[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Plainsboro 9-14-1981 by Ord. No. 0-81-23. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Subdivision and site plan review — See Ch. 85.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
- ENGINEER
- The Township Engineer of the Township of Plainsboro.
- IMPROVED ROAD
- Any road surfaced with a pavement such as asphalt, concrete, bituminous concrete, brick or similar pavement and any road having a concrete base.
- ROAD OPENING
- Any excavation of, access to, or improvement within the public right-of-way of Plainsboro Township, whether temporary or permanent.
- STREET
- Any road, highway, public way, public alley, easement or other right-of-way accepted or maintained by the Township of Plainsboro as a public street, as well as any state or county road or highway over which the ownership has acquired jurisdiction by agreement.
- UNIMPROVED ROAD
- Any cinder, dirt or gravel road without oil treatment and all other roads under the jurisdiction of the Township of Plainsboro.
A.
No person shall create a permanent or temporary driveway
or roadway access to, an excavation in, or tunnel under any township
street or right-of-way without first obtaining a road-opening permit
from the Township Engineer.
B.
A tunnel or excavation may be commenced without a
permit where an emergency has arisen which makes it necessary to start
work immediately, provided that the application for permit is made
simultaneously with the commencement of the work or as soon thereafter
as is practical. The permit, when issued, shall be retroactive to
the date on which the work was begun.
C.
The Township Engineer may issue permits to other public
bodies without fee.
Applications for a permit shall be made to the
Township Engineer and shall contain the following information:
A.
The name and address of the applicant, contractor
and owner.
B.
The name of the street where the opening is to be
made and the street number, if any, of the abutting property.
C.
The Township of Plainsboro Tax Map block and lot number
of the property for the benefit of which the opening is to be made.
D.
The nature of the surface in which the opening is
to be made.
E.
Character and purpose of the work proposed.
F.
Time when the work is to be commenced and completed.
G.
Each application shall be accompanied by a set of
plans in duplicate showing the exact location and dimensions of all
openings.
Permits shall be issued under the authority
of the Township Engineer and in accordance with the provisions of
this chapter and the regulations which the Engineer may establish.
The Engineer shall determine the initial time limit during which the
permit shall be valid.
Each permit shall state the identity and address
of the applicant, the name of the street and the location where the
excavation or tunnel is to be made, the dimensions of the opening
and the period during which the permit shall be valid. The original
of each permit shall remain on file with the Township Engineer.
[Amended 11-8-1982 by Ord. No. 0-82-9; 8-8-2001 by Ord. No.
0-01-12; 12-10-2008 by Ord. No. 0-08-21; 8-10-2016 by Ord. No. 16-11]
A.
Fees must
be paid when the application is made. A residential applicant shall
be charged an application fee of $15 for each permit for opening of
an improved or unimproved road, opening in the right-of-way, behind
the curb or opening the unpaved shoulder in a public right-of-way
that will result in a new or upgraded customer service. A public utility
or other company seeking a permit shall be charged $200 for each road
opening for the excavation, tearing up or disturbance of the surface
of any street or right-of-way for the purpose and benefit to the utility's
infrastructure system. In addition to the application, the applicant
shall post inspection fees as follows:
(1)
Opening
of an improved or unimproved road, opening in the right-of-way, behind
the curb or opening the unpaved shoulder in a public right-of-way:
Inspection fees shall be based on actual costs incurred by the Township
based on a fee schedule to be established annually by the Township
Administrator. An applicant shall post a minimum inspection fee of
$50 per road opening permit and shall be required to sign a statement
to the effect that all reasonable costs by the Township associated
with the inspection of a road opening related to the permit shall
be paid upon billing and proof of expenditure of the costs to the
Township. In all cases, the minimum road opening inspection fee shall
be $50.
(2)
A public
utility or other company may be required to deposit with the Township
an annual amount of $1,000 up to $10,000 to cover the cost of road
opening inspection fees. The money deposited shall be held in escrow.
The utility/company shall receive a quarterly or monthly statement
showing the balance in its road opening inspection fee account and
shall replenish the fund if it is below $500. The entire amount shall
belong to the utility/company and shall be refunded by the Township,
upon request, at the end of the year or upon completion of the work
referenced in any open permit application(s).
B.
Where the excavation is to be made in a heavily traveled street or where, for any other reason, it is necessary for the Township to station a police officer near the excavation to direct traffic, the applicant shall also be charged amounts sufficient to compensate the Township for the expenditure of stationing the police officer at the excavation, including overtime costs, if any. These costs will be billed directly by the Township to be paid on presentation of the bill and shall not be considered part of the escrow account established in Subsection A above.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 76-7, Additional
inspection fee, was repealed 11-8-1982 by Ord. No. 0-82-9.
A.
No permit shall be issued until the applicant shall
have filed a performance guaranty in surety, cash, cashier's check
or certified check in an amount determined to be sufficient by the
Township Engineer. The guaranty or other instrument shall be executed
by the applicant as principal, and, where applicable, a surety company
licensed to do business in the State of New Jersey as surety and shall
be conditioned as follows:
(1)
To indemnify and hold harmless the Township of Plainsboro,
its Engineer and all officers and employees of the township from all
loss, damage, claim or expense, including expenses incurred in the
defense of any litigation arising out of injury to any person or property
resulting from any work done by the applicant under the permit.
(2)
To indemnify the Township of Plainsboro, its Engineer
and all officers and employees of the township for any expense incurred
in enforcing any of the provisions of this chapter.
(3)
To indemnify any person who shall sustain personal
injuries or damage to his property as a result of any act or omission
of the applicant, his agents, employees or subcontractors done in
the course of any work under the permit.
