[Amended 12-5-1996]
A. 
The Town of Agawam Department of Public Works Construction Standards, as amended from time to time, shall apply to all subdivisions and are hereby incorporated herein by reference. The Town of Agawam Department of Public Works Construction Standards are on file and may be viewed at the offices of the Agawam City Clerk, Department of Public Works and Planning Department.
B. 
Prior to ordering materials or starting any construction, the subdivider together with his contractor and engineer (if applicable) shall arrange for a meeting with the Engineering Division and the City Planner. At this meeting, the rules for conducting construction operations in the subdivision and on city streets will be outlined and discussed. Notices to be given, methods and materials to be employed, how utility connections are to be made, fees required and other operational matters will be discussed.
A. 
The entire area of each street or way shall be cleared of all stumps, brush, roots, boulders, like material and all trees not intended for preservation.
B. 
All loam, clay, peat or other yielding material shall be removed beneath all street layouts to a depth specified by the Town Engineer and shall be replaced with a granular material acceptable to the Town Engineer.
C. 
Whenever it is necessary to install fill to bring a roadway to subgrade, said fill shall be of a granular material satisfactory to the Town Engineer. All fill shall be placed in eight-inch layers compacted to not less than 95% of the maximum dry density, as specified in Section 150.62 of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Highways Standard Specifications for Highways and Bridges (MHD Specifications), as amended.
[Amended 12-5-1996]
D. 
Wherever the borings indicate a groundwater within four feet of the proposed roadway surface or wherever the soil particle size indicates the possibility of a capillary rise of water in the subgrade soil, subdrains shall be installed under both shoulders of the roadway. The design and depth of the subdrain shall meet with the approval of the Town Engineer.
E. 
Wherever rock, in the opinion of the Town Engineer, is encountered, it shall be excavated to a depth of four feet below the subgrade of the roadway for the full width of the street layout. The excavated rock shall be replaced with a granular material satisfactory to the Town Engineer.
F. 
Roadways shall be brought to the subgrade elevation prior to the installation of the water mains, storm drains, sanitary sewer or other utilities. Additional requirements for design of pavement for certain subgrade soils may be necessary.
G. 
The subgrade of the roadway shall be compacted to a density and by a method approved by the Town Engineer prior to the placing of the subbase or base of the roadway.
H. 
Gravel subbase.
[Amended 3-21-1991; 12-5-1996]
(1) 
The material used for the gravel subbase shall be gravel approved by the City Engineer, which meets the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Highways Standard Specifications for Highways and Bridges (MHD Specifications), as amended, Material Specification M 1.03.0 Type b (three-inch maximum size) and conforms to construction methods stipulated in Section 401.60, except that all courses shall be laid in depths not exceeding four inches compacted depth.
(2) 
The maximum size aggregate for subbase courses shall not exceed four inches. The cost of any soil tests needed to determine the suitability of a material for use as a subbase shall be borne by the developer.
(3) 
The gravel shall be spread and compacted in layers not exceeding six inches in depth compacted measurement. The gravel shall be compacted to the density specified in § 401 of the MHD Specifications.
I. 
Gravel base. The material used for gravel base shall be dense-graded crushed stone approved by the City Engineer, which meets MHD Specification M 201.7 for material and is placed in conformance with Section 402 for construction. All courses of gravel base shall be laid in depths not exceeding four inches compacted depth.
[Amended 3-21-1991; 12-5-1996]
J. 
