[Adopted as Ch. 180, Art. III, of the 1976 Code]
[Amended 2-4-2003 by L.L. No. 2-2003]
No person, persons, firm, association or corporation shall alter or disturb the grade of any public street, or public place within the Village or disturb the surface of or pavement upon any public street or public place, or dig up or excavate any such public street or public place within said Village, until said person, persons, firm, association or corporation shall have first obtained a permit therefor from the Village.
[Amended 9-16-1976 by L.L. No. 16-1976; 7-7-1987 by L.L. No. 12-1987; 2-4-2003 by L.L. No. 2-2003]
A. 
Every application for a permit to alter or disturb the grade of any public street or public place or to disturb the surface of or pavement upon any public street or public place shall be in writing, stating the purpose, extent, location and nature of the proposed excavation or other disturbance of a public street or public place within the Village.
B. 
Every applicant for a permit, in addition to a fee in the amount set forth by the Board of Trustees, shall deposit with the Village Treasurer a sum of money required by the Village, depending on the size and location of the excavation or opening of any public street, sidewalk, pavement, or gutter over which the Village shall have jurisdiction, to cover the cost of restoration thereof, in accordance with specifications hereinafter set forth; and said deposit shall be in accordance with the rate scale for repairs, adopted by the Board of Trustees, and shall further indemnify the Village and save it harmless from any and all liability which may result from any such disturbance, change or alteration of grade or excavation by the applicant of any portion of any public street, or other public place.
[Amended 12-16-2003 by L.L. No. 17-2003]
C. 
Each application for a permit hereunder shall also be accompanied by a certificate of insurance, in a form approved by the Village Clerk, running to the Village, stating that the applicant has provided bodily injury liability and property damage liability to save the Village harmless from all claims, actions, and proceedings brought by any person for injury to person or property resulting from or occasioned by any fault or default by the Village, its employees, or agents or by the person to whom the permit is issued or anyone acting thereunder and protecting the Village against any damage caused to any public street or other public property by reason of the work done pursuant to any permit issued hereunder, all in such amounts as shall be prescribed from time to time by the Board of Trustees.
[Amended 12-16-2003 by L.L. No. 17-2003]
A. 
Any water company, gas company or electric or telephone company or special district may, in lieu of the making of the deposit hereinabove set forth, file with the Village Clerk a surety company bond in such penal sum, in such form, and with such sureties as may be approved by the Board of Trustees, securing the Village against loss, damage, or expense caused by failure of such public utility company and/or special district to restore any public street excavated, opened or dug up by such public utility company or special district in accordance with the specifications hereinafter set forth.
[Amended 2-4-2003 by L.L. No. 2-2003; 12-16-2003 by L.L. No. 17-2003]
B. 
No permit shall be issued to any such public utility company or special district when, in the opinion of the Superintendent of Highways, the cost of restoring all then existent street openings made by such public utility company or special district may exceed the amount of the aforesaid bond.
C. 
Nothing herein shall be deemed to relieve such public utility company or special district from applying for and paying the fee, in such amount as shall be prescribed from time to time by the Board of Trustees, for the permit required, as hereinabove set forth.
[Amended 9-16-1976 by L.L. No. 16-1976; 7-7-1987 by L.L. No. 12-1987; 12-16-2003 by L.L. No. 17-2003]
D. 
In the event of any violation of any of the provisions of this article by any public utility company or special district which has filed a bond as aforesaid, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Great Neck may order that no additional permits be issued to any such public utility company or special district unless the fee for the permit, together with the cash deposit as hereinabove provided, be paid.
Each and every permit issued pursuant to the terms and provisions of this article shall be at all times in the possession of the parties actually prosecuting the work.
No work may be commenced under any permit granted pursuant to this article unless or until such notice as shall be directed by the Village, shall have been given to public service corporations having lines, mains or other property in the street, for the protection of their property.
A. 
No tunneling under any of the street surfaces shall be permitted at a straight opening crossing pavement; nor, in opening any longitudinal trenches, shall any so-called buttresses with tunnels underneath be developed. The entire depth, length and width of the trench shall be opened.
