[Amended 4-23-1987 by L.L. No. 2-1987; 2-25-1988 by L.L. No. 4-1988; 5-10-1990 by L.L. No. 8-1990]
A. Intent. It is the stated intent of the Town of Wallkill
to protect the general health, safety and welfare of all its citizens.
In order to better accomplish this goal, through full compliance with
all plans approved by the Planning Board, all public and nonpublic
improvements shall be fully completed and approved by the Town prior
to a certificate of occupancy being issued.
B. Bonding.
[Amended 9-27-1990 by L.L. No. 15-1990; 4-9-2015 by L.L. No.
1-2015; 8-26-2021 by L.L. No. 6-2021]
(1) Public and nonpublic improvements. A construction bond from surety
acceptable to the Town, which shall only be in the form of cash, letter
of credit or negotiable securities, may be delivered to the Town of
Wallkill. Said construction bond shall guarantee to the Town that
the owner/developer of said parcel will faithfully cause to be constructed
and completed, within a reasonable period of time, the required public
or nonpublic improvements on all approved site plans and subdivisions.
(2) Following the granting of final approval by the Planning Board, but prior to the signing and release of final maps, the owner/developer of a parcel shall follow the procedure listed either in Subsection
B(2)(a) or
(c) below:
(a)
The owner/developer shall file construction bonds, as specified in Subsection
B(1) above, with the Town Clerk.
[1]
The amount of the construction bonds shall be established by
the Commissioner of Public Works, based upon detailed cost estimates
prepared by the owner's/developer's design professional, in accordance
with Town standard unit pricing.
[2]
Any such construction bonds shall be satisfactory to the Town
Board and the Town Attorney as to form, sufficiency, manner of execution
and surety.
(b)
The owner/developer shall complete all the public and nonpublic
improvements to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Public Works.
(c)
The owner/developer may, upon request and approval, utilize a combination of Subsection
B(2)(a) and
(b) above [i.e., construct and have approved a portion of the public and nonpublic improvements and post construction bond(s) for the balance of the improvements prior to the issuance of a building permit], and prior to signing and release of final maps by the Planning Board.
(3) Bonding for nonpublic improvements shall only be necessary prior
to the issuance of building permits when the nonpublic improvements
amount to over $500,000.
(4) The required improvements shall not be considered to have been completed
until their installation has been approved by the Commissioner of
Public Works.
(5) If construction bonds have been posted, they may only be released
upon the certification of the Commissioner of Public Works and the
Town Attorney that all the requirements of the bond have been satisfied.
(6) If construction bonding is required for a project that involves the
establishment of a homeowners' association (HOA) to own and maintain
the nonpublic improvements, a one-year maintenance surety in the amount
of 10% of the approved construction bond will be required to be established
with the Town. Release of the maintenance surety will be subject to
approval of the Commissioner of Public Works and Town Board.
(7) If the Town decides at any time during the term of the construction
bond that the extent of the development that has taken place is not
sufficient to warrant all the improvements covered by such bond, that
the required improvements have been installed in a sufficient amount
to warrant a reduction in the face amount of said bond or that the
character and extent of such development requires additional improvements,
the Town may mandate an increase or decrease in the face value of
such construction bond by any appropriate amount so that the new face
value will cover the cost in full of the amended list of improvements
required by the Planning Board.
C. Inspections; as-built plans.
[Amended 3-23-2006 by L.L. No. 3-2006; 4-9-2015 by L.L. No. 1-2015; 8-26-2021 by L.L. No. 6-2021]
(1) Routine inspections.
(a)
All improvements will be inspected by the Town Engineer to ensure
satisfactory completion. In no case shall any paving work, including
prime and seal coats, be done without permission from the Town Engineer.
At least five days' notice shall be given to the Town Engineer prior
to any such construction so that a representative of the Town may
be present at the time work is to be done. The Town Engineer shall
be notified prior to each of the following phases of the work so that
he or his representative may inspect the work:
[1]
Periodic reviews of earthwork cuts and fills.