Pavement. The material used for the roadway finish course shall be Class I bituminous concrete Type I-1 applied in two courses. The material and work shall conform to § 460 of the MHD Specifications and shall meet with the approval of the Town Engineer. The installation of all subsurface utilities within the roadway shall be completed before placement of the first (binder) course. Where there is concern over possible settlement, the City Engineer may require one winter season to elapse between utility installation and top course pavement installation. In no event shall the interval between placement of binder course and top course of pavement exceed two years. The construction of bituminous concrete pavement shall terminate on November 15 and shall not be resumed prior to April 1 unless specifically allowed, in writing, by the Town Engineer. No paving shall be done when the air temperature in the shade is 40° F. or less nor where the material on which the pavement is to be placed contains frost. A tack coat of bitumen at the rate of 0.05 to 0.10 gallon per square yard shall be applied to the base course of pavement, all as determined be the City Engineer. Material and placement shall be as approved. The tack coat shall be only applied to the extent that it can be covered with the surface course within one day.
[Amended 12-5-1996]
K. 
Roadway pavement design. Using soil information obtained as required in § 159-7C(8), a pavement design shall be prepared utilizing California bearing ratio values or equivalent values obtained for the subgrade. This will normally be required in clay, loam, peat or silt subgrade materials or as otherwise required by the Town Engineer. The design shall consider and employ, as needed, increased thickness of the gravel subbase, use of geotextile fabric and/or plastic grids, use of subdrains and other measures necessary. (See also Subsections C and E.) This design shall be included in the definitive plans submitted for review by the Planning Board. See Table 5.1[1] for minimum thickness of the gravel base, subbase and pavement.
[1]
Editor's Note: Table 5.1 is included at the end of this chapter.
L. 
Bituminous concrete curbs shall be installed on both sides of each roadway, except at intersections, using bituminous concrete Type I-1 and an approved curb forming machine. All curbs shall have a minimum reveal of six inches and shall be installed on a bituminous base. At driveways, all curbs shall be installed so as to return to the sidewalk. At intersections, Type VB granite curbing shall be installed along the arc of the curves. The granite curbing shall have a six-inch reveal and a width at the top of six inches. The curbing shall be set by a method approved by the City Engineer.
[Amended 4-5-1990; 12-5-1996]
A. 
Sanitary sewer mains and laterals shall be polyvinyl chloride pipe conforming to ASTM D 3034-SDR 35. The minimum size for sewer mains shall be eight inches while the minimum size of sewer laterals shall be four inches.
B. 
All sanitary sewers, sewer force mains and sewer laterals shall be installed in first-class bedding and in accordance with the Department of Public Works Specifications. Sewers shall be installed to the line and grade indicated on the plans.
C. 
Only precast concrete manholes of a design approved by the Town Engineer shall be installed on a sanitary sewer main. For the most part sanitary sewer manholes shall be installed no further than 300 feet apart and the sewer shall be laid in a straight line between manholes.
D. 
Before any sanitary sewer will be accepted by the Board, it must pass an infiltration or exfiltration test, at the discretion of the Town Engineer, made in accordance with the Department of Public Works Specifications. Said test will be made at the developer's expense and shall be made under the direction of the Town Engineer.
E. 
No groundwater or surface water shall be discharged into the sanitary sewer. No storm drain, foundation or cellar drain or roof leader may be connected to a sanitary sewer or sewer lateral.
F. 
Where rock is encountered, it shall be removed to a depth of one foot below the flowline of the sewer and the pipe laid in a properly compacted granular material approved by the Town Engineer.
G. 
Only granular material approved by the Town Engineer shall be used as backfill in any trench excavation.
A. 
Storm drains shall be reinforced concrete pipe conforming to ASTM C-76, Class 3 minimum, polyvinyl chloride pipe conforming to ASTM D3034, SDR35 or polyvinyl chloride ASTM F-794. Bedding for various types of storm drains shall be as approved by the Engineer.
B. 
All storm drains, including catch basin leaders and culverts, shall be installed in first-class bedding. All work and materials shall be in accordance with the Department of Public Works Specifications.
C. 
Precast concrete or concrete block manholes of a design approved by the Town Engineer shall be used on storm drains. In general the distance between manholes shall not be greater than 300 feet.
D. 
