[Adopted at time of adoption of Code (see
Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
Hereinafter, it shall be unlawful to open or
excavate in any street, alley, road, sidewalk or highway of the Borough,
or cause the same to be done, for the purpose of laying or relaying,
or repairing, any gas, water, sewer, oil and other piping, electric
light, telephone, television, telegraph, heating or other conduits,
including the making of house or service connections therewith, or
for the purpose of erecting or removing any poles, to which shall
be or are attached telegraph, telephone, television, electric light,
street railway or guy wires, or for any other purpose whatsoever,
without first securing a permit from the Borough in accordance with
this article.
Any person or entity who shall desire to make
any opening or excavation in any of the Borough streets is required
to file an application with the Borough Secretary. The application
shall be provided by the Borough and shall include the name of the
applicant, the exact location of the proposed opening or excavation,
and the approximate size or depth thereof, and the date or dates during
which such opening is to be refilled and resurfaced. The application
shall contain an agreement on the part of the applicant that the work
shall be done in a careful and prudent manner and in full compliance
with the ordinances of the Borough and the laws of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania, and the applicant shall defend, indemnify, and hold
harmless the Borough of Dravosburg and its agents, servants and employees
against any and all actions, suits, demands, payments, costs and charges
for or by reason of the proposed opening or excavation, and all damages
to persons or property resulting in any manner therefrom, or occurring
in the prosecution of the work connected therewith, or from any other
matter, cause or thing relating thereto. All applications for permits
shall supply a plan or sketch indicating the nature, location and
dimensions of the proposed opening for the installation of the new
work or modifications. The plan shall indicate the final location
of any conduits, pipes, lines, connections and property.
No person or entity shall open or excavate any
street or alley without first posting bond or security with the Borough
with a trust or surety company acceptable to the Borough as surety
in the sum determined by the schedule of fees, conditioned for the
faithful performance of the obligations of this article and for any
and all damages, claims, demands, suits, costs and counsel fees occasioned
or arising from the opening, excavation or closing of said streets
and alleys.
A. Liability insurance. Prior to issuance of a permit,
the applicant shall provide the Borough of Dravosburg with a certificate
of comprehensive liability insurance for public liability and property
damage with limits of no less than $1,000,000 per accident, and issued
by an insurance company approved by the Borough of Dravosburg.
B. Bond for restoration, repairs and payment of all engineering,
inspection and legal fees.
(1) In addition to the requirements of Subsection
A hereof, as a guarantee of good faith in repairing or restoring the surface of any street, road, alley or highway opened and payment of all fees required by this article, a bond of an approved surety company, deposit of cash or certified check for such guarantee shall be made in the name of the Borough and deposited with the Borough Secretary based upon the following rates:
(a)
For unimproved streets the bond shall be $3,000.
(b)
For improved streets the bond shall be $5,000.
(2) Such bond, deposit of cash or certified check, so
deposited with the Borough Secretary, shall be turned over to the
proper Borough authority as Council may, by motion, direct and shall
be retained for two years from the date of the final restoration of
the opening. In the event the restoration of the surface of the excavated
street, road, alley or highway is deemed to be improper, faulty, defective
or not done at all, then, in any such case, the permittee shall be
given 10 days' written notice by the Borough to make such repair or
restoration as the Borough deems proper, and, upon the failure of
the permittee to do so, the Borough may make such repair or restoration
forthwith and charge or deduct the cost of the same against the bond,
deposit of cash or certified check of the permittee. At the expiration
of the two years, the Borough shall return or refund to the permittee
his bond, deposit of cash or certified check, or any portion of the
same to which he is entitled.
Prior to the issuance of any permit to open
or excavate and prior to any work being done to open or excavate any
street, alley, right-of-way, roadway, sidewalk, walkway, path or any
type of improved or unimproved public property in the Borough of Dravosburg,
the applicant shall pay a permit fee in the amount fixed.
A. At the time of applying for the permit, the applicant
shall pay to the Borough of Dravosburg a permit fee for the following
as set from time to time by resolution of the Borough Council:
(4) Unimproved rights-of-way.
B. A separate permit application and accompanying fee
shall be required for each street, alley, road, highway, sidewalk,
or portion thereof within which an opening or excavation is proposed.
C. All permits shall expire six months from the date
of issuance, unless extended by the Borough, in its sole discretion.
D. All work under the authority of any permit shall be
inspected by the Borough Engineer and/or Inspector. All applicants
shall be solely responsible for all engineering, inspection and legal
fees associated with such inspection. All such bills received by the
applicant shall be due and payable within 30 days of the date of issuance.
