[Adopted 4-15-1980 by Ord. No. 80-12 as
Art. I of Ch. 192 of the 1979 Code; amended in its entirety 5-23-2000 by Ord. No.
00-19]
No curb, sidewalk or driveway apron shall be
constructed or laid in any street in the Township unless a written
permit therefor has been obtained by the owner of the property or
by a contractor from the Township Engineer. "Construction" or "constructed,"
as used in this article, shall include new construction and substantial
repairs in the nature of replacement of one or more sections of a
curb, sidewalk or driveway apron.
A.
No permit shall be issued for the construction of
any curb, sidewalk or driveway apron unless a written application
is made specifying the location, material, length, width, depth and
square feet of the proposed construction.
Other than the owner of the property doing the
construction work himself or herself, each applicant for a construction
permit under this article shall file with the Township Engineer a
bond or letter of credit approved by the Township Attorney, in the
amount of $2,000. The condition of the obligation of such bond shall
be that if the applicant shall perform all construction work in conformance
with this article and shall protect and save harmless the Township
from all loss, damage and expense arising out of said work, the obligation
shall be void; otherwise, it shall remain in full force and effect.
No permit shall be issued for the construction
of any curb, sidewalk or driveway apron unless a permit fee is first
paid to the Township Engineer. The permit fees shall be as follows:
Construction of all curbs, sidewalks and driveway
aprons on any private street or on streets of any new development
shall be subject to the same regulations and must comply in all respects
with the regulations governing streets the title of which is vested
in the Township. Failure to comply with the requirements of this section
shall be sufficient cause for the Township to reject any proffered
dedication of such streets.[1]
All construction work done pursuant to the provisions
of this article shall be done under the supervision of the Township
Engineer.
All curbs, sidewalk and driveway aprons shall
be laid in accordance with the lines and grades approved by the Township
Engineer.
Lines and grades on private streets shall be approved by the Township Engineer, as provided in § 297-7.
Inspection of the work done on private streets
shall be furnished by the Township Engineer only upon the payment
to the Township of the cost of such inspection.
A.
The location and width of driveway aprons shall be
subject to the approval of the Township Engineer.
B.
The Uniform Construction Code Official shall determine
if a new driveway can be constructed. Approval from the Uniform Construction
Code Official is necessary for all work done on the homeowner's property,
which includes a driveway.
In any situation where shade trees along the
line of the work will be affected, it shall be necessary to obtain
the consent in writing of the Department of Parks, Recreation and
Cultural Affairs to any necessary removal, cutting of tree roots or
cutting of such trees. The Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural
Affairs must be notified first before any construction work is done
if there is a shade tree that will be affected.
Every person doing any work under the provisions
of this article shall conform strictly to the following specifications:
A.
Design.
(1)
Concrete curbs. The cross-sectional shape of the curb
shall be a trapezoid. The top base shall be seven inches; the bottom
base shall be 11 inches, and the height shall be 20 inches. The one
side of the curb shall be perpendicular to both bases. The battered
face shall face the pavement, and the obtuse angle shall be rounded
with a radius of one inch.
(2)
Bluestone, Belgian block or granite curbs. Bluestone,
Belgian block or granite curbs shall set in one-to-two-to-four concrete
as shown on the Montclair Standard Details in the Office of the Township
Engineer.
(3)
Sidewalks. Sidewalks shall be a width of not less than four feet and a thickness of not less than five inches and placed on four inches of acceptable crushed stone. The grade of the ground adjoining the sidewalk shall on one side be maintained sufficiently low to prevent the collection of water on the sidewalk. See Subsection A(4) below.
(4)
Concrete driveway aprons. Concrete driveway aprons
shall have a thickness of not less than seven inches placed on four
inches of acceptable crushed stone and shall be bounded by expansion
joints. The curb at the driveway apron shall be sunk to the depth
of the adjoining curb as shown on the Montclair Standard Details in
the Office of the Township Engineer. The sidewalk crossing any driveway
shall be seven inches thick.
(5)
Bituminous concrete driveway aprons. Bituminous concrete
driveways shall be five inches in thickness, shall consist of two
courses and shall conform to the New Jersey Department of Transportation
Standard Specifications for 1989, as amended and supplemented. The
base course shall be constructed of one-and-one-half-inch broken stone
properly bound with oil asphalt (O.A.-4) at the rate of not less than
1.75 gallons per square yard and shall be not less than three inches
in thickness when compacted. The top course shall be bituminous concrete
and shall be not less than two inches in thickness when compressed.
That portion of the driveway crossing the four-foot sidewalk area
shall be concrete and shall be not less than seven inches in thickness,
as shown on the Montclair Standard Details on file in the Office of
the Township Engineer.
B.
Materials. All materials shall conform to the New
Jersey Department of Transportation Standard Specifications for 1989,
as amended and supplemented.
C.