Catch basins in general shall be installed at intervals of not more than 300 feet on both sides of a roadway and at intersections as necessary. The basins shall be of the Connecticut Basin type and shall conform to the Department of Public Works Construction Standards or shall be approved by the Town Engineer.
[Amended 12-5-1996]
E. 
Where rock is encountered, it shall be removed to a depth of one foot below the flowline of the drain and the pipe laid in a properly compacted granular material approved by the Town Engineer.
F. 
Only granular material approved by the Town Engineer shall be used as backfill in any trench excavation.
G. 
When warranted by local water table conditions, the Planning Board may require that foundation subdrains be installed by the developer.
A. 
All water mains shall be installed using ductile iron pipe conforming to ANSI A21.51, Class 52, with full thickness cement lining conforming to ANSI A21.4.
B. 
The hydrants furnished shall meet the Town hydrant standards and shall be of a type currently being used by the Town.
C. 
Grate valves shall be of the New York pattern, Metropolitan-type openings to the left, counterclockwise.
D. 
All materials and work shall be in accordance with the specifications of the Department of Public Works. All water mains shall be installed in first-class bedding.
E. 
Before any water main will be accepted by the Board, it must pass a pressure and leakage test made in accordance with the Department of Public Works Specifications. Said test will be made at the developer's expense and shall be made under the direction of the Town Engineer. Water mains shall be disinfected and tested for total coliform at the developer's expense. Where the coliform test does not meet state standards, reflushing, disinfecting and retesting will be required at the developer's expense.
F. 
All water services to the lots shall be installed using Type K copper tubing at least 3/4 inch in diameter. The service connections shall have a corporation with shutoff at the main and a curb stop at the street line.
G. 
Where rock is encountered, it shall be removed to a depth of one foot below the flowline of the water mains and connections and the pipe laid in a properly compacted granular material approved by the Town Engineer.
H. 
Only granular material approved by the Town Engineer shall be used as backfill in any trench excavation.
A. 
There shall be cement concrete sidewalks constructed on both sides of each street in the subdivision. The width of the sidewalks shall be as specified under the Design Standards for the various classes of streets. The construction must conform to the Town of Agawam Department of Public Works Specifications for Construction of Cement Concrete Sidewalks, April 1989. All materials and construction methods shall be as specified in the Department of Public Works Specifications.
[Amended 4-5-1990]
B. 
There shall be tree belts constructed on both sides of each street in the subdivision. The width of the sidewalk shall be as specified under the Design Standards for the various classes of streets. Loam shall be placed to a minimum depth of six inches. Lime, fertilizer and grass seed shall be applied as required in the specifications of the Department of Public Works. The tree belts shall be reworked and reseeded until a stand of grass satisfactory to the Town Engineer has been established.
C. 
Pedestrianways and bicycle paths as shown on the plans shall be eight feet wide and constructed according to this section.
A. 
Streetlights shall be installed by the power company at the developer's expense, and the developer shall be responsible for the cost of lighting until the street is accepted by the Town. The streetlights and standards shall be of the type adopted by the Town as a standard installation. The lighting shall be installed on a street prior to occupancy of any house on that street.
B. 
All underground utilities, such as gas mains and electric and telephone lines, including service connections, shall be installed prior to the construction of the roadway surface, base or subbase. All methods used to install these utilities shall be subject to the approval of the Town Engineer. Only granular material approved by the Town Engineer shall be used as backfill in any utility trench.
[Amended 3-21-1991]
The developer shall notify the Department of Public Works in writing at least 48 hours in advance of the time when he plans to begin or resume any work on the improvements required in a subdivision. The Department of Public Works shall assign an inspector to inspect the work. The Town of Agawam shall charge the developer at the rate set by the Department of Public Works as specified in § 159-6H(6) for inspection work in the subdivision. No work shall be accepted by the Board which has not been inspected on a daily basis during its progress. Failure of the developer to notify the Department of Public Works or failure to have the work inspected on a daily basis as it progresses shall be cause for the Town to require the developer to excavate and reconstruct or do other things that may be required to ensure that the work has been done in a satisfactory manner. The presence of an inspector shall in no way relieve the developer from full responsibility for the required work.
