[Adopted 6-26-2008 by Ord. No. 29-2008[1]]
The following words, when used in this article,
shall have the meaning ascribed to them in this section, except in
those instances where the context clearly indicates otherwise:
Any person who makes application for a permit.
Person doing the road opening work on behalf of the applicant
and who is jointly and severally responsible and liable along with
the applicant for compliance with all terms and conditions of this
article and any penalty or claim filed by the Township as a result
of any violation of this article.
The person duly appointed Director of Municipal Services
and overseeing the Township Public Works or any person authorized
to act as his or her representative.
Any unforeseen circumstances or occurrence, the existence
of which constitutes a clear and immediate danger to persons or properties.
Any road surfaced with pavement such as asphalt, concrete,
bituminous concrete, brick, or similar pavement and any road having
concrete base.
Any person who has been issued a permit and is obligated
to fulfill all the terms of this article.
Any natural person, partnership, firm, association, utility,
corporation or authority created pursuant to statute who is directly
responsible for work being performed under the utility opening permit
application. Whenever used in any section prescribing and imposing
a penalty, the term "person" as applied to associations shall mean
the partners or members thereof, and as applied to corporations, the
officers thereof.
The actual road surface area from curbline to curbline, which
may include travel lanes, parking lanes, and deceleration and acceleration
lanes. Where there are no curbs, the road is that portion between
the edges of the paved, or hard surface, width.
A public street, public easement, public right-of-way, public
highway, public alley, public way or public road accepted or maintained
by the Township and any state or county road over which the Township
may have acquired jurisdiction by agreement.
The Township of Washington in the County of Gloucester, State
of New Jersey.
The person duly appointed Township Engineer, his/her authorized
deputy, representative or inspector.
Any cinder, dirt, or gravel road without oil treatment and
all other roads under the jurisdiction of the Township of Washington.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any person to cut, break
into, excavate or open any street (improved or unimproved) of the
Township without first securing a permit from the Director of Municipal
Services as required herein.
B.
A street opening permit is required when any of the
following occur:
(1)
Excavation, including the digging, displacing, undermining,
opening, boring, tunneling, auguring, or in any manner breaking up
any street sidewalk, curb, or area within the Township right-of-way.
(2)
Excavation in/or under the surface of any street,
installation of any street improvements, construction, removal or
alteration of any improvements which are located within the right-of-way
or public access (sidewalk).
(3)
The placement or deposition within the right-of-way
of mulch, stone, brick, block, dense graded aggregate or excavated
material which obstructs the intended flow of stormwater or public
access (sidewalk).
(4)
Any other action which interferes or disturbs the
surface of the streets or improvements within the Township right-of-way.
No person to whom a permit has been granted
shall perform any work in any amount or quantity greater than that
specified in the permit, except that upon the approval of the Township
Engineer and/or Township Director of Municipal Services, additional
work may be done under the provisions of the permit in any amount
not greater than 10% of the amount specified in the permit. Any deposit
deposited in connection with the original permit shall be deemed to
cover any such additional work as may be approved pursuant to this
section within the limit mentioned herein.
Work for which a permit has been issued shall
commence with 45 days after the issuance of the permit thereof. If
not so commenced, the permit shall be automatically terminated. Permits
thus terminated may be renewed upon the payment of an additional permit
fee as originally required.
No openings shall be done on weekends, Township holidays, or outside the normal working hours of 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. without the written permission of the Township Engineer and/or Township Director of Municipal Services unless in case of emergency. Failure to provide notice as required under § 216-5 may result in revocation of the permit and issuance of a stop-work order. If special conditions require work on the weekend, night, or Township holidays, the permittee shall obtain written approval of the Township Engineer and/or Township Director of Municipal Services for all overtime costs incurred for inspection of work.
With the exception of an emergency, no permits
will be issued for road openings between December 15 and March 15
or where conditions exist due to severe weather, freeze, frost, etc.
without written permission from the Township Engineer and/or Township
Director of Municipal Services.
