[Adopted 11-28-1983]
A. 
No opening in any street or sidewalk shall be made before first obtaining a street-opening permit from the Road Commissioner or Road Foreman. All permits will be issued in accordance with the provisions of Maine Revised Statutes Annotated, Title 23. Sections 2701 through 3707. In the case of an emergency situation involving a utility, the utility may excavate without an opening permit. However, the utility shall be responsible for obtaining an opening permit as soon as possible after the emergency and, in any case, before the excavation is permanently backfilled.
B. 
Winter permits. No street-opening permit will be issued between December 1 in any one year and March 15 of the following year except for an extreme emergency, as determined by the Road Commissioner or Road Foreman.
If the work of replacing any of the backfill and/or the surface of an excavation proves to be unsatisfactory within a two-year period after the trench has been completed, the area involved shall be completely reexcavated and the patch replaced at the applicant's expense by the Highway Department crew.
Whenever a permit has been issued for a street opening and the excavation has been made, the trench or opening shall be backfilled with the same material that was removed from the trench to within one foot of existing pavement except as may be hereinafter provided. The top 12 inches of the trench shall be filled with approved bank-run gravel. If a permit is issued during the wintertime and the excavated material freezes, this frozen material shall not be replaced in the trench but shall be removed from the area and disposed of. The excavated area is to be backfilled with an unfrozen material similar to that removed to within 12 inches of the surface. If the material excavated contains too much moisture for proper compaction, it shall be removed and replaced with suitable backfill material.
On all streets where a permanent pavement has been built, the permanent surface shall be replaced after the trench has been properly backfilled, except that when openings are authorized after November 1 in any one year and before April 1 of the next year, a temporary surface of premixed bituminous material shall be used, and this temporary patch shall remain until the following year when the permanent surface shall be replaced. On all other streets, the trench shall be patched with premixed bituminous material as soon as the backfilling has been completed, and the joints between the old and new material shall be sealed to prevent surface water from penetrating through the joint. In all cases, whenever or wherever a street opening has been made in any road, street or sidewalk having a permanent or semipermanent surface, the edges of the pavement shall be squared up before the permanent patch is made.
Where new private construction is in progress and excavation in the street is required for sewer connections, underground electric and/or telephone service lines, the work shall be performed by an approved contractor, including the excavation and backfilling, and the contractor shall place a temporary patch over the excavated area immediately upon completion of the backfilling. Within 30 days after completion of this excavation and backfilling, a permanent surface shall be put in place, and this permanent work shall be performed by an approved contractor.
For all excavations within the street or right-of-way limits required to repair or replace existing installations by individuals other than utility companies, the excavation and repair work shall be accomplished by a private contractor. The backfilling and surface replacement shall be completed by the Highway Department crew, and this work shall be at the expense of the owner or applicant.
No culvert shall be installed in any public street or road right-of-way or drainage ditch before first obtaining a permit issued by the Road Commissioner or Road Foreman. All permits will be issued in accordance with 23 M.R.S.A. §§ 2701 through 3707.
No culvert shall be installed of less than 12 inches diameter. The permit issued by the Road Commissioner or Road Foreman shall contain the diameter, length, type and location of the culvert deemed necessary by them to adequately control water flow adjacent to the culvert. Only the specific culvert and location approved on the permit may be utilized. In instances where a public street, road right-of-way or drainage ditch has been filled for the purpose of entry to private property without the installation of a culvert or the installation of an inadequate size culvert to provide year-round drainage and water flow adjacent to the filled area, the Road Commissioner is hereby empowered to require the proper size culvert be installed by the involved property's owner.
Whenever in the course of excavation in the right-of-way or the drainage ditch of any public street or road sod and/or grass is removed by a utility or contractor, the sod shall be replaced and adequate grass seed shall be applied to ensure replacement of any grass destroyed.
Any person, firm or corporation violating the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $100 for each offense, except that nothing herein contained shall be deemed to bar any other legal or equitable action to restrain or enjoin any act in violation of this article. Any person, firm or corporation who shall fail to comply with the terms and conditions of this article or any amendments thereto shall not hereafter be granted another permit to excavate in any Town street, road or right-of-way without the prior approval of the Town Council.