[Ord. 88-4, 9/6/1988, § 1]
1. 
The following words, as used hereafter, shall have the meanings ascribed thereto:
ENGINEER
The Township Engineer or other person duly authorized and appointed by the Board of Supervisors to perform the duties of Engineer.
GOVERNING BODY
The Board of Supervisors of the Township of New Hanover.
PERMIT
A document in an approved form issued by the person, designated by the Board of Supervisors, regulating the opening and closing of excavations in dedicated streets.
PERSON
Any natural person, partnership, association, firm or corporation.
STREET
The right-of-way of any dedicated public street, avenue, boulevard, highway or alley in the Township of New Hanover, excepting any state or county highways.
TOWNSHIP
The Township of New Hanover.
2. 
Word Usage. The singular shall include the plural and the plural shall include the singular, and the masculine shall include the feminine and neuter.
[Ord. 88-4, 9/6/1988, § 2; amended by Ord. No. 22-07, 8/4/2022]
1. 
It shall be unlawful for any person, excluding the Township, to drill any hole or make any opening or excavation on any street in the Township without first having obtained from the Township a permit.
2. 
All work authorized by permit shall be done in strict conformity with said permit and in strict conformity with the provisions of this part.
3. 
No permit shall be issued until the applicant therefor shall have complied with following conditions:
A. 
Payment of permit fee, per street opening, which sum shall be for the use of the Township at such rate as may be adopted by the Board of Supervisors by resolution and as may be amended from time to time by further resolution of the Board of Supervisors.
B. 
The applicant shall deposit with the Township a security deposit in the amount and manner prescribed in § 21-112 of this part.
4. 
In the case of an emergency involving a threat of injury to person or damage to property, a person may, upon notice to the Township Police Department, open or excavate any street without first having obtained a permit pursuant to this part. In that event, said person shall, within 24 hours of the commencement of work, apply for a permit pursuant to this part. In the event that said work for said emergency occurs during a holiday or such other day when the Township office is closed and a permit cannot be obtained, the required permit under the terms of this part shall be obtained on the first working day thereafter.
[Ord. 88-4, 9/6/1988, § 3]
1. 
Each person requesting a permit under this part shall file an application with the Township, which application shall state the following:
A. 
The purpose for which such opening or excavation is to be made.
B. 
The location and approximate dimensions of each opening or excavation.
C. 
An estimate of the length of time required for the work to be done under said permit.
D. 
Applicant's name, address and telephone number.
E. 
Names and addresses of all persons, firms, associations or corporations interested in and participating in the work to be done.
[Ord. 88-4, 9/6/1988, § 4]
Any permit granted pursuant to this part shall be granted for a designated purpose at a specific location and for a specific period of time. The permit may contain any further conditions that may be required by the Township. All work performed pursuant to a permit shall be done strictly in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in the permit.
[Ord. 88-4, 9/6/1988, § 5]
During the progress of the work, the holder of the permit shall provide and maintain such fences, barriers, "street closed" and warning signs, red lights and other danger signals, and watchmen as may be necessary to prevent accidents to the public, pursuant to and in compliance with the standards established by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation as set forth in 67 Pa. Code, Chapter 131, as may be amended or supplemented from time to time, a copy of which is available in the Township office. The traveling public, during the progress of the work, shall at all times be provided for and shall be inconvenienced as little as possible. Drainage gutters and inlets to storm sewers shall be kept clean and unobstructed. The amount of trench opened and also the amount unfilled at the conclusion of the work day, if any, shall at all times be subject to the decision of the Township Engineer.
[Ord. 88-4, 9/6/1988, § 7; amended by Ord. No. 22-07, 8/4/2022]
1. 
Not more than one contiguous break or opening shall be made at any one time in pursuance of any such permit, which break or opening shall not be more than 1,000 feet in length.
2. 
Every such break or opening shall be refilled by the party that obtained the permit, making the same in the manner herein provided, on the same day in which the break or opening commenced. Each and every period of 24 hours subsequent to the commencement of work in which the said opening or break remains open or unrefilled as hereinafter required shall be considered as a new and distinct offense and shall subject the offender to the same penalty as hereinafter provided for the first offense.
3. 
Full restoration of the street or roadway shall be completed no later than 60 days after the initial break or opening. Every day subsequent to the expiration of the sixty-day limit during which the opening or break shall remain open or unrefilled as hereinafter required shall be considered a new and distinct offense and shall subject the offender to the same penalty as hereinafter provided for the first offense.
4. 
Construction warranty. If, within 18 months after the date of full restoration, defects appear therein, the applicant shall reimburse the Township for the cost of all necessary repairs to the street or the Township may use a portion or all of the security deposit posted by the applicant to cover the cost of all necessary repairs to the street. If the security deposit is used in whole or in part, the applicant shall replenish the security deposit to cover all costs until the eighteen-month financial security period expires.