A. 
Before release of the covenant, the developer shall deposit with the Town of Agawam an amount of money sufficient to cover the replacement of two shade trees per lot according to the specifications of the Planning Board.
B. 
The developer shall be responsible for providing, planting and maintaining through one full year two living healthy trees or their substitutes per lot. Such trees shall be 2.5 inches minimum in diameter, balled and burlapped and planted in season and subject to direction of the Tree Warden. Types of trees shall be selected from a list available from the Planning Board which shall include native and hardy species readily available locally.
C. 
On each lot two shade trees shall be planted within 20 feet of the street line and located so as not to conflict with underground utilities and sight distances. On places at the discretion of the Tree Warden, shade trees may be planted on the tree belt within the street right-of-way.
To prevent wind and water erosion, the following measures must be employed on all sites:
A. 
Regions of the site must be developed in separate increments so that the disturbed area is kept to a minimum. At no time is the entire area to be disturbed.
B. 
Natural vegetation shall be retained and protected whenever possible.
C. 
All disturbed area shall be stabilized with a temporary vegetative cover if to be left exposed for greater than one month, with the exception of roadways which are to be treated with appropriate measures at the end of each workday.
D. 
All stockpiled soils shall be stabilized with temporary vegetative cover.
No loam or topsoil shall be removed from the property until the subdivision is complete, and then only with the permission of the Board of Appeals as specified in § 180-8G of Chapter 180, Zoning.
Upon receipt of permits from the Inspector of Buildings to construct dwellings, etc., each lot line must be clearly marked and lot identified by lot and street number before any inspections are made. Compliance with the Conservation Commission's regulations must be posted, if applicable.
All excavations for pipe, etc., across streets and to dwellings shall be properly protected and lighted at proper times, according to recommendations of the Department of Public Works and the Chief of Police. These excavations shall be properly backfilled and well-compacted as soon after installation of pipe, etc., as is possible.
A. 
In any area outside the road right-of-way and building site (house plus 15 feet outside walls and leach field area), no tree over eight inches in diameter measured five feet above the ground shall be removed without the consent of the Tree Warden or his agent. Due regard shall be made for life expectancy and health of the vegetation and the final proposed grading. The developer shall notify the Tree Warden at least one week prior to any clearing of the site. No evergreen tree or shrub shall be removed without consent of the Tree Warden or his agent. Limits of work may be delineated on the definitive plan, in which case no work shall be performed, including clearing, outside those limits, but work within may proceed without further consent.
B. 
All natural features to be preserved shall be suitably protected during construction.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection C, as amended 9-18-1997, which immediately followed and provided for a buffer strip, was repealed 10-28-2004.
Before final inspection, the total area shall be cleared of debris, both natural and construction materials generated by the construction.
All proposed monuments shown on the definitive plan shall be installed and their installation shall be certified by the developer's engineer or surveyor. Monuments shall be of stone or cast concrete, four inches square and three feet long, set flush with the finished grade. Three-fourths-inch to one-inch steel pipes or gun barrels three feet long may be used at lot corners. Where street monuments and lot corners occupy the same point, stone or concrete monuments shall be used.
Upon completion of any subdivision or any street therein and prior to the final release of a bond or covenant, the developer shall submit to the Board a final plan of each street layout, including lot frontage, bounds and pins which have been set and ties to intersecting street layouts. This plan shall be used as a street acceptance plan and shall be drawn in accordance with standards set by the Town Engineer. The plan shall be prepared by a registered professional land surveyor and shall be suitable for recording in the Hampden County Registry of Deeds. Accompanying this plan, the developer shall supply the Board with a document releasing the Town from any damages which he may incur by the acceptance of the street by the Town.