[Amended 2-4-2003 by L.L. No. 2-2003]
B. 
In cutting the pavement, all reinforcement shall be cut along the center line of the trench and bent back over the edge of the remaining pavement. After the backfill has been replaced, as provided in § 485-17, the reinforcing material shall then be bent back as near to its original position as possible, after which temporary pavement shall be placed by methods acceptable to the Village Superintendent of Public Works, hereinafter referred to as the Superintendent.
A. 
The trench shall be carefully refilled, as soon as possible after the installation set forth in the permit is complete, in a manner as hereinafter provided, using the excavated material and/or such other fill as may be required by the Superintendent. The material within one foot over the top of the work shall be placed in layers of six inches and thoroughly rammed.
B. 
In case the backfill consists of practically all sand, water may be used for settling. In this event, 50% of the total depth of the backfill shall be made, followed by a thorough saturation with water, after which the balance of the backfill shall be made and the same treatments given it. After the backfill has been properly made to the satisfaction of the Superintendent, the party holding the permit shall cause temporary pavement to be placed over the opening area and any adjoining pavement which may be disturbed because of such backfilling operation. Said temporary pavement shall consist of asphaltic cement of not less than two inches in thickness, or of such other material as may be approved by the Superintendent. After sufficient time has elapsed for a proper settlement of the backfill, the temporary pavement shall be removed and permanent pavement installed in accordance with the following sections.
[Amended 6-5-2012 by L.L. No. 12-2012]
C. 
The applicant shall at all times preserve said backfill and temporary pavement in a good and safe condition. In the event of the failure of the applicant to properly maintain the backfill and temporary pavement disturbed by him, the Village shall have the right, after 24 hours' written notice to the applicant, to take whatever action is necessary and perform whatever work is necessary to restore same to a proper and safe condition; and the cost thereof shall be charged against the applicant and deducted from the deposit made by him or paid by the surety as the case may be.
A. 
In the replacement of pavement, all temporary pavement or backfill shall be removed and the adjoining pavement, if any, shall be removed to a width of one foot on each side of the trench where such trench is not deeper than three feet. In case the trench is of greater depth, the surrounding pavement to a width of two feet on all sides shall be removed. In either case, if the space between the edge of pavement as removed and the outer edge of remaining pavement, either against earth shoulders, concrete gutters, headers or otherwise, is of a lesser width than one foot, it shall also be removed. The subsurface shall then be thoroughly tamped to bring said subsurface to a safe and solid condition to receive and carry new foundation.
B. 
After the trench has been prepared, as specified in Subsection A, a one-to-two-to-three-and-one-half mix, gravel or broken stone concrete base, shall be laid, with which shall be installed five-eighths-inch reinforcing bars or wire mesh spaced on twelve-inch centers and two inches above the bottom of the concrete base. This base shall be six inches in thickness and shall be so laid as to permit the placing thereon of a bituminous pavement compressed, by the use of not less than a three-ton roller, to a thickness of two inches, the surface of which shall conform to a true grade with the surrounding pavement. All bituminous pavement replacements shall be finished in a workmanlike manner and shall conform as nearly as possible to grade and finish of the surrounding pavement.
All excavations in streets or sidewalks shall be surrounded by suitable barriers or guards for the protection of persons using the streets in the daytime and, in addition thereto, by lights or flares from twilight continuously until daylight. Such barriers and lights shall conform in kind and number to the requirements of the Superintendent of Highways. Failure to provide barriers and lights conforming to the requirements of said Superintendent shall be prima facie evidence of a failure to provide suitable barriers and lights.
Any permit issued herein shall not be construed in a manner to make the Village liable for any negligence of such applicant in making said excavation.
[Amended 9-16-1976 by L.L. No. 16-1976]
In the event of the failure of the applicant to restore properly any earth or pavement disturbed by him within 10 days after a notice by certified mail to such applicant, by the Village, such earth and pavement shall be restored by the Village and the cost thereof charged against such applicant and deducted from the deposit made; and if the cost of such restoration does not amount to said sum, the balance, if any, shall be refunded to the applicant by the Village, on resolution of the Board of Trustees.
