[Ord. No. 2018-2286, 4/10/2018]
1.
Openings or excavations in streets or alleys within the Borough of
Phoenixville shall conform with the requirements set forth in this
Part.
2.
In all other respects, openings or excavations in streets or alleys
within the Borough of Phoenixville shall conform to all other general
ordinances of the Borough of Phoenixville.
[Ord. No. 2018-2286, 4/10/2018]
1.
Permit and Escrow Required.
A.
No opening or excavation in any street or alley of the Borough of
Phoenixville may be performed without a permit being first obtained
from the Borough Manager of the Borough of Phoenixville.
B.
No opening or excavation in any street or alley of the Borough of
Phoenixville may be performed without an escrow being provided to
the Borough of Phoenixville as security guaranteeing the performance
of pavement restorations required in said street or alley.
C.
The only exceptions to this requirement shall be the following:
(1)
Private Streets (or Alleys). For openings or excavations in
a private street or alley, a permit will not be required from the
Borough of Phoenixville. However, if the opening or excavation is
not being constructed by the owner of the private street or their
agent, then written authorization shall be obtained from the owner
of the private street.
(2)
State Routes. For openings or excavations in a state route,
a permit will not be required from the Borough of Phoenixville. However,
any openings or excavations in a state route shall be subject to authorization
by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
(3)
Land Development. For openings or excavations that are part
of a land development plan duly approved by the Borough of Phoenixville,
a permit will not be required from the Borough of Phoenixville.
(4)
Emergency. In the event of an emergency, a permit must be submitted
to the Borough Manager of the Borough of Phoenixville within 15 calendar
days after start of any work. Documentation must be provided to describe
and substantiate the emergency. All applicable fees and escrows are
still required.
2.
Permit Application.
A.
Applications for permits shall be prepared, in writing, using a blank
form furnished for that purpose by the Borough of Phoenixville and
shall contain the following minimum information: the purpose for which
said street or alley is to be opened or excavated, the location of
said proposed work, the estimated dimensions and area of the proposed
opening or excavation planned and the dates when the proposed work
will occur.
(1)
For openings or excavations in any street or alley made principally
for the use, service or benefit of a property abutting said street
or alley, a permit shall only be issued to the owners of said property
and shall not be issued to contractors or public service corporations.
(2)
For openings or excavations in any street or alley made principally
for the use, service or benefit of a public service corporation, and
not for any particular property abutting said street or alley, a permit
shall be issued to the public service corporation under the terms
and conditions as hereinafter provided.
B.
Permit Fees. All applicants for permits to open or excavate any street
or alley shall pay, before the issuance of said permit, such application
fees as may be set by the Master Fee Schedule of the Borough of Phoenixville.
Permit application fees paid to the Borough of Phoenixville shall
be nonrefundable.
C.
Escrow.
(1)
All applicants, except for public service corporations, for
permits to open or excavate in any street or alley shall furnish a
cash escrow to the Borough of Phoenixville as security guaranteeing
the satisfactory performance of pavement restoration work required
in said street or alley before the issuance of any permit for opening
or excavating the same.
(2)
The amount of the required escrow shall be the greater of the
following amounts:
(a)
An amount equal to the area of the opening or excavation multiplied
by the unit cost for pavement restorations set by the Master Fee Schedule
of the Borough of Phoenixville. For the purposes of determining the
area of any planned opening or excavation, the minimum width of any
opening or excavation shall be five feet; or
(b)
An amount equal to $2,500.
(3)
The Borough of Phoenixville shall return the full amount of
the escrow to the applicant only after completion of the work, including
completion of all pavement restorations in the street or alley, and
only after said work has been inspected and certified to be satisfactory
by the Borough Manager or their designee.
3.
Issuance of Permit; Denial; Appeal.
A.
Within 30 days after receipt of such application to open or excavate
any street or alley, the Borough Manager shall either approve the
same and issue a permit therefor, provided that the proposed construction
conforms with the laws of the Borough, or if the proposed construction
does not conform with the laws of the Borough or if upon reasonable
investigation and knowledge of fact the Borough Manager determines
that the proposed construction would constitute a traffic hazard or
a hazard to the safety of pedestrians, the application shall be denied
by notice, in writing, setting forth therein the reasons for denial.