Excavation. The trench to receive the concrete shall
be excavated in such a manner as to give ample room for the setting
of the forms. For bituminous concrete driveway aprons, the sides of
the excavation may be used as forms. The bottom of the excavation
shall be leveled its full width and must have a firm and unyielding
bed.
D.
Forms and expansion joints. Metal forms shall be used
or forms equally suitable. In the case of curb construction, a one-half-inch
premolded expansion joint shall be placed at intervals not to exceed
20 feet. In the case of sidewalk construction, a one-fourth-inch premolded
expansion joint shall be placed at intervals not to exceed eight feet.
Wherever the curb or walk being constructed abuts existing structures,
a one-half-inch premolded expansion joint shall be placed between
the old and new construction. The above applies only to concrete or
reinforced concrete construction. No forms and no expansion joints
are required in the construction of bituminous concrete driveway aprons.
E.
Mixing and deposition. Air-entrained concrete shall
be proportioned of one part portland cement, two parts clean, sharp
concrete sand and three parts clean, three-fourths-inch broken stone.
Not to exceed 5 1/2 gallons of water shall be added to the mixture
for each ninety-four pound sack of cement. If the sand is wet from
rain or from other causes, not to exceed five gallons of water shall
be so added, and the sand volume shall be increased to 2.4 cubic feet.
The concrete shall be mixed for at least two minutes after all materials
are in the mixer. It shall be spaded and tamped or vibrated into place
in such a manner that the forms are completely filled and free from
voids.
F.
Curing. All concrete surfaces shall be completely
coated and sealed immediately after deposition. The work shall be
properly protected from traffic for four days.
G.
Cold weather requirements. Concrete work is not permitted
during the period from November 15 to March 21 without the written
permission of the Township Engineer, and then only under precautions
to protect the work from freezing weather.
A.
In accordance with the notice procedure provided in
this section, any sidewalk or curb on any public street which is out
of line or grade or is broken or out of repair or is otherwise in
need of reconstruction or repair shall be relaid to the approved line
and grade, or the broken portions thereof shall be repaired or reconstructed
by the owner of the land in front of which any such improvement, reconstruction
or repair is to be made.
B.
Whenever the Township Council determines that such sidewalk work is necessary, it shall cause notice thereof, duly signed by the Township Engineer, to be served upon such owner, directing the property owner to do the work within 30 consecutive days after service of the notice. The notice shall specify in sufficient detail the character of the improvement, reconstruction or repair to be made; shall set forth a description of the property affected, sufficiently definite to identify the same; and shall otherwise comply with the requirements of Chapter 65 of Title 40 of the Revised Statutes for such case made and provided. The notice shall give opportunity to such owner to be heard and to offer satisfactory reason why such work should not be done. Service of the notice and proof of service thereof shall be made in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 65 of Title 40 of the Revised Statutes in such case made.
C.
If, in the absence of any good and sufficient reason
why such work should not be done, said owner fails to make such improvement,
reconstruction or repair within 30 days after service of the notice
aforesaid, then the Township Council may have the work done at the
cost and expense of said owner. The Township Engineer shall keep an
accurate account of the cost thereof. If such cost or any part thereof
is to be assessed upon the several properties fronting on the improvement,
he shall assess such cost on the several properties fronting on the
improvement in proportion to their respective frontage thereon and
file a report thereof under oath with the Township Clerk. The Township
Council, after notice to the owner or owners, shall confirm said report
and file it with the Tax Collector. Such sidewalk assessments shall
bear interest from the time of confirmation and shall be a lien on
the real estate assessed.
[Added 11-10-2008 by Ord. No. 08-33]
A.
No property owner or other person shall remove, reconstruct,
damage or destroy any bluestone sidewalk located on any public street
or public right-of-way in the Township of Montclair without the express
written permission of the Township Engineer, which shall not be unreasonably
withheld. If permission is granted to remove a bluestone sidewalk,
the property owner shall be responsible to transfer and deliver the
bluestone sidewalk to the Township at a location designated by the
Engineer.
B.
This section shall not prohibit the removal of a bluestone
sidewalk, provided the sidewalk is replaced with a similar bluestone
sidewalk.
C.
This section shall be effective until January 31,
2009, at which time it shall automatically expire unless an ordinance
is adopted extending the section beyond January 31, 2009.
The Township Engineer shall be empowered to
make such rules and regulations as he/she deems necessary in his or
her reasonable judgment to carry out the provisions of this article.
[Amended 4-10-2007 by Ord. No. 07-17]
Any person who violates any provision of this
article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine not
exceeding $2,000, imprisonment in the county/municipal jail for a
term not exceeding 90 days, or a period of community service not exceeding
90 days, or any combination thereof as determined by the Municipal
Court Judge. Each day on which a violation of an ordinance exists
shall be considered a separate and distinct violation and shall be
subject to imposition of a separate penalty for each day of the violation
as the Municipal Court Judge may determine.
