Any person who submits an application for final approval of a subdivision based upon the provision of a bond in lieu of the completion of all required improvements and utilities shall be deemed to have read, understood and accepted all of the terms in this article. The Commission shall not issue any final approval of a subdivision application based upon the provision of a bond unless the applicant agrees to abide by these provisions and executes the restrictive agreement described in Appendix B.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix B is available at the Land Use Office.
A. 
The subdivider shall file with the Commission, on a form provided by the Town, a general liability insurance policy. This policy shall have a term no less than that of the performance bond and shall be extended in conformance with any extension of the performance bond.
B. 
The policy shall insure the Town of Ashford and the subdivider against all claims for damage or injury to persons or property that may arise from any and all aspects of the construction, installation, or maintenance, or lack thereof, of any subdivision improvements, or from any operations in the development or completion of the subdivision, including but not limited to clearing, removal of vegetation, grading, excavating, filling, inspection, testing, water well installation, sediment and erosion control measures, and road construction and improvements. The policy shall have the following limits:
(1) 
Property damage (including automobile), each accident: not less than $1,000,000.
(2) 
Bodily injury (including automobile).
(a) 
Each person: not less than $1,000,000.
(b) 
Each accident: not less than $1,000,000.
A. 
A performance bond in such form and amount as the Commission shall require in accordance with these regulations shall be posted by the subdivider prior to the commencement of construction of any improvement or work on any lot to insure the completion of required improvements and utilities in the event the subdivider shall fail timely to install the same.
(1) 
The term of any performance bond proposed by the developer should be the same as the normal duration of the subdivision approval pursuant to state law. Any developer who proposes to submit a performance bond having a shorter term shall be deemed to have accepted the risk that the bond will not be renewed and that the approval of the subdivision shall lapse and become null and void if it is not renewed.
(2) 
The developer shall be entitled to complete all required subdivision improvements within the time allowed by state law, provided the developer continuously maintains the performance bond, or a substitute performance bond acceptable to and approved by the Commission in accordance with these regulations, for the full duration of such time.
(3) 
If, at any time, the performance bond lapses, is terminated or withdrawn, or ceases to be effective or in force, regardless of whether the developer is responsible for such circumstances, the subdivision approval shall, after notice to the subdivider and the opportunity to be heard, lapse and become null and void except as provided hereafter.
(4) 
Within 30 days after the date of any such lapse, termination, withdrawal, or cessation of the effectiveness of any such performance bond, the developer may submit to the Commission a written request for approval of a substitute performance bond. No such request shall be granted unless the developer or a designated agent or representative of the developer attends the meeting of the Commission at which the matter is to be considered. It shall be the developer's responsibility to be aware of the date, place and time of such meeting. The Commission may deny such request if it determines that such proposed substitute performance bond does not provide adequate security for the timely completion of all required subdivision improvements and utilities or if it determines that the developer has failed to comply with any terms or conditions of the subdivision approval or any of these regulations that are applicable to the subdivision approval. The Commission may also approve the provision of a substitute performance bond different in form and amount than that requested by the developer. In the event the Commission approves the provision of a substitute performance bond, the developer shall be allowed 30 days following the date of such approval to submit the substitute performance bond. The Commission may, upon the developer's written request, extend the time within such substitute performance bond may be provided by no more than an additional 30 days. If the developer fails to provide the substitute performance bond within such period of 30 to 60 days, or if the developer fails to submit a written request for approval of a substitute performance bond within the time set forth above, the subdivision approval shall become immediately null and void.
(5) 
Nothing in this section will prevent or prohibit subsequent subdivision of the property.
B. 
Separate sedimentation and erosion control bond. Measures and facilities specified on the approved soil erosion and sediment control plan shall be guaranteed by a separate cash or savings account bond assigned to the Town. No development shall commence until said bond shall be posted. In the event the developer fails to maintain proper sedimentation and erosion controls on the subdivision site, the security required under this section may be used by the Town to stabilize eroding areas, remove sediment, and otherwise correct sedimentation and erosion problems on site at the sole discretion of the Planning and Zoning Commission or its designated agent.
C. 
Restoration. In the event the subdivision approval terminates or lapses before all required subdivision improvements and utilities have been completed, the Commission may, in its discretion, and subject to any contrary provisions of state law, use the funds available in the performance bond to restore all or any portion of the site to a natural condition. The Commission shall not use the performance bond to restore the site if the cost to complete all required improvements and utilities would be less than the cost of performing such restoration. The Commission shall not make any decision to use a performance bond for restoration without obtaining an estimate for the costs of oversight of the project and any additional engineering costs to complete all required improvements and utilities from the Town Engineer or a similarly qualified consultant.
D. 
In computing the amount of a performance bond, the Commission shall consider the following items:
(1) 
The construction cost of all required improvements, including storm drainage system, roads and pavements, sidewalks and curbs, roadside landscaping and trees, grading, setting of monuments, and any other requirements made as a condition for subdivision approval or depicted on the endorsed final subdivision plan, plan profile, and erosion and sedimentation control plan.
(2) 
Costs for the Town to advertise and award a contract for construction of the improvements or site restoration, and the costs for the Town to oversee and manage such contract(s).
(3) 
Costs shall be projected to a point at the end of the performance bond term. Any extension of the term of the performance bond may result in an adjustment as to the bond total.
(4) 
The total estimated cost of the performance bond shall also include an addition of 15% to cover contingencies and engineering plus an inflation factor that is equal to the current Consumer Price Index measure of inflation.