Any person, firm, association or corporation altering or disturbing any curb, sidewalk or gutter shall replace and restore the same in accordance with the specifications and requirements set forth in Article IV, in addition to any requirements or regulation in the within article.
[Added 4-8-2025 by L.L. No. 2-2025]
A. 
Whenever the Village Board of Trustees enacts any local law, ordinance or resolution providing for the paving or repaving of any street, the Village Clerk-Treasurer, or his/her designee, shall promptly mail a written notice thereof to each public utility company owning any sanitary sewer, storm sewer, water line, gas line, conduit, rails or other utility in or under the street. The notice shall notify such utilities that no excavation permit shall be issued for opening, cuts, or excavations in the street for a period of five years after the date of enactment of such local law, ordinance or resolution in the absence of a complete and satisfactory restoration plan as approved by the Superintendent of the Building Department. The notice shall notify such persons that applications for excavation permits, for work to be done prior to such paving or repaving, shall be submitted promptly in order that the work covered by the excavation permit may be completed not later than 45 days from the date of enactment of such ordinance or resolution. The Village Clerk-Treasurer shall promptly mail copies of such notice to the occupants of all houses, buildings or other structures abutting the street for their information, and to all property owners whose property abuts the street. The Village Clerk-Treasurer may, but is not required to, mail such notices to any state agency and/or departments or other persons that may desire to perform excavation work in the street.
B. 
Within 45 days, every public utility company receiving notice as prescribed herein shall perform such excavation work, subject to the provisions of this section, as may be necessary to install or repair sewers, mains, conduits or other utility installations. In the event any owner of real property abutting the street shall fail within the 45 days to install or permit utility service lines or service connections to the property lines, any and all rights of such owner to make such openings, cuts or excavations in the street shall be forfeited for a period of five years from the date of enactment of the ordinances or resolution.
C. 
The Village Superintendent of the Department of Public Works or any other official charged with responsibility for any work that may necessitate any opening, cut or excavation in the street is directed to take appropriate measures to perform such excavation work within the forty-five-day period as to avoid the necessity for making any openings, cuts or excavations in the new pavement in the Village street during said five-year period.
D. 
Notwithstanding the foregoing, any public utility company having any sanitary sewer, storm sewer, water line, gas line, conduit, rails or other utility in or under the street may proceed with an excavation without first obtaining a permit when emergency circumstances demand the work to be done immediately, provided notice is given to the Village Superintendent of the Department of Public Works describing the emergency nature of the work and describing why a permit could not reasonably and practicably have been obtained prior to commencing such work. In addition, the public utility corporation shall notify the Village Clerk-Treasurer of such work within the public roadway prior to commencing any such work. In such emergency circumstances, the public utility corporation shall apply for a permit and pay the required fees and escrows therefor on the first business day thereafter and the permit shall be retroactive to the date when the work was first commenced.
E. 
If any public utility company (even under an emergency circumstance) or any owner of real property abutting the street where a five-year moratorium is in effect make such openings, cuts or excavations in such street, the public utility company or owner shall, within 60 days of making such opening, cuts or excavation, repair the street to the satisfaction of the Village Superintendent of the Department of Public Works in accordance with the following:
(1) 
If the opening, cut or excavation is made within two feet of the midpoint of the street, the public utility company or owner must repair the entire street from curb to curb.
(2) 
If the opening, cut or excavation is made more than two feet from the midpoint of the street, the public utility company or owner must repair from the curb to the midpoint of the street on the side where the opening, cut or excavation is made.
F. 
If the street is not repaired to the satisfaction of the Village Superintendent of the Department of Public Works within 60 days of making such opening, cuts or excavation, the Board of Trustees may cause the street to be repaired and may assess the expenses of repair upon the real property abutting the street where the opening, cut or excavation was made. If such assessment is not paid within 30 days of demand by the Village, such assessment shall become a lien upon the real property, subject to collection in the same manner and with the same costs and interest as a tax thereon. If the street is not repaired to the satisfaction of the Village Superintendent of the Department of Public Works by a public utility company, and an assessment is not paid within 30 days of demand by the Village, the Village may cease issuing permits to the public utility company until such assessment is paid.