[Adopted 7-10-1990 by Ord. No. 32-1990; amended in its entirety 5-23-2023 by Ord. No. 4-2023]
A.Â
No person, other than a duly authorized City officer or employee,
shall make any opening or remove any pavement in any street or sidewalk
in the City of Cohoes without a permit from the Director of Building
and Planning or their designee. For purposes of this article, "street"
shall include, but not be limited to, alley, road, and boulevard.
B.Â
The fee for a permit shall be $100. The fee for the opening shall
be $5 per square foot.
C.Â
Permits issued hereunder shall not be transferable without the written
consent of the Commissioner of Public Works.
D.Â
In an emergency requiring the immediate opening or removal of any pavement in any street or sidewalk, a permit must be filed with the Department of Building and Planning within 72 hours of the opening or removal, or the Director of Building and Planning may impose a fine on the person that performed the opening or removal in accordance with § 244-12.3 of this article.
A.Â
Whenever a street or a portion of a street is to be closed to traffic
or parking is to be prohibited, or there is to be a disturbance in
the public right-of-way for eight or more hours on one day or over
a period of several days, the Director of Building and Planning may
require, as a condition of the issuance of a permit, a program of
public notification which may include the following:
B.Â
Notification should include expected date and time of commencement
and completion of work, hours that the street shall be closed to traffic,
the date and times temporary parking restrictions will be in effect
and the availability of alternate routes, if applicable.
A.Â
Application for a permit shall be made to the Director of Building
and Planning or their designee, on provided forms, which shall describe
the location, number, purpose and size of the openings to be made,
the kind of pavement to be removed, the time when such openings are
desired and the length of time the openings will remain open, together
with such other information regarding the work as the Director of
Building and Planning or his designee may require.
B.Â
When an application is received, the Director of Building and Planning
or his/her designee shall review the application with the City Planner,
City Engineer and/or the Commissioner of Public Works prior to issuing
such permit to assure that the applicant has met all applicable requirements.
Before a permit is granted, the applicant shall provide a certificate
of insurance of a duly authorized insurance company in the sum of
$1,000,000 designating the City as a named insured and evincing coverage
to indemnify and save harmless the City from all loss, damage, cost
and liability whatever which the City may sustain or incur by reason
of any accident or omission of the person to whom such permit is granted
or any person employed by him while engaged in such employment and
performing any of the work done under or pursuant to such permits.
Street removals shall have no horizontal dimension less than
three feet. For sidewalks removals, the full sidewalk panel shall
be removed and replaced.
In order to preserve and protect the historic and aesthetic
integrity of the City's infrastructure, the permittee will replace
any excavated street with the same paving materials removed. Sidewalks
shall be replaced with concrete under all circumstances. In the event
it is necessary to place a temporary surface on any opening, the temporary
surface shall be composed of hot mix asphalt or cold mix paving material.
Gravel and flexbase surface material shall not be used unless the
preexisting surface was gravel or flexbase. No less than the area
from the curb to the middle of the street along the entire length
of the opening shall be replaced. The length of the restoration will
be determined by the Director of Building and Planning after consultation
with the Commissioner of Public Works for any project with multiple
street openings on the same street, and such determination shall be
made known to the permit applicant prior to the issuance of a permit.
No street or sidewalk opening as authorized herein shall be
closed without and until an inspection by the Commissioner of Public
Works or their designee. The closing and repaving shall thereafter
be performed in a manner satisfactory to the Commissioner of Public
Works and Director of Building and Planning and in accordance with
their specifications.
All damaged trees, shrubs and ground covers shall be restored
or replaced, and any ground cover shall be fertilized and watered
until reestablished.
A.Â
A person receiving a permit pursuant to the provisions hereof shall
have a continuing duty to keep such area free from settlement or other
defects caused by said openings and shall, when necessary, repair
and restore such area to a condition satisfactory to the Commissioner
of Public Works and the Director of Building and Planning.
B.Â
If a permittee fails to properly repair within five days after written
notice thereof from the Director of Building and Planning, the City
shall have such repairs made, which shall be charged against the permittee.
Failure to make repairs may result in the performance of the repair
work by the City at the expense of the person authorized to open the
street or curb.
C.Â
Should any sidewalk panel be damaged, as determined by the Commissioner
of Public Works, by the opening of a street, the person authorized
to open the street shall replace the full damaged panel with concrete.
D.Â
Nothing contained herein, however, shall prevent or preclude the
City from taking whatever steps may be necessary, with or without
notice, when emergency or otherwise dangerous conditions exist.
All persons, corporations or other entities proposing to install
or repair pipe, cable, wire, conduit or other facilities in, on or
over any street or sidewalk, or within a public right-of-way in the
City of Cohoes or otherwise dig in or open the same shall be responsible
for reviewing the City's list of streets and sidewalks scheduled
for repair or reconstruction, to be prepared and maintained by the
Department of Building and Planning, and shall make provision to do
any work, except emergency work, which requires the opening or use
of any such street or sidewalk prior to or during the construction
of the project undertaken by the City. No permit to use or open any
street or sidewalk which would require resurfacing or reconstruction,
except for emergency work as hereinafter provided, shall be issued
to any such person within a five-year period after the completion
of the construction of a capital project by the City relating to such
street or sidewalk unless such person demonstrates that the need for
the work could not have reasonably been anticipated prior to or during
such construction. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Director of
Building and Planning may issue a permit to open a street or sidewalk
within such five-year period upon a finding of necessity therefor,
subject to such conditions as the Director may establish after consultation
with the City Planner, City Engineer, and Commissioner of Public Works,
which shall include appropriate guarantees against the deterioration
of the restored pavement. In such case, the street pavement shall
be replaced from curb to curb along the entire length of the opening
for street openings and the full damaged sidewalk panel shall be replaced
for sidewalk openings.
The Director of Building and Planning is hereby authorized to
promulgate additional rules, regulations and specifications necessary
to supplement and effectuate the purpose and intent of this article.
Violations of any of the provisions of this article shall be
punishable by a fine which shall not be less than $500 nor exceed
$1,000.
