This Article shall be known and may be cited as the "Street
Openings and Excavations Ordinance of the City of Orange Township."
For the purposes of this Article, the following words, terms
and phrases shall have the meanings respectively given herein. The
word "shall" is always mandatory and not merely directory.
APPLICANT
Any person, company or entity making written application
to the City of Orange Township for an opening or excavation permit.
CITY
The City of Orange Township.
CITY COUNCIL
The City Council of the City of Orange Township.
ENGINEER
The Engineer of the City of Orange Township.
DIRECTOR
The Director of Public Works of the City of Orange Township
or his designee.
EMERGENCY
Any unforeseen circumstance or occurrence, the existence
of which constitutes a clear and immediate danger to persons or properties.
EXCAVATION WORK
The excavation, removal, digging, disturbing, replacement, repair, construction, or taking up any surface, pavement, stone or soil and improvements within the rights-of-way or public properties of the City of Orange Township. For the purpose of this Article, that work which is being performed outside the public rights-of-way, but requires the storage of materials or the operation of equipment within the public right-of-way, in such a manner as may cause damage, will also be deemed "excavation work." The term "excavation work" shall not include work by persons exempted from the provisions of this Article under Section
185-13.19.
IMPROVEMENTS
Curbs, sidewalks, driveways, driveway aprons, drainage and/or
utility service structures, conduits, pavements, base courses, gutters,
retaining walls, channels, headwalls, railings, guardrails, or any
other public improvements existing within the City's rights-of-way,
properties, lands or easements.
PERMITTEE
Any person who has been granted, and has in full force and
effect, a Street Opening Permit issued hereunder, and also includes
any person that is required to secure a permit for excavation work
from the City of Orange Township.
PERSON
Any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation,
entity, or public or private organization of any kind.
STREET
Any street, roadway, highway, alley, cul-de-sac, avenue,
public easement, public way, public right-of-way, or public grounds
in the City of Orange Township.
Each applicant for a permit shall pay a permit application fee per opening for the purposes of the execution and issuance of the permit. For openings from 0 to 500 square feet in area, the application fee shall be fifty dollars ($50.). For openings greater than 500 square feet in area, the application fee shall be determined by the City Engineer. The applicant fee shall apply to all openings. (Editor's Note: These fees are restated in Ch.
88, Fees, 8-15B.)
Prior to commencement of work, the permittee shall furnish the
Director satisfactory evidence in writing that said permittee has
in force and will maintain in force during the performance of the
excavation work and the period of the excavation permit public liability
and property damage insurance for the protection of the applicant,
the City and its agents and employees from any and all claims for
personal injury, including accidental death, and property damage.
The insurance shall be in minimum amount of two hundred fifty thousand
dollars ($250,000.) to five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000.),
and bodily injury in a minimum amount of one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000.) and duly issued by an insurance company authorized to
do business in the State of New Jersey. In cases where the contractor
or nature of the proposed excavation work are such as to present an
unusual hazard or a higher-than-normal risk of damage or injury, the
Director may require the provision of increased amounts of liability
and property damage insurance.
The applicant, in accepting a permit under this Article, agrees
to enter into a written agreement with the City so as to save, defend,
and keep harmless the City from and indemnify it against any and all
actions, suits, demands, payments, losses, costs, damages, and charges
incurred by reason of any damages to property, injuries to persons,
or any loss of life resulting from any negligence of the applicant,
his agents, servants or employees, contractors or subcontractors occurring
in the performance of the work covered by the permit or from any other
matter, cause or reason relating thereto.
Unless otherwise directed by the Director, the following specifications
shall govern the backfill in excavated trenches:
A. All openings shall be restored below grade with backfill consisting
of bank run gravel or suitable excavated material and shall be tamped
in twelve (12) inch layers with a mechanical tamper.
B. All material not suitable for backfill and all excess backfill material
shall be removed from the site and legally disposed of by the permittee.
Unless otherwise directed by the Director, upon completion of the opening and backfill as specified in Section
185-13.16, the following specifications shall govern the maintenance and repair of street openings by the permittee.
