[Adopted 7-10-1990 by Ord. No. 32-1990; amended in its entirety 5-23-2023 by Ord. No. 4-2023]
A. 
No person, other than a duly authorized City officer or employee, shall make any opening or remove any pavement in any street or sidewalk in the City of Cohoes without a permit from the Director of Building and Planning or their designee. For purposes of this article, "street" shall include, but not be limited to, alley, road, and boulevard.
B. 
The fee for a permit shall be $100. The fee for the opening shall be $5 per square foot.
C. 
Permits issued hereunder shall not be transferable without the written consent of the Commissioner of Public Works.
D. 
In an emergency requiring the immediate opening or removal of any pavement in any street or sidewalk, a permit must be filed with the Department of Building and Planning within 72 hours of the opening or removal, or the Director of Building and Planning may impose a fine on the person that performed the opening or removal in accordance with § 244-12.3 of this article.
A. 
Whenever a street or a portion of a street is to be closed to traffic or parking is to be prohibited, or there is to be a disturbance in the public right-of-way for eight or more hours on one day or over a period of several days, the Director of Building and Planning may require, as a condition of the issuance of a permit, a program of public notification which may include the following:
(1) 
Direct contact with residents on the affected street through circular or leaflet.
(2) 
The publication of a display advertisement in at least one local newspaper of general circulation.
(3) 
Signage at the work site.
(4) 
Publication of the notification on City social media accounts.
B. 
Notification should include expected date and time of commencement and completion of work, hours that the street shall be closed to traffic, the date and times temporary parking restrictions will be in effect and the availability of alternate routes, if applicable.
A. 
Application for a permit shall be made to the Director of Building and Planning or their designee, on provided forms, which shall describe the location, number, purpose and size of the openings to be made, the kind of pavement to be removed, the time when such openings are desired and the length of time the openings will remain open, together with such other information regarding the work as the Director of Building and Planning or his designee may require.
B. 
When an application is received, the Director of Building and Planning or his/her designee shall review the application with the City Planner, City Engineer and/or the Commissioner of Public Works prior to issuing such permit to assure that the applicant has met all applicable requirements.
Before a permit is granted, the applicant shall provide a certificate of insurance of a duly authorized insurance company in the sum of $1,000,000 designating the City as a named insured and evincing coverage to indemnify and save harmless the City from all loss, damage, cost and liability whatever which the City may sustain or incur by reason of any accident or omission of the person to whom such permit is granted or any person employed by him while engaged in such employment and performing any of the work done under or pursuant to such permits.
Street removals shall have no horizontal dimension less than three feet. For sidewalks removals, the full sidewalk panel shall be removed and replaced.
In order to preserve and protect the historic and aesthetic integrity of the City's infrastructure, the permittee will replace any excavated street with the same paving materials removed. Sidewalks shall be replaced with concrete under all circumstances. In the event it is necessary to place a temporary surface on any opening, the temporary surface shall be composed of hot mix asphalt or cold mix paving material. Gravel and flexbase surface material shall not be used unless the preexisting surface was gravel or flexbase. No less than the area from the curb to the middle of the street along the entire length of the opening shall be replaced. The length of the restoration will be determined by the Director of Building and Planning after consultation with the Commissioner of Public Works for any project with multiple street openings on the same street, and such determination shall be made known to the permit applicant prior to the issuance of a permit.
No street or sidewalk opening as authorized herein shall be closed without and until an inspection by the Commissioner of Public Works or their designee. The closing and repaving shall thereafter be performed in a manner satisfactory to the Commissioner of Public Works and Director of Building and Planning and in accordance with their specifications.
All damaged trees, shrubs and ground covers shall be restored or replaced, and any ground cover shall be fertilized and watered until reestablished.
A. 
A person receiving a permit pursuant to the provisions hereof shall have a continuing duty to keep such area free from settlement or other defects caused by said openings and shall, when necessary, repair and restore such area to a condition satisfactory to the Commissioner of Public Works and the Director of Building and Planning.
B. 
If a permittee fails to properly repair within five days after written notice thereof from the Director of Building and Planning, the City shall have such repairs made, which shall be charged against the permittee. Failure to make repairs may result in the performance of the repair work by the City at the expense of the person authorized to open the street or curb.
C. 
Should any sidewalk panel be damaged, as determined by the Commissioner of Public Works, by the opening of a street, the person authorized to open the street shall replace the full damaged panel with concrete.
D. 
Nothing contained herein, however, shall prevent or preclude the City from taking whatever steps may be necessary, with or without notice, when emergency or otherwise dangerous conditions exist.
All persons, corporations or other entities proposing to install or repair pipe, cable, wire, conduit or other facilities in, on or over any street or sidewalk, or within a public right-of-way in the City of Cohoes or otherwise dig in or open the same shall be responsible for reviewing the City's list of streets and sidewalks scheduled for repair or reconstruction, to be prepared and maintained by the Department of Building and Planning, and shall make provision to do any work, except emergency work, which requires the opening or use of any such street or sidewalk prior to or during the construction of the project undertaken by the City. No permit to use or open any street or sidewalk which would require resurfacing or reconstruction, except for emergency work as hereinafter provided, shall be issued to any such person within a five-year period after the completion of the construction of a capital project by the City relating to such street or sidewalk unless such person demonstrates that the need for the work could not have reasonably been anticipated prior to or during such construction. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Director of Building and Planning may issue a permit to open a street or sidewalk within such five-year period upon a finding of necessity therefor, subject to such conditions as the Director may establish after consultation with the City Planner, City Engineer, and Commissioner of Public Works, which shall include appropriate guarantees against the deterioration of the restored pavement. In such case, the street pavement shall be replaced from curb to curb along the entire length of the opening for street openings and the full damaged sidewalk panel shall be replaced for sidewalk openings.