hereunder shall, upon issuance, pay to the City Treasurer the fee of $1 and shall thereupon present to the Building Inspector such receipt, together with the license signed by the City Engineer, the duplicate application for the license with the plans and specifications attached thereto and also the bond or insurance policy hereinafter provided. Said Building Inspector shall thereupon countersign said license and deliver the same to the applicant and make an entry of such license in his records and shall file said duplicate application in his office and shall thereupon deliver such bond to the Comptroller of the City and take a receipt therefor.
The bond or insurance to be presented to the Building Inspector, as provided in § 228-42, shall run to the people of the City and shall be executed by the applicant, together with one or more sureties, and shall be conditioned to hold the City harmless from all claims for damages to the extent of $100,000 and $300,000 arising from the construction of said vault or its maintenance or anything connected therewith; and both the City and any person having a claim for damages arising from construction of said vault or its maintenance may maintain an action thereon to recover the amount of any unsatisfied judgment recovered against the applicant or his successor in interest in ownership of said vault or covered area. Said bond or insurance shall be subject to the approval of the Corporation Counsel as to its terms and conditions and as to the sufficiency of its sureties.
[Amended 6-2-1986 by L.L. No. 3-1986]
It shall be the duty of every person for whom any vault or covered area is in the process of construction to procure the same to be measured by a competent surveyor of the City and to deliver to the Building Inspector a certificate of the measurement, signed by said surveyor, before the arching of such vault or covered area shall be commenced. The enlargement or increase in size of any vault or covered area shall be construed to be an original, new and independent and separate construction and shall be governed by the provisions of this article as in the case of an original, new and independent and separate construction thereof.
No application for the construction or making of any vault or covered area in the City of Schenectady, New York, shall be granted if, in the opinion of the City Engineer, the public interest requires its denial.
[Added 2-10-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-04[1]]
A. 
The holder of a license (written or implied) pursuant to the provisions of this article, or the owner or person for whom a vault is made, constructed, or continued, shall repair and maintain said vault and shall keep the same in a safe state of repair and free from defects and dangerous conditions. Such licensee, owner, or person shall be liable for any injury or damage by reason of omission, failure or negligence to maintain and repair such vault and keep it from defects or other obstructions therefrom or for a violation or nonobservance of any ordinance or regulation relating to maintaining and repairing vaults and keeping them free from defects and obstructions.
B. 
For the repair or replacement of any vault by any licensee, owner or person other than the City or its designee, there shall be required for the repair or replacement of any vault a valid building permit in accordance with the provisions of this article, and said repair or replacement shall be subject to the provisions set forth in §§ 228-54 through 228-59.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also provided for the renumbering of former §§ 228-46 through 228-86 as §§ 228-50 through 228-90, respectively.
[Added 2-10-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-04]
A. 
In case any vault in the City shall, at any time, in the judgment of the City, require maintenance, repair, or correction, or shall have been made of improper material, a written notice shall be served upon the vault licensee or owner of the parcel or premises benefited by said vault either:
(1) 
Requiring the owner or licensee to, within 10 business days of service of such notice, maintain, repair, or correct such vault so as to make the same in good repair and in safe condition or of the proper material; or
(2) 
In the event of an emergency or public safety concern, notifying the owner or licensee that said work will be done by the City or its designee.
B. 
Such notice shall be served upon such owner or licensee personally, or by leaving the same at the residence of such owner or licensee with a person of suitable age and discretion, or by posting the same conspicuously upon the premises, or by mailing the same to the premises addressed to the owner or owners of said premises. Where there are two or more owners or licensees, service upon one of them shall be sufficient.
[Added 2-10-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-04]
If any vault licensee or owner of the parcel or premises benefited by said vault shall neglect or refuse to maintain, repair, or correct a vault within the time limited therefor by the notice given in accordance with § 228-47, the City may forthwith make such repairs or corrections in such manner as it shall deem proper and suitable or fill in the vault space, and shall file a certificate of the expense thereof, together with a description of the premises adjoining said vault, with the City Clerk, who shall certify the same to the City Council, and the expense of making such repairs, corrections, or fills shall be paid by the vault licensee or owner of the adjoining parcel or parcels of real property which the vault benefits and may be collected in an action at law or may be determined, assessed and collected in a manner provided by the Charter of the City; or, at the option of the City Council, if the same is not paid within 10 business days of demand thereof, an attested bill of said cost or expense shall become a municipal lien for the amount thereof, and the amount of said attested bill shall be added to the next tax bill of the owner.
[Added 2-10-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-04]
All vaults shall constitute structures for purposes of Article VI of Chapter 138 of the Schenectady Code (Unsafe Buildings and Structures), and as such the provisions of Article VI of Chapter 138 and the powers and duties of the Building Inspector conferred thereunder with respect to structures shall apply with equal force and effect to vaults, owners and persons subject to the provisions of this article.
The City Engineer may revoke any and all licenses for any vaults or covered areas if, in his opinion, the public interest so requires.
In case of the denial of any application for a license under this article or the revocation of any such license by the City Engineer as permitted by this article, he shall notify such applicant or the licensee whose license shall have been so revoked of the denial of said application or revocation of such license, as the case may be, in writing, giving his reasons for such denial or revocation.
A. 
In case of the denial by the City Engineer of an application for any license hereunder or its revocation by him be herein provided, the applicant therefor or the holder of the license which may have been so revoked may appeal from the decision of said City Engineer to the Council.
B. 
Such appeal shall be in writing, giving the address of and verified by the oath of the appellant, and one original copy thereof shall be served personally upon each of the following: the City Clerk, the City Engineer and the Corporation Counsel.
