[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Irondequoit 2-26-2002 by L.L. No. 4-2002. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
This chapter shall be known and may be cited
as the "Right-of-Way Law of the Town of Irondequoit."
The placement of obstructions in, and the paving
of, a public right-of-way within the Town of Irondequoit is detrimental
to the health, safety and general welfare of the community. The same
also constitutes an attractive nuisance to children and in many ways
imperils their safety. Obstructions and paving of any sort creates
dangerous situations by obstructing the view of pedestrians or motorists,
damaging Town tree root systems, lawns and the roadway and is also
unsightly and depreciates all property values. The control of the
public right-of-way within the Town of Irondequoit is, therefore,
regulated for the preservation of the health, safety and general welfare
of the community.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
As used herein, shall include public service corporations
such as Rochester Gas & Electric, Rochester Telephone, Time Warner
Cablevision, Sea Breeze Water Authority and the Monroe County Water
Authority.
Includes but is not limited to lumber, wood or logs, rocks, pipes, wooden posts, building materials and supplies, abandoned machines, vehicles or implements, fences, buildings or structures, earth, stone, vegetation, snow, athletic equipment or other material within the boundaries of a highway. (Leaf/brush piles may be left on the right-of-way only the week of the regularly scheduled pickup. For refuse collection regulations, see Chapter 192.)
The land owned by the state, county or Town which is occupied
or intended to be occupied by a road, sidewalk, and/or utility lines,
such as electric, gas, oil, water, sanitary sewer or storm sewer.
The right-of-way shall include the road, the sidewalk and grass area.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or
corporation to store or deposit or erect any obstruction on the right-of-way.
It shall be the responsibility of the property owner to promptly remove
all obstructions within the right-of-way adjacent to their property
and to restore the right-of-way to its original condition and design.
The right-of-way shall not be paved or stoned
under any circumstances without written approval from the Commissioner
of Public Works/Superintendent of Highways. Whenever paving or stoning
has occurred without the written approval from the Commissioner of
Public Works/Superintendent of Highways, it is the responsibility
of the property owner to restore the right-of-way to its original
condition and design.
No person or corporation shall open, disturb
or work, or erect fences or structures, or plant trees, or cause to
be opened or disturbed by cutting, missiling, boring, digging, resurfacing
or excavating the surface, soil, pavement or sidewalk, within any
street, highway, sidewalk or right-of-way, for any purpose whatsoever
without having:
A.
Secured a permit to perform such work from the Commissioner
of Public Works/Superintendent of Highways.
B.
Provided notice to the Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent
of Highways of the specific location of each such excavation.
C.
Secured any necessary site plan approvals required
by the Town.
The Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent
of Highways may issue a permit to any applicant meeting the following
qualifications:
A.
Such applicant or the applicant's agent shall have
filed in the office of the Commissioner an insurance certificate showing
coverage as determined by the Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent
of Highways. The insurance certificate shall name the Town of Irondequoit
as an additional insured and shall include the coverage of completed
operations.
B.
Such applicant shall have paid the appropriate fee
to the Town as established by the Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent
of Highways.
C.
Such applicant shall have completed and signed a right-of-way
application form provided by the Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent
of Highways, which shall include a statement that the applicant has
received and will comply with the standards and specifications of
the Town for work within its rights-of-way.
D.
Such applicant shall not have had a permit revoked
within the past three years.
E.
Franchises.
(1)
Such applicant shall have either:
(a)
Duly obtained a franchise from the Town Board
for the use of the Town's rights-of-way; or
(b)
Signed an agreement, in a form as prepared by
the Commissioner, committing the applicant to retroactively comply
with any franchise legislation duly adopted by the Town and uniformly
applicable to similar users of the Town's rights-of-way, or to remove
the applicant's facilities promptly after adoption.
(2)
These qualifications shall not apply to property owners
or their agents engaged in the construction or maintenance of driveways,
commercial entrances or mailboxes.
A.
A-1: shall permit the holder to maintain existing
facilities, including emergency repairs, install new services from
mains to existing structures, widen or resurface existing driveways,
open cutting of the road or other work permitted as single jobs. The
permits shall be valid only for the calendar year in which they are
issued.
B.
A-2: shall permit the holder to resurface existing
driveways or other work permitted as single jobs. The permits shall
be valid only for the calendar year in which they are issued.
Fees for annual maintenance contract permits
shall be established from time to time by resolution of the Town Board.
The permit holder shall not assign, transfer
or otherwise dispose of the permit to any person or corporation.
Notice to the Town of the location of work requiring
such permits shall be upon forms or facsimiles thereof as developed
by the Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent of Highways. Notice
to the Town for emergency repairs shall be made no later than one
business day after the start of the work. Notice to the Town for all
other work shall be furnished at least five business days prior to
the start of the work. For these purposes, "emergency repairs" shall
be defined as those unforeseeable repairs to existing facilities necessary
to protect the public from imminent danger or necessary to assure
uninterrupted utility service and shall also be defined to include
new, temporary facilities as necessary to provide continuous utility
service while repairs are made to existing facilities.
The Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent
of Highways may revoke any permit issued hereunder for any or all
of the following reasons:
A.