(4)
To guarantee the applicant's restoring surface and
foundation of the street for which the permit is granted and in keeping
the site clean and free of debris and construction materials.
(5)
The minimum performance guaranty shall be $500, which
covers a minimum opening of 30 square feet.
B.
One guaranty may be accepted to cover a number of
excavations by the same applicant. Guaranties shall remain in force
for a period to be determined by the Township Engineer.
No permit shall be issued until the applicant
has furnished the Township Engineer with satisfactory proof that he
is insured against injury to persons and damage to property caused
by an act or omission of the applicant, his agents, employees or subcontractors
done in the course of the work to be performed under the permit. The
insurance shall cover all hazards likely to arise in connection with
the work, including but not limited to collapse and explosion, and
shall also insure against liability arising from completed operations.
The limits of the policy of insurance shall be at least $300,000 for
injury to any one person, $500,000 for injuries to more than one person
in the same accident, and an aggregate of $100,000 for property damage
for a single incident. The Engineer may waive the requirements of
this section in the case of public utilities upon the presentation
of satisfactory proof that it is capable of meeting claims against
it up to the amount of the limits of the insurance policy which would
otherwise be required.
All permits issued under this chapter shall
be subject to the following rules and regulations.
A.
All excavations shall be kept properly barricaded
at all times, and during the hours of darkness shall be provided with
proper warning lights. This regulation shall not excuse the permittee
from taking any other precaution reasonably necessary for the protection
of persons or property and shall not be deemed as authorization to
leave a street open when ordered to do otherwise by the Township Engineer.
B.
All work shall be done in such a manner as to cause
a minimum of interference with travel on the street affected. No street
shall be closed to traffic unless the closing is approved by the Director
of Public Safety. The Department of Public Safety shall be informed
of all street closings at least 48 hours in advance.
C.
The Engineer may, upon application by the permittee,
extend the time limit during which the permit shall be valid.
D.
No work shall be done in such a manner as to interfere
with any water main or sewer line or any connection with either of
the same from any building unless that is the purpose of the excavation
or permission has been obtained in advance from the Township Engineer.
No work shall be carried on in such a manner as to result in damage
or destruction of any property of the Township of Plainsboro unless
this is necessary for completion of the work and permission has been
obtained in advance from the Township Engineer.
E.
All excavations shall be completely backfilled by
the permittee and, shall be compacted by tamping or other suitable
means in a manner prescribed by the Township Engineer. Where the Township
Engineer determines that the excavated material is unsuitable for
backfill, the permittee shall backfill the excavation with sand, cinders
or other suitable material which shall be placed in layers not exceeding
six inches in depth and thoroughly compacted in the manner prescribed
by the Engineer. Upon completion of the work, the permittee shall
remove any excess material and leave the premises in a clean condition.
If the Engineer determines that any backfilled excavation has settled
or caved in, he shall notify the permittee, who shall promptly continue
backfilling until the Engineer determines that settlement is complete.
F.
If tunneling operations are required, the tunnel shall
be backfilled with rammed concrete composed of one part cement to
10 parts sand.
G.
If blasting is required to be done in the course of
any excavation, it shall be done in strict compliance with all applicable
local and state laws and regulations.
H.
If the work is not completed within the time specified
in the permit or any extension granted by the Township Engineer or
is not performed in accordance with the regulations set forth in this
section and any other regulations that may be established by the Township
Engineer, then the township may complete the work itself and restore
the surface of the street. The cost of completing the work and restoring
the street shall be charged to the permittee and may be recovered
without limit by an action in any court of competent jurisdiction.
In all cases the permittee shall restore the
surface of the street in accordance with the following rules, regulations,
and requirements:
A.
No permittee shall commence the restoration of any
street foundation or surface until the Township Engineer has determined
that settlement of the subsurface is complete and the area properly
prepared for restoration.
B.
Temporary restoration shall consist of a minimum of
six inches of bituminous stabilized base compacted and brought to
grade and shall be maintained by the permittee to grade.
C.
The street surface shall be permanently restored so
as to extend six inches beyond the excavation on all sides. The permanent
restoration shall consist of a minimum of eight inches of bituminous
stabilized base course and two inches of FABC-1 surface course applied
with appropriate tack coat to adjacent pavement surface.
A.
Transferability. Every permit shall apply only to
the person to whom it is issued and shall not be transferable.
B.
Commencement of work. Work under a permit shall commence
within seven days from the date of issuance of the permit. If work
is not commenced within that time, the permit shall automatically
terminate unless extended in writing by the Township Engineer.
C.
Possession of permit. A copy of the permit, together
with a copy of the plan endorsed with the approval of the Township
Engineer, must be kept in possession of the person actually performing
the work and shall be exhibited on demand to any duly authorized employee
of the township or to any police officer of the Township of Plainsboro.
D.
Revocation of permit. The Township Engineer may revoke
a permit for any of the following reasons:
(1)
Violation of any provision of this chapter or any
other applicable rules, regulations, laws or ordinances.
(2)
Violation of any condition of the permit issued.
(3)
Carrying on work under the permit in a manner which
endangers life or property which creates any condition which is unhealthy,
unsanitary or declared by any provision of this chapter to constitute
a nuisance.
E.
Modification of permit conditions. In a special case
the Township Committee may by resolution impose special conditions
to which the issuance of the permit may be subject or may decide that
any provision of this chapter shall not apply or shall be altered.
The permit holder shall conform to the requirements
in the current Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, Part VI,
when required by the township to provide barricades and/or signs.
Prior to the issuance of a road-opening permit,
the applicant shall contact the Public Safety Department, Division
of Police, for instructions on the traffic safety precautions to be
taken.