B.
Upon receipt of notice denying the issuance of a permit, any property
owner or person adversely affected, may appeal the Borough Manager's
decision within 30 days by written application to the Borough Council,
shall make inquiry into the causes for denial, shall afford all parties
an opportunity to be heard and shall subpoena witnesses and administer
oaths. Said hearing shall be held not later than 30 days after the
receipt of the application of appeal, and the Committee's decision
shall be rendered not later than 30 days thereafter, which decision
shall be final. Any person aggrieved by the decision of the Committee
shall have the right of appeal to the Court of Common Pleas as in
other cases provided.
[Ord. No. 2018-2286, 4/10/2018]
1.
The person, firm, contractor or corporation making the opening or
excavation in any street or lane or alley within the Borough of Phoenixville
shall perform all work, including backfill and surface restorations,
in accordance with the following standards:
2.
Inspection.
A.
The applicant shall notify the Borough Manager at least 24 hours
prior to beginning work. The Borough Manager or their designee shall
have the right to inspect any portion of the work associated with
openings or excavations in any street, lane or alley within the Borough
of Phoenixville.
B.
Completion of work must be reported to the Borough Manager or their
designee within 24 hours thereof. The Borough Manager or their designee
shall conduct an inspection of the completed work and, if the work
is satisfactory, shall issue a certification of completion attesting
to the same. If the work is determined not to be satisfactory, then
the applicant will be required to address any deficiencies prior to
issuance of a certificate of completion or any release of escrow or
other form of security held by the Borough of Phoenixville for the
work.
3.
Corrective Action.
A.
Failure to complete the work to the satisfaction of the Borough Manager
or failure to complete the work within a reasonable time period, as
determined by the Borough Manager, shall, upon written notice to the
applicant, result in corrective action being taken by the Borough
of Phoenixville and all costs of the same being taken from the escrow
or other form of security held by the Borough of Phoenixville for
the work.
B.
If the costs incurred by the Borough of Phoenixville to perform the
corrective action exceed the amount held in escrow or other form of
security, then the applicant shall be responsible for those additional
costs.
C.
The cost to perform the corrective actions shall be in addition to
the penalties provided for elsewhere under this Part.
[Ord. No. 2018-2286, 4/10/2018]
1.
Permits shall not be issued for opening or excavating any public
street or alley of the Borough of Phoenixville that has been newly
improved within a period of less than five years, such period to be
taken from the date when the street surface was completed. Newly improved
streets shall include those which have been constructed, reconstructed
or resurfaced with a new surface layer of bituminous asphalt paving.
2.
The only exception(s) to this requirement shall be the following:
A.
In the event of an emergency which affects the public safety. The
routine replacement of service lines or installation of new services
shall not be deemed sufficient cause for granting a permit on an emergency
basis.
3.
Where this restriction is violated, a fee shall be paid to the Borough
of Phoenixville as damages for decreasing the life of the street surface.
This fee shall be paid in addition to any other permit fees or escrows
required by other provisions of this Part. The amount of said fee
shall be determined as follows:
A.
For surfaces aged up to two years, the fee shall represent the cost
to resurface the full width of the cartway along the frontage of the
property or properties receiving benefit, the area of which shall
be calculated by multiplying the full width of the cartway by the
frontage thereon of the property or properties receiving benefit.
The fee shall be an amount equal to the area multiplied by the unit
cost for pavement resurfacing set by the Master Fee Schedule of the
Borough of Phoenixville.
B.
For surfaces aged more than two years and up to five years, the fee
shall represent the cost to resurface half of the width of the cartway
along the frontage of the property or properties receiving benefit,
the area of which shall be calculated by multiplying the half width
of the cartway by the frontage thereon of the property or properties
receiving benefit. The fee shall be an amount equal to the area multiplied
by the unit cost for pavement resurfacing set by the Master Fee Schedule
of the Borough of Phoenixville.
