A. 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:
EXCAVATION
Any activity within the right-of-way of any street, alley,
or cartway which involves cutting, breaking, or disturbing the surface
thereof.
OPENING
Essentially the same meaning as "excavation."
PERSON
Any natural person, partnership, firm, association, corporation
or municipal authority.
STREET
Any public street, avenue, road, square, alley, highway,
or other public place located in the Township and established for
the use of vehicles, but shall not include state highways.
B. 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 open
or to make any excavation of any kind in any of the streets in the
Township without first securing a permit therefor, as hereinafter
provided.
Any person who shall desire to make any opening
or excavation in any of the streets in the Township shall make application
to the Township Manager in writing for that purpose. Such application
shall be made upon blanks to be furnished by the Township and shall
set forth the name of the applicant, the exact location of the proposed
opening or excavation, and the approximate size or depth thereof,
and shall contain an agreement on the part of the applicant that the
work shall be done in full compliance with the ordinances of the Township
and the laws of the commonwealth in relation thereto, and that the
applicant shall well and truly save, defend and keep harmless the
Township from and indemnify it against any and all actions, suits,
demands, payments, costs and charges for or by reason of the proposed
opening or excavation, and all damages to persons or property resulting
in any manner therefrom, or occurring in the prosecution of the work
connected therewith, or from any other matter, cause or thing relating
thereto.
[Amended 12-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-8]
Before any permit is issued to open or excavate any street in
the Township, the applicant shall pay a permit fee as set forth by
resolution, which resolution shall include an amount to compensate
the Township for the accelerated degradation of the street. Please
refer to Township fee schedule. At the time of permit application,
the applicant shall pay 50% of the portion of the designated-for compensation
for the accelerated degradation of the street.
Permits shall be issued only to persons furnishing
public utility services or the owner or owners of the real property
adjoining the location where such opening or excavation is to be made.
Any permit issued hereunder shall specify the
exact location where the opening or excavation is to be made, the
approximate permitted size or depth thereof and the time within which
the work for which the permit is granted to be completed.
A permit may be issued to the applicant after
all the requirements therefor have been filed. If the application
is disapproved, written notice of disapproval together with reasons
therefor shall be given to the applicant.
The work authorized by the permit is subject
to all the provisions of the Act of December 10, 1974, P.L. 852, No.
287, § 1 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. A partial list
of utilities providing services in the Township and their office addresses
may be obtained from the County Recorder of Deeds.
[Amended 12-13-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-8]
Any person who shall open or excavate any street in the Township shall thoroughly and completely refill and repave the opening or excavation in accordance with the standards set forth in Chapter
198, Subdivision and Land Development, as amended and in the manner set forth below:
A. Excavation restoration, including utility trench restoration.
(1) All street excavations or openings, including utility trenches, shall
be properly backfilled and pavement be replaced in accordance with
Horsham Township "Utility Trench Restoration in Paved Areas" standard
construction detail, which can be obtained at the Township Administrative
Offices.
(2) All surplus soil or other excavated soils must be removed from the
site of the excavation and properly disposed of in accordance with
DEP regulations.
(3) A bituminous paving machine must be used to apply the permanent bituminous
asphalt.
(4) The Township standard detail requires six inches of base course.
In the event the existing asphalt base course is greater than six
inches, then the existing depth should be matched when restoring the
excavation or trench.
(5) A bituminous tack coat shall be applied prior to placement of the
wearing course.
(6) Temporary paving shall be placed in accordance with the Horsham Township
"Utility Trench Restoration in Paved Areas" standard construction
detail. The material shall be applied flush with the adjoining existing
pavement surface.
(7) Following temporary paving, permanent paving shall not be placed
prior to 90 days from when the trench or excavation restoration is
completed, but shall be constructed within 120 days unless an extension
is approved by the Township due to weather or other unforeseen conditions.