[2]
Observe all sanitary, storm/drainage and water utilities (including
services, manholes, and all other appurtenances) prior to backfill.
If any of these utilities are public (owned or proposed to be dedicated
to the Town) full-time construction observation is required.
[3]
Observe preparation of road and parking lot subgrade and subbase,
and witness a proof roll test (loaded tri-axle dump truck) to verify
non-yielding conditions prior to proceeding to the subsequent material
course.
[4]
Full time observation of asphalt paving (all courses). If independent
testing and inspection of asphalt is performed, Town Engineer inspections
can be reduced to periodic, provided the Design Professional certifies
to the work upon completion.
[5]
Observe concrete curb, gutter, sidewalks and exterior pads prior
to concrete placement, and periodically during placement. If independent
testing and inspection of concrete is performed, Town Engineer inspections
can be reduced to periodic, provided the Design Professional certifies
to the work upon completion.
[6]
Periodic reviews of utility trench and excavation backfill.
If independent testing agency is utilized or otherwise required by
the design plans, Town Engineer observation is not required, but copies
of all test reports are to be submitted to Town Engineer for review.
[7]
Periodic reviews of the storm water and erosion/sediment control devices at the project, as required by §
203-14G.
[8]
Administrative items:
[a] Pre-construction meeting.
[b] Cost estimate reviews for bonding with construction
escrow.
[c] Project scheduling/meetings.
[e] Site related temporary certificate of occupancy
(T.C.O.) and certificate of occupancy (C.O.) field reviews.
[f] Preparation of site related deficiency listings.
[g] Project revisions/conflict reviews for items differing
from approved plans (including Planning Board review and Workshop,
as applicable).
[h] Review construction testing reports (compaction,
concrete, rebar, asphalt, etc.) from independent testing agency.
[i] As-built drawing reviews.
[j] Review notice of intent (N.O.I.), notice of termination
(N.O.T.) requests, and stormwater maintenance agreements.
[k] Review erosion and sediment reports from environmental
professional.
(b)
If the Town Engineer or other duly designated representative
does not carry out inspection of required improvements during construction,
the subdivider or the bonding company shall not in any way be relieved
of his or its responsibilities.
(2) As-built plans. The applicant's engineer will prepare as-built plans
of the parcel's improvements, to include the locations of waterlines,
sewer lines, drainage improvements, valves, manholes, (including GPS
coordinates for all valves, curb stops, and manholes), pavement widths,
curbs, septic/grease trap tanks, septic field swing ties or GPS coordinates,
sidewalks and any other information the Commissioner of Public Works
may request, which as-built plans shall be subject to the final approval
of the Town's Consulting Engineer. In the event that the Town of Wallkill
draws upon a bond or letter of credit posted by the applicant due
in whole or in part to missing, incomplete or inaccurate as-built
plans, said plans shall be prepared by the Town's Consulting Engineer
utilizing the drawn funds.
(3) If the Commissioner of Public Works, the Superintendent of Sewer
and Water or the Town Engineer shall find or cause to have found that
any of the required improvements have not been installed or constructed
in accordance with the approved site plan, he shall so report to the
Town Board, Planning Board, Town Clerk and Building Inspector.
(a)
Upon receipt of such notification, the Town Board shall notify
the owner/developer and, if necessary, the bonding company and take
any and all necessary steps to preserve the Town's rights under the
bond.
(b)
If the owner/developer has posted a construction bond, the Town
Board shall declare said bond in default and utilize the funds to
install such improvements as were covered. In no event shall the Town
install improvements exceeding the dollar amount of the construction
bond.
(c)
No additional plans shall be accepted or approved by the Planning
Board or Building Inspector as long as the owner/developer is in default
or not in compliance with a previously approved plan.
(4) Inspection escrow. The owner/developer is responsible for the payment
of all inspections, as-built drawings and related costs. Initially,
an inspection escrow, in the amount of 4% of the approved site work
cost estimate, shall be deposited with the Town, prior to the time
that the Chairman of the Planning Board signs the final plat or the
start of any site improvement work. The escrow percentage may also
be reviewed and revised by resolution of the Town Board.