No applicant shall be eligible for additional permits if a bill issued
pursuant to this section is overdue.
Permits shall be issued only to persons furnishing
public utility services or the owner or owners of the real property
adjoining the location where such opening or excavation is to be made.
A permit may be issued to the applicant after
all the requirements therefor have been filled. If the application
is disapproved, written notice of disapproval together with reasons
therefor shall be given to the applicant.
If a permit is required under the provisions
of this article, then a copy of the permit, attested by the proper
Borough officer, shall be kept at all times on the job during the
continuance of operations by those performing the work; otherwise
the work may be stopped at the direction of the police or other officers
of the Borough until such a permit is produced.
A. No opening or excavation in any street shall exceed
from the curbline into the highway a distance greater than one foot
beyond the center line of the street before being backfilled and the
surface of the highway restored to a safe, passable condition.
B. No more than 500 feet longitudinally shall be opened
or excavated in any street at any time.
C. The excavation work shall not interfere with the water
mains, sewers or their connections with the houses, or any other subsurface
lines or constructions, until permission is obtained from the proper
authorities in connection with such subsurface lines or constructions.
D. No tunneling shall be allowed without the approval
of the Borough of Dravosburg. The permission to tunnel must be endorsed
upon the permit. The backfilling of a tunnel excavation shall be made
only in the presence of the Borough's Inspector and shall be done
only in a method approved by the Inspector.
E. All openings or excavations shall be backfilled promptly
with modified 2B limestone and thoroughly compacted in layers. Each
layer shall not exceed four inches in depth.
F. A temporary paving of coldpatch premix, thoroughly
bound and compacted, shall be installed flush with the surface of
the adjoining paving and maintained for a period of 90 days.
G. On concrete base streets, the base shall be replaced
with concrete and the minimum size of the opening or excavation shall
be 16 square feet.
H. All restored surfaces must be at least 12 inches wider
on each side than the excavated trench with a minimum depth of eight
inches and in all cases at least 25% thicker than the surface removed.
I. No new water, sewer, steam or gas main or electric,
telephone or other utility line shall hereafter be laid or constructed,
and no such existing main or line shall be extended, in any of the
streets of the Borough until the plan therefor shall have been first
filed with the Borough Inspector and the exact location of such main
or line approved by him. The Borough Inspector shall not approve the
locating of any such main or line at a depth of less than 30 inches
from the surface of the street unless he shall be convinced that locating
the same at a depth of more than 30 inches from the surface is impossible
or impractical.
J. It shall be the permittee's responsibility to contact
the utilities that have recorded their facilities in compliance with
the One Call Act.
K. All other work in connection with openings in any
street, including excavation, protection, refilling and temporary
paving, shall be done by or for the person to whom or which the permit
has been issued at his or its expense, and all such work shall be
subject to the provisions of this article and to the supervision and
approval of the Borough Inspector, provided that the designated official
may, if he deems it necessary to the proper performance of the work,
require that cutting of the surface of streets and the backfilling
of all excavations therein shall be done by the Borough, in which
event the applicant shall pay the actual cost of the work performed
by the Borough.
L. All street surfaces shall be saw cut.
A. Any permittee under this article and those operating
with and under him shall at all times be required to adequately support
the surface of the highway under which they are tunneling, the use
of which highway is permitted by the public, and to take all precautions
necessary to prevent injury or damage to the public. If, in the opinion
of the Borough, it becomes necessary for the safety of the public
to have open trench excavation in lieu of tunneling on openings or
excavations at approximately right angles to the center line of the
street or highway, then the same shall be required of the permittee
and those operating with and under him. The Borough Engineer may add
requirements necessary for the public safety. During the making of
any excavation, every necessary and reasonable precaution shall be
taken by the applicant and those operating with and under him to keep
the roadway in a safe and passable condition both by day and by night.
B. Any and every opening or excavation in an unimproved
roadway shall be carefully refilled with modified 2B limestone and
thoroughly compacted and the roadway shall be restored to as good
a condition as originally. In the case of excavations in improved
roadways, the earth removed shall be replaced with modified 2A limestone
and thoroughly compacted, and then the brick, concrete, bituminous
or other hard surface shall be replaced with the same type of material,
in as good a condition as possible. The applicant shall notify the
Borough Inspector when the opening or excavation is ready for backfilling
and before any backfilling is done, when backfilling work is completed,
when temporary paving has been installed and when the street has been
permanently restored so that inspections may be made.