Failure to maintain an insurance certificate showing
the required coverage for the entire duration of any work.
B.
Failure to pay fees.
C.
Failure to provide the required notice of the location
within the required schedule.
D.
Failure to adhere to the Town's standards and specifications
for work within the right-of-way.
E.
Other good and sufficient reason.
A.
The Town specifications and standards shall be proposed
from time to time by the Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent
of Highways and shall be adopted and amended by resolution of the
Town Board. These standards shall deal with such subjects as the materials
to be used, the tools and techniques, the execution of the work, the
restoration of the site and the maintenance and protection of traffic.
B.
The following are hereby adopted as a part of the
Town's standards and specifications:
(1)
All maintenance and protection of traffic shall be
in complete accord with the New York State Manual of Uniform Traffic
Control Devices, as it may be amended from time to time by the State
of New York.
(2)
All disturbed areas within the right-of-way are to
be restored to their original condition on a schedule to be approved
by the Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent of Highways. Absent
satisfactory evidence from the applicant to the contrary, it shall
be presumed that the facilities, in their undisturbed condition, were
fully operable, safe for public travel and in good condition.
(3)
All utilities and facilities in the area of the work
are to be located, protected and (if disturbed or damaged) repaired
by the permit holder.
(4)
The highway must be kept clean of mud, dirt and other
debris at all times.
(5)
No asphalt may be placed over sidewalks.
(6)
Temporary pavement must be immediately placed in all
road cuts until weather conditions permit permanent pavement restoration.
(7)
The permittee must maintain the road cut (temporary
and permanent) until the road is overlaid.
(8)
Maximum
width allowed per driveway is 35% of the linear footage of the side
of the parcel where the driveway is located.
[Added 5-16-2023 by L.L. No. 4-2023]
(9)
Only
one driveway entry/approach permitted per residential parcel.
[Added 5-16-2023 by L.L. No. 4-2023]
C.
The Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent of
Highways, in granting a permit, may impose any and all special conditions
as may be reasonably required to protect the interests of the Town
and of all other users of the Town rights-of-way.
Work shall be conducted only after specific notice to the Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent of Highways as provided in § 199-11 above and only if no verbal or written notice to the permittee to suspend work has been provided by the Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent of Highways or designee. Work shall be delayed, at the direction of the Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent of Highways, as necessary to coordinate it with the work of the Town or with the approvals of related developments.
The following activities within the right-of-way
shall not require a permit:
In the event that any permit holder fails to
do anything required hereunder, the Highway Superintendent may cause
the same to be done, and the cost of the same shall be charged to
the permit holder who shall be liable therefor.
The Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent
of Highways or his designee(s), Building Inspector, Fire Marshal,
Code Compliance Inspector or Irondequoit Police Department may from
time to time require notice to be served upon owners, as hereinafter
provided, to remedy any of the foregoing conditions which may exist
upon the land, in addition to other Town Code violations which may
exist. Compliance is required within seven days of receipt of notice,
or longer if specified by the Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent
of Highways or his designee(s). If there is an immediate danger to
pedestrian or vehicular traffic, the obstruction may be removed immediately
by the Town without prior notification to the property owner.
Whenever the Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent
of Highways or his designee(s), Building Inspector, Fire Marshal or
Code Compliance Inspector, or Irondequoit Police Department requires
the owners of land to correct violations of this chapter, the notice
shall specify the place, manner and time (not less than seven days
from the receipt of said notice) within which such work shall be completed.
The notice shall be served upon such owner or owners by registered
or certified mail addressed to his or her or their last known address.
A.
Whenever a notice or notices has been or have been
served upon such owner or owners of the respective lots or parcels
of land to correct violations of this chapter, and such owner or owners
shall neglect or fail to comply with the requirements of such notice
or notices within the time provided therein, the Commissioner of Public
Works/Superintendent of Highways shall be notified of said violation(s)
and shall authorize the work to be done. The cost thereof, including
costs of restoration of the right-of-way to its original condition
and design, shall be paid out of the general Town funds to be appropriated
by the Town Board for such purposes. The same procedure shall apply
to emergency situations described above.
B.
The Commissioner of Public Works, Building Inspector,
Fire Marshal or Code Compliance Inspector may issue an appearance
ticket subscribed by him or her directing the owner or owners to appear
in a designated local criminal court at a designated future time in
connection with this alleged commission of a designated offense of
this chapter. Each day that passes without the proper restoration
of the right-of-way shall constitute a separate offense. A violation
of this chapter will constitute a Class B violation.
Should the Commissioner of Public Works/Superintendent
of Highways authorize work to be done for removal of obstructions
and restoration of the right-of-way to its original condition and
design, then the Public Works/Highway Department shall be reimbursed
for the cost, including out-of-pocket administrative expense of the
work performed or services rendered by direction of the Commissioner
of Public Works/Superintendent of Highways, as hereinabove provided,
by assessment and levy upon the lots or parcels of land wherein such
work was performed or such services rendered, and the expenses so
assessed shall constitute a lien and charge on the real property on
which it is levied until paid or otherwise satisfied or discharged
and shall be collected in the same manner and at the same time as
other Town charges.