Permits are not transferable from one person
to another, and the work shall not be made in any place other than
the location specifically designated in the permit.
Every permit shall expire at the end of the
period of time which shall be set out in the permit. If the permittee
shall be unable to complete the work within the specified time, he
shall, prior to expiration of the permit, present in writing to the
Department of Public Works a request for an extension of time, setting
forth therein the reasons for the requested extension. If such an
extension is necessary, and not contrary to the public interest, the
permittee may be granted additional time by the Director of Municipal
Services for the completion of the work upon recommendation of such
extension by the Township Engineer.
The provisions of this article shall not be
applicable in those instances where the highway is maintained by the
State of New Jersey or by the County of Gloucester, except in such
cases where the Township may have special arrangements with the state
or county.
A.
Any permit may be revoked by the Township Council,
after notice to the permittee, for:
(1)
Violation of any condition of the permit or of any
provision of this article.
(2)
Violation of any provision of any other applicable
ordinance or law relating to the work.
(3)
Existence of any condition or the doing of any act
constituting or creating a nuisance or endangering the lives or properties
of others.
B.
Written notice of any such violation or condition
shall be served upon the permittee or his agent engaged in the work.
The notice shall contain a brief statement of the grounds relied upon
for revoking the permit. Notice may be given either by personal delivery
thereof to the permittee or by certified or registered United States
mail addressed to the permittee.
C.
A permittee may be granted a period of 48 hours from
the date of the notice to correct the violation and to proceed with
the diligent prosecution of the work authorized by the permit before
said permit is revoked.
D.
When any permit has been revoked and the work authorized
by the permit has not been completed, the Township shall cause such
work to be done as may be necessary to restore the street or part
thereof to as good a condition as before the opening was made. All
expenses incurred therein by the Township shall be recovered from
the deposit the permittee has deposited with the Township.
It shall be the duty and responsibility of each
applicant to:
A.
Make a written application for such permit with the
Director of Municipal Services on such forms as the Township shall
prescribe. No work shall commence until the Township Engineer and/or
Township Director of Municipal Services has approved the application
and plan and the applicant has paid and provided all fees, deposits
and certificates required by this article. The Department of Public
Works shall issue a permit within 14 days after receipt of the Township
Engineer and/or Township Director of Municipal Services approval of
the permit application and all required fees, deposits and certificates
from the applicant.
B.
Include, in the application, information stating the
kind, character and purpose of the proposed excavation or opening
and such other information as may be reasonably required to fulfill
the requirements of this article.
C.
Furnish in triplicate a scaled plan showing the location
of the work to be performed under said permit. If approved by the
Township Engineer and/or Township Director of Municipal Services,
one copy of such plan shall be returned to the applicant at the time
the permit is granted.
D.
Obtain a permit for each and every opening.
E.
Agree to save the Township, its officers, employees
and agents harmless from any and all costs, damages and liabilities
which may accrue or be claimed to accrue by reason of any work performed
under said permit. The acceptance of any permit under this article
shall constitute such an agreement by the applicant whether the same
is expressed or not.
F.
Pay a permit and engineering review fee and security
deposit in accordance with the requirements herein.
G.
Furnish a certificate of insurance as required by
this article, or, in the case of a public utility or authority, furnish
a self-insurer certificate issued by the Security Responsibility Bureau
of the Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of Law and Public Safety
for the State of New Jersey.
H.
Keep the original copy of the permit and an approved
copy of the plan in the possession of the party or parties actually
doing the work, and when required, exhibit same to the Township Engineer
and/or Township Public Works Superintendent, duly authorized inspectors,
or in the instances of county or state highways, to the respective
inspectors of these authorities.
I.
Agree to perform the work under said permit in accordance
with the regulations established herein and such further conditions
as may be imposed by the Township Engineer and/or Township Public
Works Superintendent.