C. Any permitted opening or excavation shall be protected
by a suitable barricade during the daylight and a barricade with lights
at night, so long as the excavation remains open.
D. All permits granted herewith are granted under and
subject to the condition that the person to whom the same is issued
shall indemnify, save and keep harmless the Borough and its agents,
servants and employees from any loss in damages, or otherwise, which
may or shall be occasioned at any time by the said excavation, or
by any leak, explosion or other injury from any pipe, apparatus, conduit,
or any other matter placed in the said excavation.
E. Contractor shall be responsible for vehicular and
pedestrian safety, and shall have sufficient traffic control devices
and personnel available and on scene for this purpose.
In the event that any work performed by or for
a permit holder shall, in the opinion of the Borough Inspector, be
unsatisfactory and the same shall not be corrected in accordance with
his instructions within the time fixed by him, or in the event that
the work for which the permit was granted is not completed within
the time fixed by the Borough Inspector, the Borough of Dravosburg
may proceed to correct such unsatisfactory work, or to complete any
such work not completed, and charge the cost thereof, plus 10%, to
the applicant.
In the case of any leak, explosion or other
accident in any subsurface pipe, line, construction or apparatus,
it shall be lawful for the person owning or responsible for such pipe,
line, construction or apparatus to commence an excavation to remedy
such condition before securing a permit, provided that application
for a permit shall be made immediately and not later than the next
business day thereafter, and that all other provisions of this article
are fully complied with. If any such emergency condition shall not
be immediately attended to by the owner or person responsible for
such emergency, then the Borough, after such notice shall deem necessary
under the circumstances of the particular case, shall proceed to do
the work necessary by such emergency, and charge the same on the basis
of cost plus 10% to such owner or person.
The permittee or its contractors do not have
the right to cut, remove or destroy trees or shrubbery within the
legal right-of-way except under specifications, regulations and conditions
as the Borough may prescribe.
If at any time in the future the roadway is
widened, reconstructed or the alignment or grades are changed, the
permittee further agrees to change or relocate all or any part of
the structures covered by this permit which interfere with the improvement
of the roadway at its own cost and expense.
Payment for all work done by the Borough under
the provisions hereof shall be made by the person made liable therefor
under the provision hereof within 30 days after a bill therefor is
sent to such person by the Borough. Upon failure to pay such charges
within such time, the same shall be collectible by the Borough by
an action in assumpsit or in the manner provided by law for the collection
of municipal claims.
Any person who shall open or excavate any street
in the Borough shall thoroughly and completely refill the opening
or excavation in such a manner as to prevent any settling thereafter,
and shall restore the surface to the same condition as it was before
the opening or excavation in such a manner as to prevent any settling
thereafter, and shall restore the surface to the same condition as
it was before the opening or excavation, and such restoration shall
be in accordance with the specifications of the Department of Transportation
of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania which are hereby adopted as specifications
of the Borough for restoration of surfaces of streets in the Borough;
as restored, the surface shall conform to the proper grade and be
of the same surface covering as the part of the thoroughfare immediately
adjoining the opening. If within two years after the restoration of
the surface as herein provided defects shall appear therein, the applicant
shall reimburse the Borough for the cost of all necessary repairs
to the permanent paving, plus 10%.
A. The Borough Inspector shall give timely notice to
all persons owning property abutting on any street within the Borough
about to be paved or improved, and to all public utility companies
operating in the Borough, and all such persons and utility companies
shall make all water, gas or sewer connections, as well as any repairs
thereto, which would necessitate excavation of the said street within
30 days from the giving of such notice, unless such time is extended
in writing for cause shown by the Borough Inspector. New paving shall
not be opened or excavated for a period of five years after the completion
thereof, except in case of emergency, the existence of which emergency
and the necessity for the opening or excavating of such paving to
be determined by the Borough Inspector. If it is sought to excavate
upon or open a street within five years after the completion of the
paving, the applicant shall make written application to the Borough
Council, and a permit for such opening shall be issued only after
express approval of the Borough Council.
B. Any street which is opened within two years of repaving
shall be resurfaced for its entire width for a distance of no less
than 15 feet beyond such opening. Any street which is opened more
than two years up to five years of repaving shall have the entire
lane in which the opening is made resurfaced for a distance of no
less than 10 feet beyond such opening.
Any person, firm or corporation, whether as
principal, agent or employee, violating or assisting in the violation
of any of the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction, be
sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 plus costs, and, in
default of payment of said fine and costs, to imprisonment for a term
not to exceed 30 days. Every day that a violation of this article
continues shall constitute a separate offense.