[Adopted 3-4-1959 by Ord. No. 168]
Wherever used herein the following words shall have the meaning as herein set forth:
BOROUGH
The Borough of Langhorne, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
ENGINEER
The currently appointed Engineer of the Borough of Langhorne.
PERMITTEE
The applicant who is directly responsible for the work contemplated, whether it be a public utility, individual, partnership, corporation and/or its assignees.
PERMITTER
The Borough of Langhorne.
SECRETARY
The currently appointed Secretary of the Borough Council, Borough of Langhorne, Pennsylvania.
From and after the effective date of this article, it shall be unlawful for any person, persons, association or corporation to alter or construct within the right-of-way of any street of the Borough of Langhorne any facility, including but not limited to the erecting of poles, laying conduits, water, steam, oil or gas pipes, or storm or sanitary sewers, unless a permit therefor has first been obtained as hereinafter provided and all conditions and requirements as herein set forth have been complied with.
[Amended 6-12-2013 by Ord. No. 2013-03]
Application for a permit to alter or construct such facilities shall be made to the Secretary of the Borough of Langhorne in accordance with the following rules and regulations:
A. 
The applicant shall submit, in quadruplicate, the information requested on the form of application provided by the Borough, together with five copies of a sketch to scale showing such dimensions as the location of the intended facility, width of traveled roadway, right-of-way lines and a dimension to the nearest intersecting street. A fee, in an amount set from time to time by resolution of the Borough Council, made payable to the Borough of Langhorne shall accompany the application.
B. 
The Secretary of the Borough Council shall issue the required permit to the permittee after all the aforementioned stipulations have been fulfilled. The Borough Secretary, in turn, shall forward to the Borough Engineer one copy of the sketch and one copy of the application noting the intended starting date as supplied by the contractor.
C. 
The Borough Engineer shall inspect the work periodically at its various stages to determine the degree of compliance to the specifications governing the work. The applicant shall pay to the Borough of Langhorne a sum, in an amount set from time to time by resolution of the Borough Council, per inspection trip in order to defray the costs of the Borough Engineer's services. This fee shall be paid in full for the total accumulated inspection charges prior to the issuance of a final certificate of compliance by the Borough Engineer after the permittee has completed the facility installation.
The conduct of the work shall be subject to the following rules and regulations:
A. 
The work authorized by the permit shall be done at such times and in such manner as shall be consistent with the safety of the public, and shall be subject to all conditions, restrictions and regulations as herein prescribed.
B. 
The permission granted by the permit does not relieve the permittee from obtaining any consent otherwise required from the owner or owners of abutting property, and does not confer upon the permittee the right to cut, remove or destroy trees or shrubbery within the legal limits of the right-of-way, except under such conditions, restrictions and regulations as prescribed by law.[1] If any trees are removed within the limits of the right-of-way by consent of the property owner, the stumps must be cut to ground level or removed entirely, if required by the Borough Engineer.
[1]
Editor's Note: See also Chapter 409, Trees and Shrubs, of this Code.
C. 
Where practicable, all trenches below the grade of the finished surface of the street shall be a minimum of three feet in depth and shall be of a width sufficient to afford working room and proper backfill.
D. 
All trenches parallel to the roadway outside the paved area shall be a minimum of at least three feet from the edge of the road metal measured from the nearest side of the trench, unless otherwise authorized by the Borough Engineer.
E. 
All trenches dug laterally or transversely with the roadway shall be constructed in half width so as to provide a continuous flow of traffic. The half width construction shall be completed in its entirety prior to further excavation for the remaining half width.
F. 
Excavation or other material shall be placed or stored on the side of the operation farthest from the road metal or pavement, unless otherwise authorized by the Borough Engineer, and in such manner that there will be no interference with the flow of water in any gutter, drain, pipe, culvert, ditch or waterway. All parts of the paved street and various structures disturbed shall be restored to a condition equal to that which existed before starting work.
G. 
Red lights shall be displayed from sunset to sunrise at any and all points of the work where there may be danger to any person lawfully using the street, and barricades shall be provided continuously wherever they are needed to protect the public.
H. 
The proposed location of the facility shall be such so as to remain clear of installed facilities such as tile underdrains, storm sewers, sanitary sewers, electrical conduits, gas lines, oil lines and traffic signal equipment.
I. 
The permittee shall clear with all other utilities his plan of installation and shall save harmless the Borough of Langhorne from any claims arising from his activities. The Borough may require insurance to protect itself from such claims.
J. 
After the facility has been placed in the trench, the trench shall be backfilled with suitable material in layers not to exceed four inches in depth and mechanically tamped for the full depth of the trench. Particular emphasis shall be made to secure dense compaction around the haunches of all pipes.
K. 
Where the trench lies within a street and it is necessary to excavate through the road metal, trench replacement through the road metal shall be accomplished by widening the trench one feet on each side of the trench for a depth equal to the road metal, but in no case less than eight inches, and one of the following methods of roadway restoration shall be accomplished:
(1) 
Alternate No. 1. Temporary road metal replacement consisting of premixed bituminous surface course may be placed and maintained for a period of 60 days for the purpose of allowing shrinkage and settlement of the trench backfill after which, upon the expiration of 60 days, said material shall be removed and a six inches crushed aggregate base course with a two inches bituminous surface course HE shall be constructed. This latter material shall be placed and compacted using compaction equipment equal to a ten-ton roller and finished to true line and grade of the existing roadway surface.
(2) 
Alternate No. 2. Permanent roadway restoration may be accomplished immediately by placing reinforced cement concrete a depth of six inches through the roadway metal area, after which a two inches bituminous course HE shall be applied, rolled and struck to the true line and grade of the existing street.
L. 
Trench excavation through shoulder areas shall be accomplished in the manner as hereinbefore mentioned and backfilled using the prescribed method of four inches layers mechanically tamped up to an elevation of six inches below the finished shoulder grade. The remainder of the trench shall be backfilled utilizing selected material surfacing six inches in depth, placed and rolled to the true line of grade of the shoulder area. Where a trench is contained within the shoulder area and parallel to the roadway, it shall be mandatory to effect final compaction of the selected material utilizing a roller weighing eight tons to 10 tons.
M. 
Before a final compliance certificate is issued by the Borough Engineer, a final inspection will be necessary, at which time the job site shall be cleaned of all debris and construction material and neatly dressed to final grades. The permittee shall notify the Borough Engineer in sufficient time to arrange the final inspection.
N. 
In the event of willful failure or neglect by the said permittee, or its employees, to perform and comply with the conditions, restrictions and regulations herein imposed, the Borough may revoke and annul the permit and order and direct the said permittee to remove any and all structures or property belonging to the said permittee and covered by this permit from the legal limits of the right-of-way.
O. 
If the permittee, after making an opening in the highway, fails to restore the roadway, including the paved surface, shoulders and ditches to their original condition, the Borough reserves the right to do the work and bill the permittee for the cost of the restoration.
Upon completion of the work, the permittee shall apply to the Borough Engineer for a certificate of compliance, which shall be issued by the Engineer only upon payment of all fees due and satisfactory compliance with the rules and regulations herein prescribed.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person, persons, association or corporation who or which shall violate any of the provisions of this article shall, upon being found liable therefor, pay a fine of not more than $600, plus court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough in the enforcement proceedings. If the penalty is not paid, the Borough shall initiate a civil action for collection in accordance with the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate offense, and each section of this article that is violated shall also constitute a separate offense. In addition to or in lieu of enforcement under this section, the Borough may enforce this article in equity in the Court of Common Pleas of Bucks County.