[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Abbottstown as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Skateboards, roller blades and skates — See Ch. 173.
[Adopted 8-21-2003 by Ord. No. 2003-02]
The following words, when used in this article,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except in
those instances where the context clearly indicates otherwise:
The Borough of Abbottstown, Adams County, Pennsylvania.
Any activity within the right-of-way of any street, road,
or alley that involves cutting, breaking or disturbing the surface
thereof, including the installation of driveways or accessways from
the street, road or alley to adjacent property. In this article, the
term “opening” shall have the same meaning.
Any natural person, partnership, association, firm or corporation
or municipal authority.
Any public street, road, avenue, alley, square or other public
place located in the Borough and established for the use of vehicles
from right-of-way line to right-of-way line, but shall not include
any state highway or continuation thereof, for so long as permits
for openings in such state highways shall remain under the jurisdiction
and control of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).
In this article, the singular shall include the plural and the masculine
shall include the feminine and the neuter.
It shall be unlawful for any person to make any openings or excavation in or under any street, or to construct a new driveway, or widen an existing driveway without first having obtained a permit therefor from the Borough Codes Enforcement Officer for each separate undertaking. Application therefor shall be made on a form prepared by the Borough Council, and containing a statement that the applicant agrees to the terms of this article. Permits shall be issued for a period not to exceed one year, and any application to renew an expired permit shall be treated as a new application, including the payment of a new permit fee. In addition to the conditions of this article, driveways shall also conform to the provisions of Chapter 186, Subdivision and Land Development, § 186-33D.
A.
The application for the permit and every such permit
shall state the location and extent of the proposed opening, and the
purpose thereof, and the permit shall state the days and times when
such street may remain open pursuant to such permit. It shall be a
violation of this article for the holder of any such permit to make
any opening or excavation otherwise than as provided in the permit
as to location, extent, purpose and time. Provided: in case of emergency
of breaks or leaks, repairs may be made without a permit, on condition
that the permit is obtained on the first regular business day thereafter
on which the Borough office is open for business, and said permit
shall be retroactive to the date when the emergency work was begun.
B.
The applicant for a permit under this article shall
submit with the application a plan showing the nature of the work
to be performed within or at the street right-of-way line. Such plan
shall be in sufficient detail to show the type, size and location
of the installation, the elevation of any underground or overhead
facilities, and the grade of all surface improvements. The plan shall
also show the proposed method for maintenance and protection of traffic
in the work area.
A.
A fee, payable to the Borough, for the issuance of
the permit shall accompany each application. The fee shall be established
by Borough Council and shall be in accordance with the fee schedule
established by PennDOT for highway occupancy permits.
B.
At the time of application, in addition to the permit
fee, the applicant shall pay to the Borough a fee to cover the cost
of inspecting the permitted work upon completion thereof, to insure
compliance with the conditions, restrictions and regulations prescribed
by the Borough. The aforesaid fee shall be established by the Borough
Council and shall approximate the reasonable cost of such inspection.
The Borough Secretary shall forward such application
to the Codes Enforcement Officer for investigation and, if necessary,
to the Borough Engineer for review. The Codes Enforcement Officer
in consultation with the Borough Engineer, considering the location
of the opening or excavation, the effect it will have upon traffic
of the Borough, and the safety and welfare of the residents, shall
approve or reject such application and notify the applicant thereof
within 30 days, or shall submit such application for consideration
of Council at the next succeeding Council meeting after notifying
applicant of the time such plans shall be considered. Plans for such
opening or excavation may be approved with modification of the location
and size thereof as well as the date for opening or excavation or
the length of time the thoroughfare may be kept open.
The work authorized by the permit is subject
to all provisions of the Act of December 10, 1974, P.L. 852, No. 287,
§ 1 et seq. (73 P.S. § 176 et seq.), as amended
or supplemented from time to time. It shall be the permittee's responsibility
to contact the utilities that have recorded their facilities in compliance
with said Act.
It shall be the duty and responsibility of the
holder of every permit under this article to provide and maintain
proper and adequate guards, barriers, warning lights and warning signs
to prevent accidents, and such permit holder shall assume all risks
and be liable for all damages by reason of the opening or excavation
and by reason of any failure to refill the opening; and to prepare
the same for resurfacing.
A.
It shall be the duty of every holder of a permit under
this article to refill the opening or excavation thoroughly and completely
with AASHTO No. 57 stone, tamping the stone so as to prevent any settling
thereafter. If settling should occur, the holder of the permit must
refill at the request of the Borough Council or its representative.
If, within two years after the restoration of the surface as herein
provided, defects shall appear therein, the applicant shall reimburse
the Borough for the cost of all necessary repairs to the surface.
B.
The surface shall be reconstructed in accordance with
specifications as determined by the Borough Engineer: such specifications
shall be forwarded to the applicant with the permit when issued. The
Borough Engineer shall consider the construction of the thoroughfare
in determining specifications, and shall require only such reconstruction
as is reasonably calculated to return the thoroughfare to its former
condition.
C.
Repairing of sidewalks, seeding and replanting of
grass, shrubs, trees, etc., shall be the duty of the permit holder.
D.