A. Roadway pavement openings shall temporarily restored with backfill per Section
185-13.16 to within twelve (12) inches of below existing surface. The remainder of the trench shall be filled with six (6) inches of Dense Graded Aggregate, and six (6) inches of NJDOT hot mix asphalt base course material and tamped and/or rolled with the minimum capacity of a five (5) ton roller. This temporary restoration shall remain in place for a minimum of four (4) weeks. The trench shall be maintained to the existing grade by the addition of additional hot mix asphalt base course material as required until permanent restoration takes place.
B. No permittee shall commence permanent restoration on any street foundation
or surface until the City Engineer has determined that settlement
of the subsurface is complete and the area properly prepared for permanent
restoration.
C. The final restoration shall include neatly sawcutting the edges of
the existing pavement to a minimum depth of six (6) inches with a
pavement saw or pneumatic cutting tool. The sawcut shall be located
twelve (12) inches beyond the excavation on all sides. The edges of
the existing pavement shall be tack coated. Four (4) inches of NJDOT
hot mix asphalt base course material and two (2) inches of hot mix
asphalt surface course material shall be installed and rolled with
a minimum capacity five (5) ton roller and meet the existing, adjacent
grades with smooth transition and no bumps.
D. All roadway materials shall be manufactured to comply with the current
edition of New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Standard
Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction, as amended.
E. It shall be the responsibility of the permittee to maintain the temporary pavement restoration to the existing grade by the addition of hot mix asphalt base course material during the period prior to permanent pavement restoration work. Should the permittee fail to maintain such pavement opening, and upon twenty-four (24) hours' notice by the Director, the opening may be repaired as specified by the City, and the cost thereof deducted from deposits received in Section
185-13.7.
F. Driveway openings shall be replaced with the appropriate material
and in compliance with the City's specifications for driveways.
Driveway aprons constructed within the City's right-of-way and
adjacent to public sidewalk shall be at minimum Class B concrete,
six (6) inches thick with welded wire reinforcement fabric. Sidewalk
openings shall be replaced with Class B concrete, four (4) inches
thick. Concrete work shall have a minimum compressive strength of
four thousand (4,000) pounds per square inch after twenty-eight (28)
days.
G. Where concrete curbing and/or gutters are disturbed, damaged or removed,
curbing and gutters of the exact configuration as the existing shall
be constructed. Concrete shall be Portland cement concrete, air-entrained,
conforming to the New Jersey Department of Transportation Standard
Specifications for Class B concrete and shall have a minimum compressive
strength of four thousand (4,000) pounds per square inch after twenty-eight
(28) days.
H. All restoration work shall be performed to maintain and restore appropriate
drainage abilities, and without damage or impairment of the City's
stormwater control measures and facilities.
All provisions of this Article, except Sections
185-13.3 through
185-13.8 and
185-13.10, shall apply to State, County or municipal authorities and to contractors performing work in City streets under construction contracts with municipal authorities, and such contracts shall contain provisions and specifications to insure compliance with this Article.
Street openings or excavations may be made without obtaining a written permit as provided herein in cases of emergency which would reasonably appear to endanger public health or safety. In such emergencies, adequate precautions shall be taken as provided in Sections
185-13.3 through
185-13.17. Immediate notice thereof shall be communicated to the Director, Police Department, and Fire Department. Notification of the emergency opening shall be provided to the Director within 24 hours following the initial opening. The 24-hour notification shall be made via telephone, fax or overnight mail. The formal application for a permit shall thereafter be made within a period of forty-eight (48) hours following the initial opening, and compliance with all the provisions of this Article shall be met.
Any person, firm or corporation that shall violate any of the
provisions of this Article shall, upon conviction of same, be subject
to a fine of up to seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.) or imprisonment
of up to ninety (90) days, or both, for each offense, and, in addition
thereto, shall be subject to a fine of up to two hundred fifty dollars
($250.) per day from the date of such conviction until such time as
said violation has been corrected.