[Adopted 5-12-1980 as Ch. 46 of
the 1980 Code]
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, company
or corporation to make or cause to be made any excavation in or under
any street, sidewalk or public place, or any portion thereof, whether
paved or otherwise, in the City of Oswego for any purpose whatsoever,
except upon compliance with the provisions of this Article and after
obtaining a permit and paying the fee hereinafter provided for.
A.
At least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the commencement of work, any person, firm, company or corporation proposing to undertake any excavation referred to in § 211-39 hereof, shall file an application for a permit to do such work with the Department of Public Works upon a form to be provided by such department. A sketch showing the location, dimensions and character of the proposed excavation shall be incorporated in or accompany such application.
B.
Permit applicants with outstanding violations or unpaid monies.
(1)
No
such permit shall be granted to or renewed for an applicant who is
in violation of any City of Oswego code, ordinance or local law (hereinafter
"violations") or who owes property taxes, water or sewer fees, special
assessments, fines for violations of City ordinances or any other
fees or past due monies of any name or nature owed to the City of
Oswego (hereinafter "unpaid monies").
[Added 2-9-2015 by L.L.
No. 2-2015; amended 8-14-2015 by L.L. No. 6-2015]
(a)
The applicant shall have the burden of providing proof in a
form acceptable to the department that there are no such violations
or unpaid monies.
(b)
In the event that the applicant has accrued violations or unpaid
monies, such permit or renewal thereof shall be denied regardless
of whether such violations or unpaid monies relate to a parcel of
real property for which the application is made or another parcel
owned by applicant or are personal to the applicant.
(c)
In the event that the applicant has accrued violations or unpaid
monies, such permit or renewal thereof shall be denied regardless
of whether such violations or unpaid monies occurred or accrued before
the effective date of this local law.
(d)
Such permit, once granted, shall be revoked in the event that
the applicant accrues violations or unpaid monies, or violations or
unpaid monies are discovered, after the permit is granted. The revocation
shall take effect five business days after receipt by the permit holder
of notice from the City of Oswego of the pending revocation. Upon
such revocation, all permitted activities and privileges shall immediately
cease.
(e)
No application fees shall be refunded upon revocation of the
permit.
(f)
The applicant must reapply for the issuance of such revoked
permit by submitting a new application and paying all necessary application
fees, and any such permitted activities or privileges may only be
resumed once a new permit has been granted.
(g)
All requirements set forth herein shall also apply to nonperson
entities and such permit or renewal thereof shall be denied to an
entity, or revoked, if a person with a substantial interest in such
entity owes such unpaid monies or has accrued such violations. A "person
with a substantial interest" shall mean an ownership interest of more
than 10% of, membership on the governing board of, holding an office
in or holding the ability to cast or control more than 10% of the
votes in such entity.
(2)
Notwithstanding the provisions contained in this section to the contrary,
when in the opinion of the Director of Code Enforcement the issuance
of a permit is necessary to prevent harm to life, safety, or the general
welfare of the public, the Director of Code Enforcement shall be authorized
to issue said permit for the sole and exclusive purpose of bringing
such violations into compliance with the Code of the City of Oswego.
Nothing contained herein shall relieve the property owner from complying
with all other applicable sections of the Code including, without
limitation, the provisions contained in this section.
[Added 4-10-2017 by L.L.
No. 2-2017]
Prior to the issuance of a permit, the applicant
shall deposit with the City Chamberlain a sum of money in cash or
by certified check sufficient to reimburse the city for all expenses
which may be incurred by the city in restoring the excavated surface
to a condition satisfactory to the Commissioner of Public Works in
the event that the applicant shall fail to so restore such surface.
Such deposit shall be computed as follows:
A.
For concrete, macadam, brick, blacktop or other hard
surface road, sidewalk or public area, two dollars ($2.) per square
foot of excavation. Minimum deposit: one hundred dollars ($100.).
B.
For gravel, dirt or other surface, one dollar ($1.)
per square foot of excavation. Minimum deposit fifty dollars ($50.).
A fee of five dollars ($5.) shall accompany
each application for such a permit. Such fee shall be retained by
the city to cover the cost of issuing the permit and making any inspections
required.
Each permit shall expire six (6) months from
the date of its issuance.
A.