Covering of the opening and reconstruction of the
surface shall be inspected while such work is in progress by an agent
of the Borough. The applicant shall be responsible to notify the Codes
Enforcement Officer or the Borough Engineer, as required, of the time
the opening or excavation is to be covered and reconstructed. Four
further inspections shall be made at three-month intervals; based
upon such inspections, Council may require further construction, reconstruction
or treatment whenever it is determined that the reconstruction was
not in accordance with the specifications provided by the Borough
Engineer, or that the thoroughfare was not returned to its former
condition. The applicant shall pay the actual cost of such inspections
to the Borough.
E.
The approving body, whether the Codes Enforcement
Officer or Council, may require that a performance bond or cash be
posted in an amount not greater than double the amount that may be
reasonably required to close the opening and reconstruct the surface
of the thoroughfare, including necessary inspection.
A.
All other work in connection with openings in any
street, including excavation, protection, refilling and temporary
paving shall be done by the person to whom or which the permit has
been issued at his or its expense, and all such work shall be subject
to the provisions of this article and to the inspection and approval
of the Borough.
B.
If any work of opening, excavating, refilling, resurfacing
and preparing for grass, shrubs, trees, etc., shall not be done promptly,
or shall be unskillfully or improperly or incompletely done, the Borough
Council shall have the authority to cause the same to be done in the
manner it deems proper, and the expense thereof, including any overhead
expenses, shall be charged to the permit holder, together with an
additional amount of 10%.
If, at any time in the future, the roadway is
widened, reconstructed or the alignment or grades are changed, the
permittee further agrees to change or relocate all or any part of
the structures covered by this permit that interfere with the improvement
of the roadway at its own cost and expense.
Payment for all work done by the Borough under
the provisions of this article shall be made by the permittee within
30 days after the Borough submits a bill therefore to such person.
Upon failure to pay such charges within such time, the same will be
collectable by the Borough by an action in assumpsit or in the manner
provided by law for the collection of municipal claims.
Permits are not transferable from one person
to another, and work shall not be done in any place or to any extent
other than that specifically designated in the permit.
A.
Any permit may be revoked by the Borough after oral
or written notice to the permittee for:
B.
When notice of any such violation or condition shall
be served upon the permittee or his agent engaged in the work, the
permittee must immediately take the necessary corrective measure before
proceeding further with the work for which the permit was originally
granted.
C.
When, in the opinion of the Borough, the permittee has failed to take the necessary corrective measures and a condition or act constituting or creating a nuisance or endangering life or property exists, the Borough may order the work to be performed by the appropriate Borough designee or employee, and the cost therefore incurred by the Borough shall be recovered from the bond the permittee has filed with the Borough. (In the event of no bond or inadequate bond amount, the Borough may recover the amount in accordance with § 183-11 hereof). When the above action is deemed necessary by the Borough, it shall constitute an automatic revocation of the permit and, upon action filed by the Borough, the permittee shall be subject to fine and penalties as are provided for herein.
Each applicant, prior to the receipt of a permit,
shall provide the Borough with an acceptable certificate of insurance
indicating that he is insured against claims for damage that may arise
from or out of the performance of the work, whether such performance
be by himself, his subcontractor, or anyone directly or indirectly
employed by any of them. Such insurance shall cover collapse, explosion,
hazards, and underground work by equipment on the street, and shall
include protection against liability arising from completed operations.
In order to protect the Borough and the permittee, the permittee shall
provide a certificate of insurance for liability insurance in the
amount of $500,000 for each occurrence, $500,000 aggregate for bodily
injury, and $250,000 for each occurrence, and $250,000 for aggregate
property damage. The certificate shall name the Borough of Abbottstown
as the policyholder. Public utilities and authorities may submit annually
such evidence of insurance coverage in lieu of individual submissions
for each permit.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Any person who shall violate any provision of
this article shall, for each and every violation, upon conviction
thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000, plus
costs of prosecution, and, in default of payment of such fine and
costs, to imprisonment for not more than 30 days. Any person who violates
or permits the violation of this article shall, in addition to the
payment of the fine or imprisonment, be obligated to pay all court
costs including reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the Borough.
Each day that a violation of any provision of this article is permitted
to exist after notice by the Borough shall constitute a separate violation.
[Adopted at time of adoption of Code (see
Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The Borough of Abbottstown and any of its servants, workmen
or agents.
An owner or other person having a present interest in real
estate abutting on a street, highway or sidewalk with the Borough.
Includes trees, shrubbery, flowers and other foliage.
Includes ice and snow.
Includes streets and highways.
A public service corporation or firm providing public service,
including telephone, electricity, light and gas.
Every owner shall maintain shrubbery growing
on that owner's property in a proper state of trim and condition so
as not to interfere with the normal use of sidewalks and streets within
the Borough.
Every owner shall maintain the sidewalk upon
which his property abuts free and clean of snow.
Accumulations of snow upon sidewalks and shrubbery
which interferes with the use of sidewalks and streets are prohibited.
The Borough may trim shrubbery for a vertical
distance of 10 feet above the surface of sidewalks and streets in
order that said shrubbery does not interfere with utility wires or
streetlighting.
The Borough may remove any trees on or abutting
a sidewalk or street if a tree obstructs traffic, streetlighting,
utility lines, or is inconvenient or dangerous to the passing public.
Cost of work done under preceding sections for
work specially required to protect and maintain utility wires or streetlighting
shall be paid by the utility concerned. All other costs shall be paid
by the Borough from the general fund.
Services by the Borough pursuant to this article
are hereby declared to be governmental services, and there shall be
no liability on the part of the Borough for performance or nonperformance
of said services.