5. 
Where streets have been recently overlaid within five years of the date of application for road opening and/or the street is disturbed for more than 25 square feet and/or 50 lineal feet, restoration will include base repair, surface milling and overlay according to Township specifications, to the extent of milling and overlaying the full cartway, which includes edge of paving to the other side of edge of paving, including the roadway shoulder of the entire block, not to be less than 100 feet in length. The Township specifications are those specifications determined by the Township Engineer and/or Public Works Director and relayed to the entity performing the restoration at the time of the restoration and shall meet the minimum standards set forth in Part 2A of this chapter.
6. 
Where streets have been recently constructed within five years of the date of application for road opening and/or the street is disturbed for more than 25 square feet and/or 50 lineal feet, restoration will include base repair, surface milling and overlay according to Township specifications to the extent of milling and overlaying the full cartway, which includes edge of paving to the other side of edge of paving of the entire block, not to be less than 100 feet in length. The Township specifications are those specifications relayed by the Township to the entity performing the restoration at the time of the restoration. The Township reserves the right to require fog seal, chip seal, or other surface treatment as determined by the Township Engineer and/or Public Works Director.
7. 
Any and all restorations of a street or portion thereof shall be consistent with the previous application method used on that section of street, unless the Township Engineer and/or Public Works Director approves the use of a different restoration or surface treatment method.
8. 
No street opening or excavation shall be permitted and no permit shall be granted for any street opening or excavation of any newly paved street for any purpose whatsoever within three years from the date of completion of the paving, except for emergency repairs, or for services to an entirely new building to be erected, and then only with prior special permission having been granted by the Board of Supervisors upon written recommendation by the Township Engineer.
9. 
The Township shall annually inform utilities of the Township's capital improvement programs and of specific projects as they are designed. Prior to the scheduled rehabilitative work, the utilities are expected to perform any needed maintenance work on their below-street facilities and to upgrade them for growth commensurate with the expected life of the street improvement.
10. 
Driveway, sidewalk cuts; grass verges; and all work contained within the roadway right-of-way. The time limitations, warranties, and requirements of this section are also applicable to the opening, cutting, excavation, repair, and restoration of driveway and sidewalk cuts and grass verges along any street subject to a permit application under this part.
11. 
Prior to any excavation the applicant shall provide the Township with the Pennsylvania One Call serial number.
[Ord. 88-4, 9/6/1988, § 8; as amended by Ord. 17-03, 3/27/2017]
1. 
All openings or excavations of streets, excepting drill holes, shall, before completion, be cut with a power saw and not with an air jackhammer or similar device.
2. 
Any person opening or excavating any street shall, upon completion of the project and after notification of the Township, immediately and completely backfill such openings or excavations, mechanically tamping the same so as to prevent any settling thereof, and shall restore the surface to the same condition as it was prior to the making of such opening or excavation and, prior to the expiration of the permit, shall remove from the site of work all debris, tools and equipment.
3. 
All backfilling and restoration shall be done in strict conformance with the detailed sketches for backfilling and restoration which are hereinafter set forth as Exhibit 21-1-A, respectively, and which are incorporated herein by reference and made a part of this part.
4. 
Where test holes have been drilled, they shall be filled and sealed with hot tar.
5. 
Permanent restoration, backfilling of any opening and/or excavation shall be as follows:
A. 
A bed of screening two inches under the utility conduit.
B. 
From bottom of conduit to a level 7.5 inches below the surface of the trench shall be backfilled with 2A modified stone aggregate, mechanically tamped in six-inch intervals.
C. 
Before completing backfill of trench, a saw cut shall extend a minimum of 12 inches beyond the trench opening on all sides of the excavation.
D. 
The new six inches shall be backfilled with bituminous base course and shall extend a minimum of 12 inches on each side of the trench. The contractor shall be held responsible for any settlement within one year of the final restoration.
E. 
The next 1.5 inches shall be an application of bituminous wearing course properly graded to the surface of the street and sealed at the saw cut with an approved asphalt sealing material.
F. 
All lateral street cuts shall be backfilled with 2A modified stone aggregate.
G. 
Parallel street cuts, the material excavated from the trench may be used for backfilling with written permission from the Board of Supervisors or their agent. Under no circumstances shall the trench be backfilled higher than two feet from the road surface with the excavated material.
6. 
Temporary Restoration. During winter construction periods, the trench shall be backfilled as in the first three items of the specifications for permanent restoration in Subsection 5 above. The final step shall be temporary application of bituminous stockpile mix to bring the trench to street grade. Periodically, inspection shall be made to maintain the trench in condition satisfactory to the Township. On or before May 31 following the date the street cut was first made, the permittee shall permanently restore the cut as in Subsections 5D and 5E.
7. 