(5) 
Where a subdivision is to be developed in phases, the subdivider may petition the Commission in writing for permission to post a performance bond covering the costs itemized in Subsection D(1) through (4) above related to those improvements and utilities located within or required to serve one or more phases rather than for the entire development. Similar permission shall be obtained by the subdivider prior to commencing development of any or all additional phases. Where the subdivider bonds in phases as authorized in this subsection, no improvement, as that term is defined in these regulations, shall be commenced in any phase for which no bond has been posted, and no lots shall be sold in such phase.
E. 
As used in these regulations, the term "performance bond" shall refer to one of the following methods of assuring completion of subdivision improvements:
(1) 
Cash in the form of a certified check; a passbook, assigned to the Town by assignment forms prescribed by the Commission's legal counsel; or a letter of credit in favor of the Town in the form included as Appendix D of these regulations.[1] The bank ("surety") or lending institution issuing the passbook or letter of credit shall be one maintaining offices in Hartford, Windham or Tolland County in the State of Connecticut.
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix D is available at the Land Use Office.
(2) 
A surety company bond in sum and form satisfactory to the Commission. Such company ("surety") shall be one maintaining offices in the State of Connecticut.
F. 
The bond forms set forth in the preceding subsection shall be as provided by the Town and shall be the only ones acceptable to the Commission. The amount of the bond shall be the sum the Commission shall require. The completion date of all required improvements shall be the end of the term of the bond or any extension thereof, but in no event longer than the period set forth in C.G.S. § 8-26c.
G. 
For all performance bond documents, if the subdivision applicant is a corporation, then the corporate seal must be shown in addition to the seal of the lending institution issuing the passbook assignment or letter of credit, and a corporate resolution must be provided indicating that the corporate officer executing the bond documents has authority to do so. If the subdivision applicant is a partnership, then a partnership resolution must be provided indicating that the partner executing the bond documents has authority to do so. Any corporation shall provide a certificate of good standing from the Connecticut Secretary of the State; any limited partnership shall provide a certificate of legal existence from the Connecticut Secretary of the State; out-of-state applicants shall present evidence from the Secretary of the State that they are authorized to do business in Connecticut.
H. 
If at any time the bond required by this section shall not be in effect because of incomplete or unaccepted public improvements, the Commission may file a caveat on the Land Records warning potential purchasers of such fact.
Before any certificate of zoning compliance may be issued for any building in such subdivision on a lot that fronts on a subdivision road that has not been accepted by the Town as a public road, the subdivider must complete such road, in accordance with all applicable specifications, up to a cul-de-sac or intersection with an existing road, to a stage in construction at which only the final asphalt surface course of the road remains to be done before completion of the road. The foregoing condition shall not apply to street trees, sidewalks, or other types of road-related improvements not required for vehicular travel, but shall apply to the installation of street name signs to facilitate the provision of emergency services. The balance of the work on such road, and all other public improvements, must also be bonded in accordance with the provisions of this Article IX. In addition, water supplies and effluent disposal systems shall be operational and accepted by the appropriate Town or state agencies prior to the issuance of a certificate of zoning compliance allowing the occupancy of a dwelling on any lot.
The Commission may call any surety bond and apply the proceeds of such bond to the construction and installation of required subdivision improvements and utilities in any of the following circumstances:
A. 
The Commission may call the bond at any time within 60 days before the expiration or termination date of the bond, as that date may have been extended, if any portion of the required subdivision improvements or utilities has not been completed. If the Commission has called the bond under this subsection, and the expiration or termination date of the bond is subsequently extended for a period of no less than one additional year, or a replacement bond of equivalent or greater amount is subsequently provided in a form satisfactory to the Commission, the Commission shall have the option of proceeding to complete any portion of the required subdivision improvements and utilities under the original bond or accepting the extended or replacement bond in lieu of completing such improvements.
B. 
The Commission may call the bond at any time within 60 days before the date, as it may have been extended, on which the approval of the subdivision is scheduled to expire under any applicable provision of state or local law if any portion of the required subdivision improvements or utilities has not been completed.
A. 
Prior to the release of the performance bond the subdivider shall present a cash maintenance bond equal to 10% of the full amount (i.e., the highest amount set by the Commission before any subsequent reductions) of the performance bond. The maintenance bond shall be for a period of three years after all construction activity has been completed and shall guarantee the improvements installed against defects in materials or workmanship, or damage caused to the improvements by any construction activity in the subdivision. The three-year period shall commence upon the effective date of the acceptance of any road or other public improvements by the Town of Ashford, as recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission and Department of Public Works.
B. 
Application for the release of any bond upon completion of all required improvements shall include the submission of properly scaled as-built drawings, which shall include all changes in the plans as authorized by the Commission or its engineer during the course of construction. The as-built drawings shall be signed and sealed by a Connecticut registered land surveyor licensed in the State of Connecticut.
C. 
Upon submission of a written report from the engineer that all or a certain specified stage in the construction of improvements has been satisfactorily completed, the developer may request that the Commission reduce any outstanding bond to reflect the cost of construction of the remaining improvements. The Commission may refuse such reductions if it finds the construction of any improvements in violation of any provision of these regulations or the plans, terms, or conditions for any subdivision approved hereunder.
An application for approval of a subdivision plan that involves the construction or installation of public improvements shall constitute an agreement by the subdivider to be personally responsible for the completion of any portions of the improvements the Commission may deem necessary to serve any lots that may be conveyed following approval of the plan. The Commission's ability to call a subdivision bond or other surety pursuant to C.G.S. § 8-26c(c) shall not prevent the Commission from seeking to enforce the personal responsibility of the applicant to complete the necessary improvements. The Commission shall not approve any subdivision plan that involves the construction or installation of public improvements unless the applicant signs an agreement acknowledging the foregoing personal responsibilities. The form of such agreement shall be as set forth in Appendix E.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Appendix E is available at the Land Use Office.