C. 
At the same time the appellant shall pay to the City Clerk the sum of $10.
D. 
Such appeal shall include a copy of the application for such license, with its date of filing in the office of the City Engineer, and a copy of such license, in case a license shall have been issued, and a copy of the reasons relied on by the City Engineer in denying the application or in revoking such license, as the case may be.
E. 
Such service, with the payment of said sum of $10 shall act as a stay in preventing the City Engineer from filling in and restoring the space occupied by any such vault or covered area which shall have been constructed or made pursuant to any such license or which may have been theretofore constructed or made pursuant to any ordinance heretofore enacted or otherwise in accordance with law until the decision of the Council on said appeal.
F. 
The decision of said Council shall be entered on the minutes thereof and a copy thereof, over the signature of its Clerk, mailed to each of the following: the City Engineer, the Corporation Counsel and the appellant at his address given in his appeal papers, and a majority vote of the Council shall decide the appeal.
G. 
In case the decision of the Council shall be in favor of the applicant, the sum of $10 paid by him to the City Clerk shall forthwith be returned to him.
H. 
The decision of the Council shall be final, and if in favor of the appellant, the City Engineer shall forthwith issue the license or reinstate the license revoked, as the case may be; provided, however, that if previous to such appeal the City Engineer shall have had any work performed or material supplied toward the filling in of any such vault or covered area and restoring of the ground, the cost thereof and of any action which may have been taken for the recovery thereof must be paid to the City Engineer with interest.
The City Engineer shall provide the necessary blank forms or licenses for issuance under the provisions of this article. Each license form shall be in triplicate and numbered consecutively, two of which shall be for delivery to the licensee and the other to remain in stub form in the license book. Each form shall provide space for the insertion thereon, in addition to the other matters required by this article, of the date of its issuance, name of the licensee with his address, the location of the proposed vault or other covered area, the actual or intended number of square feet of the vault or covered area or of any enlargement thereof with the actual or intended length and width thereof, the kind of material of which said vault or covered area is or shall be constructed and the location of the outward side of the opening and the material of which the covering thereof shall be made; at the top of each license and duplicate thereof shall appear the words "Office of the City Engineer, City of Schenectady, New York, Vault License"; and each duplicate of every license issued shall be a true copy thereof. Every such book of duplicate licenses shall be carefully preserved in the office of the City Engineer and shall constitute a public record.
No person shall construct or make or cause or permit to be constructed or made any vault or covered area which shall extend further than the line of the sidewalk or curbstone of any street under a penalty of a fine of $100 and the cost of filling in of such excessive space, in accordance with the provisions of this article, at his expense, and, in addition, the City Engineer may revoke his license.
A. 
All vaults or covered areas shall be constructed of brick, stone or concrete, and the outward side of any opening in the street shall be placed at a point to be designated by the City Engineer, and openings through the sidewalk shall be placed as near the curb as possible. Openings for the admission of light may be placed between the street line and a point four feet outwardly therefrom and parallel to said street line. Area covers for light shall be of iron grating, not to exceed a one-inch space, or suitable glass and securely fastened to prevent removal. Vault doors or coverings shall be of strong iron or glass and shall be flush with the sidewalk and have concealed hinges on the under side, and where rivets are used to roughen the top, they shall be spaced at least two inches. Centers and doors shall be supplied with protection bars on exposed sides. At the junction of a door where a center rib for strength or to shed water is desired, the same shall be placed on the under side of the doors. The grips to pull up doors shall, in all cases, be depressed in the doors so as not to protrude above the top surface of the doors.
B. 
All openings in the roofs of vaults shall be covered with glass set in iron frames, each unit of glass to measure not more than 16 square inches, or with iron covers having a smooth surface and babbitting into or made flush with the sidewalk.
C. 
Coal holes shall not be greater than 24 inches in diameter and must be placed as near to the vault wall at the curb as is practicable and, in all cases, shall be flush with the sidewalk. The covers shall be flat and of roughened top, of incombustible material. The covers may be of concrete if the same are roughened from time to time as they wear smooth.
No opening in the sidewalk shall occupy more than 1/2 the width of the sidewalk at the place of opening.
No flammable or combustible material shall be placed or kept in a vault or area, nor shall any material be placed or kept therein which will or may cause or permit odors or smoke to escape through said vault or area to the surface of the sidewalk.
Every owner or leaseholder of any house or lot or ground within the City before which any vault or covered area shall be constructed or made and every person making or having charge of any such vault or covered area shall, during the whole of the time while any such vault or covered area shall be opened or uncovered, cause the same to be guarded and enclosed with a strong box, curb or railing at least three feet high and in addition thereto shall at night cause a lighted lamp or lantern to be placed and kept thereon so as to cast a red light upon such vault or covered area during the whole of every night.
[Amended 2-10-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-04]
A. 
All vaults and other covered areas shall be completed and the ground closed over them within three weeks after their construction has been commenced, unless an extension of time shall be granted by the City, which, unless such extension is granted, is hereby empowered to fill in and restore the space occupied by said vaults or areas in the manner prescribed in § 228-39 if the public interest so requires.
B. 
Notice for closure (with notice of license revocation) shall be in the judgment of the City, and the City shall serve or cause to be served a notice upon the owner or owners of the vault requiring the owner or owners thereof, within 10 business days from the service of such notice, to close the vault or provide a plan for closure acceptable to the City, all as required and directed by the City, including, without limitation, the restoration of the sidewalk and other disturbed area to a safe condition allowing pedestrian and/or other traffic and in a manner consistent with surrounding surface areas.