Where major street openings or excavations are done on a newly constructed street or a street repaved within three years prior to the date of issuance of said permit, the entire street covered by the permit issued at the location where the work is to be done, in the discretion of the Board of Supervisors, shall be retopped with paving materials prescribed by the Township. The work of resurfacing shall be examined and inspected by the Township. Upon satisfactory completion of said resurfacing, the Township shall return to the permit holder any deposit and/or bond as provided for in this part, excluding the $1,000 deposit provided for the Township's benefit when opening a street repaved within one year of said opening. In the event said person shall fail to restore or resurface said street in a satisfactory manner, the Township may perform said work and apply any amount of the security and/or bond against the costs incurred by the Township for said restoration. In addition, in the event that the costs of said work exceeds the amount of the deposit and/or bond, the permit holder shall pay to the Township the deficiency within 10 days of the date of written notification by the Township to the permit holder. No further permit shall be issued to any person unless and until all deficiencies so billed by the Township to said person shall have been paid in full.
[Ord. 88-4, 9/6/1988, § 9]
The party or parties to whom or for whom a permit may be issued shall assume all responsibility for the excavations made, shall indemnify and save harmless the Township from all loss, costs and damages by such applicant in the performance of the work, and shall pay the Township costs of every kind incurred in the contesting of suits on said account, and upon notice from the Township, will assume the defense of any such suits.
[Ord. 88-4, 9/6/1988, § 10; as amended by Ord. 97-7, 10/13/1997, § 21-110; and by Ord. 17-03, 3/27/2017]
Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any provision of this part, upon conviction thereof in an action brought before a magisterial district judge in the manner provided for the enforcement of summary offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, shall be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $1,000 plus costs or such other penalty as may be authorized and imposed by law. Each day that a violation of this part continues or each section of this part which shall be found to have been violated shall constitute a separate offense. Notwithstanding the same, the Township may seek enforcement by means of request for injunctive relief or other equitable remedies as may be provided by law in a court of competent jurisdiction.
[Ord. 88-4, 9/6/1988, § 11]
From and after the enactment of this part, it shall be lawful for any public service company, any firm, person or any corporation, to install and lay underground conduits for carrying electric light, electric power, telephone and/or telegraph wires under any street within the Township of New Hanover, such installation and work to be done under and subject to the supervision and approval of the Township Road Superintendent and provided that such public service company or party making the installation shall and will obtain a permit and assume and pay any and all costs, expenses, damages and liability of every kind and nature incident to and arising out of such installation, and shall assume all liability as hereinbefore set forth in this part, and shall conduct the work in the manner therein set forth, and shall and will, at its or their own proper cost and expense, restore such excavation in accordance with the specifications set forth herein.
[Added by Ord. No. 22-07, 8/4/2022]
1. 
At the time of permit application, the applicant shall deposit with the Township financial security in an amount equal to 110% of the cost of completion of the work required to comply with this part estimated as of 90 days following the date scheduled for completion. The form and administration of the financial security shall be in accordance with § 509 of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, 53 P.S. § 10509. The financial security shall be held by the Township for 18 months after the date of final completion and shall be used by the Township as liquidated damages in case of default, nonperformance, or violation of the construction warranty by the applicant. Financial security shall not be required for Township or municipal authority projects.
2. 
Determination of the cost of improvements used for setting the amount of financial security shall be based upon an estimate of the cost of completion the of required improvements. The Township, under recommendation of the Township Engineer and/or Public Works Director, may refuse to accept the estimate for reasons to be provided to the applicant. If the applicant and the Township are unable to agree upon an estimate, then the estimate shall be recalculated and recertified by another provision engineer which is mutually chosen by the Township and the applicant. The estimate certified by the third engineer shall be presumed to be fair and reasonable and shall be the final estimate.
3. 
In the event that said security deposit is not sufficient to cover all costs of restoration, then the permit holder shall pay to the Township the amount of such deficiency within 10 days of written notification by the Township to the permit holder of the amount of the deficiency.
4. 
Release of the financial security posted by the applicant shall be conditioned upon review and approval of the work by the Township Engineer and the Township Public Works Department. Denial of the release of the financial security shall be provided in writing, stating the reasons for the denial, including the ordinances, rules, and/or regulations that have been violated. If the work is deemed incomplete, and not completed by the date specified in the permit, the Township may take one or more of the following actions:
A. 
Declare the financial security in default and require that all improvements be installed at the time the permit is declared in default.
B. 
Obtain funds under the security and complete improvements.
C. 
Exercise any other available rights under the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.
5. 
Any person, in lieu of depositing the security as hereinabove provided, may submit a performance bond with corporate surety in such amount as may be determined by the Township and shall include such conditions as the Township may require and approve. In the event said bond is approved by the Township and thereafter any person having submitted such bond violates the provisions of this part, the Township, in its sole and absolute discretion, may require said person to deposit a cash security deposit as hereinabove stated and may cancel and return the bond to said person.