J.
If it is determined by the Township Engineer and/or
Township Director of Municipal Services that it is necessary, provide
a video or photograph of the proposed opening and surrounding areas
to protect the Township and adjoining property owners from damages
during construction.
The Township Engineer and/or Township Director
of Municipal Services is hereby authorized and directed to promulgate
such written instructions as may be necessary for the construction
of the street opening. Such instructions shall include but shall not
be limited to:
A.
Limitations on the size of an opening.
B.
Restrictions for the protection of existing subsurface
installations, monuments and drainage systems.
C.
Requirements for the storage and removal of excavated
materials.
D.
Provisions for safety precautions to be taken by the
permittee.
E.
Restrictions as to the periods of day when the work
may be performed.
F.
Requirements for backfilling, inspection and final
paving cross-section for openings.
G.
Requirements for utilization of trenchless technology
wherever possible on all piping, trenches and hookups 15 inches in
diameter or less.
H.
Requirements that all nonferrous material contain
a wire or detection device to accurately determine the location after
installation.
I.
All metallic structures, including manholes, valve
boxes, and inlet castings, to be set 1/4 inch below finished road
grade.
A.
Final paving is to comply with the requirements in
the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Standard Specifications
for Road and Bridge Construction 2001, as amended by the latest addendum
of the NJDOT, herein referred to as NJDOT Standard Specifications.
A lesser specification may be allowed after review by the Township
Engineer and/or Township Director of Municipal Services.
B.
Surface restoration.
(1)
No permittee shall commence restoration on any street
foundation or surface until the Township Engineer and/or Township
Director of Municipal Services has determined that settlement of the
subsurface is complete and the area properly prepared for restoration.
(2)
The street surface shall be permanently restored 12
inches beyond the excavation on all sides by milling the surface surrounding
the excavation to a depth of two inches to extend the surface course
restoration. The permanent restoration shall consist of a minimum
of six inches of dense graded aggregate, four inches of bituminous
stabilized base course and two inches of FABC-1 surface course applied
with appropriate tack coat to the adjacent pavement surface or a pavement
cross-section consistent to the existing pavement section.
(3)
At the discretion of the Township Engineer and/or
Township Director of Municipal Services, the surface restoration shall
extend the whole width of the travel lane.
(4)
For road openings down the center of the cartway,
surface restoration shall extend across the full width of the paved
road (both travel lanes).
(5)
The permittee is responsible for the full restoration
of the roadway surface, including re-striping, installation of raised
pavement markings, speed humps and signage.
(6)
Any concrete sidewalks disturbed, damaged or disrupted
during the excavation or trench opening shall be replaced with concrete
sidewalk conforming to all applicable standards of the Township of
Washington.
(7)
Where concrete curbing and/or gutters are disturbed,
damaged or removed, curbing and gutters of the exact configuration
as the existing shall be constructed. Concrete shall be Portland cement
concrete, air-entrained, conforming to the NJDOT Standard Specifications
for Class B concrete and shall have a minimum compressive strength
of 4,000 pounds per square inch after 28 days.
(8)
All top soiled, seeded or otherwise unpaved areas
disturbed in the course of the work shall be top soiled with a minimum
thickness of not less than four inches of loam-type topsoil. Fertilizer,
lime and other soil conditioners needed to promote the proper growth
of grass shall be incorporated and thoroughly worked into the topsoil.
Seed or sod of species suitable for growth in the location and environment
and conforming to the requirements of the NJDOT Standard Specifications
shall be placed in all unpaved areas.
(9)
All gravel shoulder areas disturbed during excavation
or trench opening shall be restored and graded to provide and maintain
the proper flow of drainage and to provide adequate lateral support
of the abutting pavement structure. The gravel material shall be soil
aggregate, Type I-6, conforming to the requirements of NJDOT Standard
Specifications. The soil aggregate or gravel shall be a minimum thickness
of not less than eight inches compacted thickness.