[Ord. No. 2018-2286, 4/10/2018]
1.
All public service companies shall provide written notice to the
Borough of Phoenixville at least 90 days before making any opening
or excavating any street or alley, except in the case of emergency
which affects the public safety.
2.
All public service companies shall furnish a performance guarantee
to the Borough of Phoenixville for the restoration of the street before
the issuance of any permit for opening or excavating the same. The
performance guarantee shall be provided in the form of a cash escrow,
irrevocable letter of credit or performance bond. The amount of the
performance guarantee shall be the greater of the following amounts:
A.
An amount equal to the area of the opening or excavation multiplied
by the unit cost for pavement restorations set by the Master Fee Schedule
of the Borough of Phoenixville. For the purposes of determining the
area of any planned opening or excavation, the minimum width of any
opening or excavation shall be five feet; or
B.
An amount equal to $25,000.
3.
All public service companies shall be responsible for pavement resurfacing
of the streets and alleys where opening or excavation work is performed.
The pavement resurfacing work shall be performed to the limits prescribed
by the applicable Borough Standard Construction Details.[1]
A.
In lieu of the public service company performing the pavement resurfacing
work, the Borough of Phoenixville may require the public service company
to pay the Borough a fee in an amount equal to the cost of performing
pavement resurfacing work. The area of pavement resurfacing work used
for the determination of this fee shall be prescribed by the Borough
Construction Details. The fee shall be calculated by multiplying the
area by the unit cost for pavement resurfacing set by the Master Fee
Schedule of the Borough of Phoenixville.
B.
In the event that a fee is required by the Borough of Phoenixville
for the cost of pavement resurfacing work, the public service company
will remain responsible for performing pavement restorations (excavation,
backfill, temporary pavement restorations, permanent pavement restoration,
etc.) in accordance with the Borough Standard Construction Details.
4.
All public service companies shall be required to furnish a maintenance
guarantee to the Borough of Phoenixville in the form of a cash escrow,
irrevocable letter of credit or maintenance bond to secure the structural
integrity and function of the pavement restoration and pavement resurfacing
work performed. The guarantee must be furnished to the Borough of
Phoenixville before the release of escrow or other form of security.
[Ord. No. 2018-2286, 4/10/2018]
1.
Any openings or excavations made in the streets or alleys of the
Borough of Phoenixville shall be adequately protected. All traffic
control devices, including barricades, traffic cones, signage, flaggers
and any other temporary devices, shall be provided by the applicant
through the duration of the work. Traffic controls shall be provided
in accordance with the following standards:
2.
Except where specifically authorized in advance by the Borough Manager
of the Borough of Phoenixville, all streets or alleys shall be reopened
to traffic at the end of each workday.
A.
The use of steel plates as temporary covers for openings or excavations
is permitted. Bituminous material must be installed as a transition
between the existing paved surface and the steel plate.
B.
The use of cold patch material, placed two inches thick, as a temporary
pavement restoration is acceptable for durations of up to one week,
after which time pavement restorations must be completed in accordance
with the Borough Standard Construction Details.
[Ord. No. 2018-2286, 4/10/2018]
1.
Except in the case of an emergency, openings or excavations made
in any street or alley of the Borough of Phoenixville shall be restricted
to the certain days and hours, as follows:
A.
Weekdays (Monday through Friday), beginning at 7:00 a.m. and concluding
no later than 5:00 p.m. each day.
B.
Saturdays, only when authorized in advance by the Borough Manager,
beginning at 8:00 a.m. and concluding no later than 5:00 p.m. each
day.
C.
Work is prohibited on Sundays and on any legal holidays recognized
by the Borough.
[Ord. No. 2018-2286, 4/10/2018]
1.
Any person, firm or corporation who or which shall violate any provision
of this Part 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 a term of imprisonment
not to exceed 30 days. Each day that a violation of this Part continues
shall constitute a separate offense.
2.
In addition to the above penalty, the Borough may proceed in manner
and form provided by law to abate any construction or proposed construction
in violation of the tests of this Part as a public nuisance.
