[Adopted 10-11-1989 by Ord. No. 207]
[Amended 1-12-2000 by Ord. No. 00-01-01]
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or
corporation to cut into, open or excavate in or under the bed of any
street, road, highway, lane, alley, avenue, sidewalk, curb or other
public way within the corporate limits of the Town of Georgetown for
the purpose of installing therein or thereunder any poles, pipes,
mains, wire or conduits or for any other purpose without first obtaining
from the Town Manager of the Town of Georgetown or his designee a
permit to cut into, open or excavate such street, road, highway, lane,
alley, avenue, curb, sidewalk or other way, except as hereinafter
provided.
A.
Any person, firm or corporation desiring to cut into,
open or excavate in or under the bed of any street, road, highway,
lane, alley, avenue, curb, sidewalk or other public way for any purpose
as aforesaid shall first make written application to the Town Manager
or his designee for a permit to conduct such work, stating in such
application the name of the street, the name and present or past known
address of the person, firm or corporation on whose behalf the cutting
into, opening or excavating is to be done, the direct and indirect
cost or estimated cost of such work, including but not limited to
the cost of labor, materials and equipment rental, the location on
such street where such opening or excavation is to be made, the purpose
of the opening or excavation, the length, the width and depth of the
opening or excavation and the date when such work will be completed.
B.
Each such application shall be accompanied by a permit
fee of 10% of the direct and indirect cost or estimated cost as set
forth in the application, payable to Town of Georgetown, which said
permit fee shall not be returned; provided, however, that such permit
fee shall only be required in cases where the opening or excavation
is made in an improved surface, including but not limited to paved
streets and concrete sidewalks. Permit fees shall be placed in a municipal
street improvement fund for use in street improvements within the
corporate limits of the Town of Georgetown.
C.
Any person, firm or corporation applying for a permit
must sign an agreement with the Town of Georgetown that will include,
among other things:
(1)
A promise to fully comply with the terms of this article.
(2)
A promise to indemnify, hold harmless and defend the
Town, its officers and employees from any and all claims for personal
injury, including death or damage to property resulting from, relating
to or arising out of the issuance of a permit to the applicant pursuant
to this article or any actions or activities in relation thereto,
by the applicant or others, excepting only such claims due solely
to the negligence of the Town, its officers and employees. Such indemnification
shall not be affected or diminished by insurance provided by the applicant.
D.
Any person, firm or corporation applying for a permit
shall file with the Town Manager a general liability policy or certificate
of insurance issued by an insurance company authorized to issue such
policy in Delaware, naming the Town of Georgetown as an additional
insured, which policy or certificate evidences that the applicant
has procured comprehensive general liability insurance providing coverage
for legal liability and customarily covered expenses for bodily injury
and property damage, including but not limited to liability for bodily
injury and property damage caused by, related to or arising out of
operations performed by the applicant or by the applicant's independent
contractors or arising out of acts or omissions of the applicant in
connection with his general supervision of such operations (contractors'/owners'
protective liability insurance), occurring after operations have been
completed or abandoned (completed operations insurance) and assumed
under contract with the Town (contractual liability insurance), which
policy shall be endorsed to delete from the contractual liability
coverage any exclusion for actions on a contract for third-party beneficiary
arising out of a project for a public authority and which policy shall
include coverage for all possible liability. Said policy shall be
in a form and content satisfactory to the Town Solicitor and shall
provide that the policy shall not be changed or canceled until the
expiration of 60 days after written notice to the Town and that it
shall be automatically renewed upon expiration and continued in force
unless the Town is given 60 days' written notice to the contrary.
Said policy shall insure the Town of Georgetown and the applicant
and shall cover all operations relative to the excavation, reconstruction
and restoration therefor. Said policy shall have limits of liability
of not less than $1,000,000 for bodily injury to each person and in
the aggregate for each accident and property damage liability of not
less than $100,000 for each accident.
Upon compliance with the terms of this article,
the Town Manager shall then issue a permit for such cutting into,
opening or excavating, subject to the terms and conditions of this
article, and upon being satisfied that such opening or excavation
is in a proper location and for a lawful purpose.
A.
Every person, firm or corporation receiving a permit
pursuant to the terms of this article shall complete the work pursuant
to the terms of such permit as promptly as possible and shall take
all precaution to protect all persons and property from damage and
shall properly protect the public from injury by reason of any such
cutting into, opening or excavation.
B.
Any hole, opening, excavation, obstruction or dangerous
area created incident to such work shall be roped off or otherwise
guarded and caution lights maintained and kept thereat for a period
of one hour before sunset to one hour after sunrise.
C.
All work performed and materials used in the making
and filling of such cutting into, opening or excavation shall comply
with the applicable standard specifications of the Delaware Department
of Transportation, July 1985, as amended, herewith adopted as the
standard specifications of the Town of Georgetown and incorporated
herein by reference as though fully set out.
A.
Upon completion of the work, every such person, firm
or corporation shall fully fill any such opening or excavation so
made pursuant to the standard specifications of the Town of Georgetown
and any additional requirements of this article and shall immediately
repair and restore the street or way disturbed thereby pursuant to
such standard specifications and shall so maintain the same for six
months after final inspection and written acceptance by the Town Manager
or his designee on behalf of the Town of Georgetown, pursuant to the
standard specifications of the Town of Georgetown, as aforesaid.
B.
In the event that any such person, firm or corporation
fails to comply with the provisions of this article or with the standard
specifications of the Town of Georgetown, as aforesaid, for 48 hours
after written notice to do so shall have been given by the Town Manager,
said Town Manager may proceed to repair, restore and maintain such
street, road, highway, lane, alley, avenue, sidewalk, curb or other
public way at the cost and expense of such person, firm or corporation.
C.
When a Town street must be closed to a vehicular traffic
for a specific period of time, it must be noted on the application
with an estimated closing and opening date, not to exceed 15 working
days. Upon good cause shown, the fifteen-day period may be extended
by the Town Manager for an additional period not to exceed 15 working
days. If the street is closed for a period longer than 15 working
days, a fine of $25 per day for each successive work day may be levied
by the Town Manager.
The provisions of this article shall not be
applicable to work undertaken by the employees of any governmental
body or agency, which, by law, has jurisdiction of such street, road,
highway, lane, alley, avenue, sidewalk, curb or such other public
way.