(10)
All concrete drive aprons disturbed during the
course of excavation or trench opening shall be replaced in accordance
with all applicable standards for concrete drive aprons, as set for
the in Township of Washington Code, and shall be constructed of Portland
cement concrete, air-entrained, Class B concrete, having a twenty-eight-day
compressive strength of 4,000 pounds per square inch and a minimum
concrete thickness of six inches.
(11)
Unless this requirement is waived at the time
of approval, all restoration of roadway joints are to be thermally
fused.
(12)
In the event of the failure to restore the street
opening properly within a reasonable time after the opening has been
made or to maintain the restored street properly for a period of one
year from the date of the aforesaid certificate of proper restoration,
the Township may, upon three days' notice to the person receiving
the permit, undertake the restoration or maintenance work and have
recourse to deposit for compensation.
Upon notice to the Township Engineer and/or
Township Director of Municipal Services, and under his inspection,
the permittee shall immediately, after completing the work, refill,
properly tamp and restore the excavation or opening with a temporary
paving cover as follows: 10 inches of compacted gravel (Type 5A) in
all areas and two inches of approved bituminous temporary patch material
(cold patch) in paved cartways. The temporary paving cover shall be
left in place and maintained by the applicant for a minimum of 60
days and a maximum of 90 days, after which the temporary paving cover
and required portion of compacted gravel shall be removed and replaced
with the final paving required by the Township Engineer and/or Township
Director of Municipal Services. Improvements to the temporary paving
that are deemed necessary due to settlement prior to approval for
final paving shall reset the minimum number of days for temporary
paving to be maintained by the permittee to 60 days from the date
of repair.
A.
Unless written permission is obtained from the Township
Engineer and/or Township Director of Municipal Services, no permittee
shall be allowed permission to cut, break into, excavate or open a
street for a greater distance than 300 feet at one time or keep the
same open for a period longer than one week. During the entire period
the street is being cut, broken into, excavated or opened by the permittee,
there shall be provided by the permittee a space at street level of
at least 12 feet in width for the purposes of allowing vehicles free
and unimpeded use of the same. In no event shall a permit be valid
for a period of time in excess of 135 days after its issuance without
the written approval of the Township Engineer and/or Township Director
of Municipal Services.
B.
All cuts, breaks, excavations and openings shall conform
in size to the application on which the permit is based and shall
be performed in neat, even and rectangular sections. All excavations
to a depth of six feet or more shall be shored and braced or provided
with an acceptable shield to support the walls of the trench for the
protection of workmen and to prevent the unintentional widening of
the trench unless otherwise permitted by the Township Engineer and/or
Township Director of Municipal Services.
C.
If in the opinion of the Township Engineer and/or
Township Director of Municipal Services, any cut, excavation or opening
would be dangerous if left exposed, the permittee shall erect a suitable
barrier or railing around the same in such manner as to prevent danger
to pedestrians or vehicles and place upon such barrier or railing
and upon any building materials and appliances suitable and sufficient
warning lights during the period of darkness. In any event, suitable
and sufficient warning lights shall be maintained by the permittee
during periods of darkness in the vicinity of the cut, excavation
or opening. The barriers and lighting shall conform to the Department
of Transportation Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices and any
amendments. In addition to the permittee placing his name and phone
number where he can be reached at all times on the barriers, the permittee
shall also notify the Township Director of Municipal Services and
local municipal authority of the condition of the unfinished excavation
and furnish the above with his name and phone number where he can
be reached at all times.
D.
All permittees shall keep the area of their work clear
of dirt and debris at all times and shall carry away and dispose of
all excess dirt, debris and other material resulting from their work.
E.
At the discretion of the Township Director of Municipal
Services, the road opening permit applications and associated inspections
may be reviewed and approved by the Township Engineer. In this case,
the term "Township Director of Municipal Services" is interchangeable
with the "Township Engineer" throughout this article.
