[Ord. #72-2]
All street and roads to be accepted as public streets and roads by the township shall be constructed in accordance with the minimum requirements and specifications as set forth in subsection 12-8.2 of the Subdivision Chapter of the Township of Wantage.
No street or road already constructed shall be accepted by the
township unless the township engineer shall certify that such street
or road is in such condition as to substantially comply with the standards
prescribed for new streets or roads, or until the owner thereof shall
have improved such street or road in accordance with the recommendations
of the township engineer, so that the same shall be in substantial
compliance with the requirements pertaining to the construction of
new roads and streets.
Before the acceptance of any road or street by the township,
an affidavit shall be made by the owner or developer certifying that
all the costs incurred in the construction of the road or street have
been paid.
The acceptance of any street or road shall be by ordinance directly
adopted according to law.
[Ord. #72-18; Ord. #73-8]
This section shall be known as the "Road Acceptance Ordinance
of Wantage Township."
There are many existing private roads in the township, which
were constructed prior to the existence of any township regulations
establishing minimum road standards. Many of the residents living
on these roads have indicated their desire to have the township accept
and maintain these roads as public roads. The township committee has
heretofore enacted this section for the purpose of establishing standards
and procedure for the acceptance of these roads. No private roads
have been accepted under these standards until December 30, 1972 and
the committee believes this situation to be due mainly to the fact
that it is not economically possible for most of these residents to
comply with these standards, it is declared that the purpose of this
section is to amend the previous "Road Acceptance Ordinance of Wantage
Township" and any other ordinance governing or affecting road standards
so that persons living on such existing private roads which have sufficient
public interest may be afforded a better opportunity to improve these
roads and have them accepted as public roads by the township. It is
recognized that some private roads do not have sufficient public interest
to justify their maintenance with public funds, and nothing in this
section shall be construed as making it mandatory for the township
to accept any private road. Furthermore, so as to provide for an orderly
procedure to obtain the necessary personnel and equipment to provide
adequate maintenance service, the township may elect to accept no
more than five miles of private roads in any year. Neither shall any
provision in this section be construed as a limitation of the township's
right to abandon any public road whenever it is in the best interest
of the township to do so.
a.Â
Upon application to the township committee by a two-thirds majority of the owner of property fronting on an existing private road or right of way that has not previously received maintenance from the township, the committee may elect to accept the dedication of such a road or right of way as a township road in accordance with the provisions of this section, provided such request is in writing on the form prescribed by this section and included as an attachment to this chapter as Schedule "A", and provided further that where adjoining owners have no interest in the road, the consent and signature of the owners have no interest in the road, the consent and signature of the owner of the road shall be obtained.
b.Â
So as to properly identify those existing private roads which the committee feels have sufficient public interest to justify their acceptance as public roads and maintenance with public funds, only those roads listed on the schedule included as an attachment to this chapter and designated as Schedule "B" are considered as eligible for acceptance under the provisions of this section. A public entrance to the road being offered for acceptance must also be available prior to final acceptance by the township, and on dead end roads, adequate provisions shall be made to allow for the turning around of maintenance and snow removal equipment.
c.Â
If the committee does elect to accept the private road after receipt
of the petition, the township engineer will prepare plans for the
improvement of the road to comply with the specifications in this
section, and he will also prepare a written estimate of the cost of
this work. This cost estimate will be submitted to the petitioners
for their information.
d.Â
If after receipt of the cost estimate, the petitioners decide that
they still wish to have the private road accepted as a public road
by the township, the petitioners must then furnish to the township
all necessary drainage easements and additional right of way to effect
a minimum of 33 feet right of way and agree to remove encroachments
such as walls, driveways and others which are a definite hazard to
maintenance equipment and proper drainage, as indicated in the specifications
prepared by the township engineer. The township engineer will furnish
the necessary description of the easements and the township attorney
will furnish the required legal forms.
e.Â
Upon receipt of the drainage easements, the township committee will
adopt a resolution agreeing to accept the road if the petitioners
have it improved within 12 months according to the specifications
prepared by the township engineer in compliance with this section.
f.Â
After receipt of notice from the petitioners in writing that the
road has been improved, the township engineer will inspect the road
and certify to the township committee that all of the required specifications
have been completed to his satisfaction. Upon receipt of his certification,
the township committee will forthwith enact the necessary enabling
legislation formally accepting the road as a township road, and will
proceed thenceforth to provide all required maintenance as is then
provided for all other public roads.
g.Â
In the event the township engineer finds upon inspection that the
road has not been satisfactorily completed, he will notify the petitioners
of all defects which must be corrected within 90 days or the township
may require that the road be resealed.
a.Â
Streets and Pavement.
1.Â
Where no pavement exists, the subgrade topsoil shall be stripped
from the proposed road bed for the entire width of pavement, gutters,
and other required improvements. All soft and spongy material shall
be removed from the area. All loose rock or boulders shall be removed
or broken off at least six inches below the surface of the subgrade.
Subgrade shall be compacted to a density of not less than 95% of optimum
moisture. All embankment placement shall conform to current New Jersey
highway specifications.
2.Â
A base shall be constructed of six inches of Soil Aggregate Type
5, Class "A", graded and surfaced with F.A.-B.C-2, three inches thick.
3.Â
Where pavement exists on private roads being offered for acceptance,
in the opinion of the township committee after a review of the township
engineer's report, the base is adequate, the road must have been
surfaced with F.A.-B.C-2 three inches thick within five years prior
to the date of acceptance.
4.Â
Where pavement exists but the base is not adequate additional base
material conforming to subsection 10-2.4(a-2), shall be added, graded,
compacted, and surfaced as described in section 10-2.4(a-2) above.
5.Â
General conditions:
(a)Â
No materials shall be placed on wet or frozen ground.
(b)Â
A slope calculated at the rate of 2% away from the centerline
shall be provided in all paved areas.
(c)Â
Right of way width, shall be measured from lot line and shall
not be less than the following:
|
Arterial streets
|
50 feet
|
|
Collector street
|
40 feet
|
|
Minor street
|
33 feet
|
|
Marginal access streets
|
33 feet
|
(d)Â
The graded width of streets shall be as follows:
|
Arterial streets
|
40 feet
|
|
Collector streets
|
36 feet
|
|
Minor streets
|
30 feet
|
|
Marginal access streets
|
30 feet
|
(e)Â
Pavement width shall be as follows:
|
Arterial streets
|
30 feet
|
|
Collector streets
|
26 feet
|
|
Minor streets
|
20 feet
|
|
Marginal access streets
|
20 feet
|
b.Â
Storm Sewers and Culverts:
1.Â
All streets must be provided with sufficient catch basins, storm
sewers, culverts and other drainage appurtenances for the proper drainage
of the area in the light of existing conditions, with final disposition
to an existing natural water course. This installation shall be in
accordance with plans and specifications approved by the township
engineer. Storm sewer drains shall be constructed of reinforced concrete
pipes conforming to the requirements of the "Standard Specifications
for Reinforced Culvert Pipes A.S.T.M. Designations C-76" of the year
of last revision. Storm drainage features shall be based on a two
year storm frequency curve. Runoff coefficient for one-half acre and
large lots should be 0.3 to 0.45.
Where existing buildings, rock formations, topography or existing
dedicated rights of way now paved or hard surfaced as of December
30, 1972 would physically prohibit the conformance to the specifications
of this section, or create undue hardship in the opinion of the township
committee, the township committee upon the recommendation of the township
engineer, may modify any of the provisions of this section.