No permit shall be issued until the applicant has
filed with the Department of Public Works a certificate of insurance
from an insurance company authorized to do business in the State of
New York certifying that the applicant has in full force and effect
a policy of public liability insurance indemnifying the City of Oswego,
New York and/or the Commissioner of Public Works of said city as named
insureds against any loss, damage or injury which might be incurred
by reason of the negligence of the applicant in making such excavation
or in performance of any work incidental thereto, or in guarding or
failing to guard the same, or in failing to properly restore the area
in which the excavation is made to a proper and safe condition, or
by reason of any negligent act or omission of the applicant incident
to such excavation or restoration, and including omissions and supervisory
acts of the Department of Public Works of the City of Oswego. Such
certificate shall provide that the City of Oswego shall be given at
least ten (10) days' notice of any intent to cancel in any manner
the policy referred to, or of any change of the terms or limits of
said policy.
B.
The limits of liability of said insurance shall be
not less than the following:
(1)
For damages arising out of bodily injury, including
death at any time resulting therefrom sustained by one (1) person
in one (1) accident: one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.).
(2)
For damages arising out of bodily injury, including
death at any time resulting therefrom sustained by two (2) or more
persons in any one (1) accident: three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000.).
(3)
For damages arising from injury to or destruction
of property during the policy period: one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000.).
No permit shall be issued until the applicant
has also filed with the Department of Public Works a satisfactory
surety bond of a surety company authorized to do business in the State
of New York in a sum to be no greater than the cost of restoring the
excavated area to a proper and safe condition, which sum and which
condition shall be determined by the Commissioner of Public Works
of the City of Oswego; provided, however, that such bond shall be
in the sum of at least five hundred dollars ($500.) and which bond
shall be conditioned upon compliance by the applicant with the terms
of this Article.
Upon compliance with the foregoing provisions
of this section, the Department of Public Works shall issue a permit
to the applicant. The applicant shall cause such permit to be carried
on the job and to be exhibited upon request to representatives of
the Department of Public Works and of the Police Department at any
time during the progress of the work.
The applicant shall comply with all of the following
in connection with such excavation:
A.
Provide proper lighting, barricading, reflectors,
signs and warnings to protect and warn the public with regard to such
excavation.
B.
Gutters shall be kept clear so that the free flow
of water is permitted.
C.
All work shall be pursued diligently and continuously
as far as possible until completed.
D.
Not more than one-half (1/2) of the paved width of
any street shall be closed to traffic at one (1) time.
E.
In the event that the full width of any sidewalk shall
be closed during such work, the applicant shall provide a safe way
of travel for pedestrians.
F.
The size of the excavation shall not exceed that for
which the permit was issued.
G.
All work shall be subject to the inspection and approval
of the Department of Public Works.
H.
After backfilling excavations which have been sheeted,
the sheeting shall be left in place and cut down one (1) foot below
grade.
I.
No tunneling or undercutting is permitted.
J.
Excavations shall be carefully backfilled with clean
earth deposited in four-inch layers and tamped. Frozen earth or stones
over six (6) inches in size shall not be used in backfill. Silt and
loam are to be replaced by bank-run gravel. The Department of Public
Works shall be notified, in writing, when backfilling is completed.
The applicant shall maintain the proper amount of backfill in the
excavation for a period of thirty (30) days after completion of the
original backfilling.
K.
Pavement and other finished surfaces are to be replaced
according to instructions and specifications of the Department of
Public Works.
In the event that the applicant does not complete the work according to the instructions and specifications of the Department of Public Works and in a manner satisfactory to the Commissioner of Public Works within a reasonable time after being advised of such objections by the Department of Public Works, then, in that event, the work may be completed by the Department of Public Works and the cost of such completion shall be borne by the applicant at the rate provided in § 211-41 hereof, and such payment shall be deducted by the Department of Public Works from the amount deposited by the applicant, and the balance, if any, shall be refunded to the applicant.
Upon completion of the work to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Public Works, the Department of Public Works shall refund to the, applicant the deposit provided for in § 211-41 herein.
Any person or corporation violating any of the
provisions of this Article, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject
to a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100.) for each offense.
Every violation of any provision of this Article shall be a separate
and distinct offense, and, in case of continuing violation, every
day's continuance thereof shall be deemed to be a separate and distinct
offense. A violation of this Article shall constitute disorderly conduct,
and any person violating the same shall be a disorderly person.