See § 80-33.
Each applicant, prior to receipt of a permit,
shall provide the Township with an acceptable certificate of insurance
indicating that he is insured against claims for damages for personal
injury as well as claims for property damage which may arise from
or out of the performance of the work, whether such performance is
by himself, his sub-contractor or anyone directly or indirectly employed
by him. Such insurance shall cover collapse, explosive hazards and
underground work by equipment on the street and shall include protection
against liability arising from completed operations for a period of
time to be determined by the Township Council. The amount of the insurance
shall be $1,000,000 single limit. Public utilities and authorities
may be relieved of the obligation of submitting such certificates
if they are insured in accordance with the requirements of this article.
When the Township shall improve or pave any
street, the Director of Municipal Services shall first give notice
to all persons owning property abutting on the street about to be
paved or improved and to all public utilities and authorities operating
in the Township, and all such persons, utilities and authorities shall
make all connections as well as any repairs thereto which would necessitate
excavation of the street within 30 days from the giving of such notice.
The time shall be extended if permission is requested in writing and
approved by the Township Engineer and/or Director of Municipal Services.
A.
Unless it is determined that an emergency exists involving
underground storm or drain water, gas, water, sewer, telephone, cable
or electric utilities, no street opening permit will be issued for
a period of 60 months after a new pavement has been constructed, or
the existing pavement has been resurfaced, on the affected street.
B.
In the event that the newly paved or resurfaced street
is dedicated to the Township, the sixty-month period shall be deemed
to begin on the date of acceptance by the Township of the affected
street.
C.
A waiver on restrictions for street openings, unless
otherwise stipulated, may be granted at the approval of the Department
of Public Works Director and the Township Engineer with appropriate
conditions.
A.
In case of an emergency involving underground storm
or drain water, gas water, sewer, telephone, cable or electric utilities,
where immediate repair is imperative to prevent loss or damage to
streets or property or discontinuance of service, it shall not be
necessary to obtain permits before commencing such repair, but the
Township Director of Municipal Services must be notified immediately
of the occurrence, and such permit(s) shall be obtained within two
days thereafter, and this section shall not be held or taken in any
case to exempt the applicant from any other provisions of this article.
B.
The Township Director of Municipal Services is hereby
designated as the appropriate official to determine whether a bona
fide emergency exists or existed to justify the emergent opening of
any street covered by this section.
A.
Every person owning, using, controlling or having
an interest in pipes, conduits, ducts or other structures under the
surface of any street used for the purpose of supplying or conveying
gas, electricity, communication impulses, water or steam to or from
the Township or to or from its inhabitants, or for any other purpose,
shall file with the Township Engineer within one year after the adoption
of this article accurate information showing the as-built location,
size and description of all such installations.
B.
Within 30 days after the first day of January of each
and every year, such person shall file with the Township Engineer
additional information showing installations, including all those
made or abandoned during the previous year; provided, however, that
if no additions have been made to its installation during the previous
year, a utility. A utility or authority may file with the Engineer
a written statement to that effect within the period of time specified
above. A utility or authority may, at its own option, elect to provide
additional information throughout the year as it is available rather
than proceed as above noted. The Township Engineer may, however, request
additional information periodically as may be necessitated by proposed
construction or reconstruction of roadways within the Township.
If the work to be undertaken by the permittee
is such that it will affect the use of properties abutting or adjoining
the project or subsurface installations, including utilities, in the
vicinity of the proposed opening, the permittee shall be required
to submit evidence in affidavit form that notices were served on the
owners and tenants of such properties and subsurface installations
personally or by certified mail, return receipt requested.
A.
Any person who violates any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article I. Each day that a violation is permitted to exist after notice in writing shall have been served by the Department of Public Works shall constitute a separate offense.
The terms of this article shall not apply to
a street in any subdivision or industrial park approved by the Township
Planning Board Prior to the Township of Washington's accepting the
said street for maintenance.
