From and after the passage of this article,
it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, association, copartnership
or corporation to make any opening, excavation or occupancy in or
under any street, alley or other thoroughfare within the limits of
the Township of Lower Saucon unless or until a permit is therefor
secured from the Township Secretary for each separate undertaking,
said permit and the application therefor to be on forms furnished
by the Township.
At the time of making application for the permit
for any such opening, excavation or occupancy, the applicant shall
pay the Township Secretary, for the use of the Township, permit fees
as set from time to time by resolution or ordinance, as may be required
by law.
Said person, firm, association, copartnership
or corporation, at the time of filing its application, shall submit
a plan, drawn to scale, showing the location and dimensions of the
proposed openings, to the Township Secretary, who is hereby authorized
and directed for and on behalf of said Township to approve or disapprove,
as to location, which approval or disapproval shall be endorsed hereon.
In case said authorities disapprove of any plan or plans as to location
of said openings, excavation or occupancy, they shall designate thereon
some other location suitable for the purpose of said person, firm,
association, copartnership or corporation. In case, however, of any
emergency repair work, any person, firm, association, copartnership
or corporation may immediately open any streets, alleys or other thoroughfares
for such repair work only and shall submit a plan as soon thereafter
as possible to the Township Secretary as herein provided.
No person, firm, association, copartnership
or corporation shall open any street, alley or other thoroughfare
in said Township for new work between the 15th day of November and
the 15th day of March next following in any year, except in case of
emergency, and shall make no larger excavation than is necessary to
enable them to perform their work with proper economy and efficiency.
Said Township will then replace the surface
of the street, alley or other thoroughfare over said opening; provided,
however, that if actual openings are greater than those indicated
on the plan filed for this work, said person, firm, association, copartnership
or corporation will be required to make an additional payment to the
Township to cover the differential between estimated quantities and
actual quantities.
Said person, firm, association, copartnership
or corporation shall at all times provide for the safety of the public
by guardrails and barricades, where necessary, and by the use of danger
signs in the daytime and warning lights at night and shall at all
times fully indemnify, protect and save harmless said Township from
and against all actions, claims, suits, damages and charges and against
all loss and necessary expenditures arising from said opening or excavation
or from its neglect or failure to do said work in a good and safe
manner.
[Amended 9-18-1996 by Ord. No. 96-10; 5-20-1998 by Ord. No. 98-17; 3-3-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-01]
Any person who fails to voluntarily pay within
10 days to the Township the penalty imposed for violation of this
article shall be subject to a civil enforcement proceeding. Any person
who violates or permits a violation of this article, upon being found
liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding, shall pay a fine
of not more than $600, plus all court costs, including reasonable
attorney's fees, incurred by the Township in the enforcement of this
article. No judgment shall be imposed until the date of the determination
of the violation by the Magisterial District Judge and/or Court. If
the defendant neither pays nor timely appeals the judgment, the Township
may enforce the judgment pursuant to the applicable rules of civil
procedure. Each day a violation exists shall constitute a separate
offense. Further, the appropriate officers or agents of the Township
are hereby authorized to seek equitable relief, including injunction,
to enforce compliance herewith.