(8) The applicant shall keep the temporary paving in good condition until the permanent paving is placed. For the purpose of this section, "good condition" shall mean a condition which allows for smooth travel by motor vehicles and bicycles. If the applicant fails to install the permanent paving within the time set forth in §
193-31A(7), the Township shall send a notice to the applicant noting the applicant's failure to comply with the terms of this ordinance and requiring that the permanent paving be installed within 14 days of the date of the notice. If the applicant does not install the permanent paving in accordance with the terms of this chapter, within 14 days of the date of this notice, the Township may perform the work and invoice the applicant for all cost and expenses incurred by the Township.
(9) If the permanent pavement shows defects within 24 months from its
placement, the Township shall send a notice to the applicant noting
the applicant's failure to comply with the terms of this ordinance
and requiring the repair of the pavement within 14 days of the date
of the notice. If the applicant does not repair the paving as directed
by the Township within 14 days of the date of this notice, the Township
may perform the work and invoice the applicant for all costs and expenses
incurred by the Township.
B. Milling and overlaying.
(1) When a longitudinal or traverse trench longer than five linear feet
is cut into any roadway within the Township, the applicant shall be
required to mill and overlay the half-width of the roadway a depth
of 1.5 inches for the entire length of the trench cut. In cases where
the trench cut occurs on both sides of the roadway and/or along the
centerline of the roadway, the applicant shall be required to mill
and overlay the entire width of the roadway a depth of 1.5 inches
for the entire length of the trench cut. When the applicant makes
multiple noncontiguous trench cuts in the road, the area between the
trench cuts shall be milled and overlaid when the trench cuts are
within 200 feet of one another.
(2) The length of the mill and overlay shall extend 10 feet past the
edge of any trench cut. At no time shall the length of any one half-width
or entire-width mill and overlay be less than 30 feet. At the end
of each overlay, the applicant shall install a paving notch by milling
to provide a ten-foot transition.
(3) The wearing course layer shall meet Township and PennDOT Publication
408 standards.
C. Pavement markings.
(1) Temporary pavement markings shall be applied to the roadway surface
when excavations and/or milling covers or removes the existing pavement
markings. Temporary pavement markings shall be applied to the roadway
prior to opening the road to traffic.
(2) When the roadway surface is permanently restored, the applicant shall
install permanent pavement markings as they existed prior to work
being performed. The permanent pavement markings shall meet PennDOT
Publication 408 standards.
D. Sealing. All joints shall be properly sealed in accordance with PennDOT
Publication 408 standards.
E. Existing utilities.
(1) The top of every utility (manhole inlet, valve box, etc.) shall be
approximately one inch below the roadway surface.
(2) The surface surrounding the utilities shall be paved with four inches
of bituminous base course a distance of at least two feet to prevent
washouts.
All other work in connection with openings in
any street, including excavation, protection, refilling and temporary
paving, shall be done by or for 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 supervision and
approval of the Township Engineer, provided that the Township Engineer
may, if he deems it necessary to the proper performance of the work,
require that cutting of the surface of streets and the backfilling
of all excavations therein shall be done by the Township, in which
event the applicant shall pay the actual cost of the work performed
by the Township.
A. No opening or excavation in any street shall extend
from the curbline into the highway a distance greater than one foot
beyond the center line of the street before being refilled and the
surface of the highway restored to a condition safe and convenient
for travel.
B. No more than 500 feet longitudinally shall be opened
in any street at any one time.
C. The work of excavation shall be so conducted as not
to interfere with the water mains, sewers or their connections with
the houses, or any other subsurface lines or constructions, until
permission of the proper authorities in connection with such subsurface
liens or constructions shall have been obtained.
D. No tunneling shall be allowed without the express
approval of the Township Engineer and permission therefor endorsed
upon the permit. The backfilling of a tunnel excavation shall be made
only in the presence of the Township Engineer or an inspector designated
by him, and shall be done only in a method approved by him.
E. During the making of any excavation in the street, every
necessary and reasonable precaution shall be taken by the applicant
and the parties making the same to keep the street in a safe and passable
condition both day and night by guards, barriers, lanterns and other
devices, and all excavating permits granted hereunder are granted
under and subject to the express condition that the person to whom
the same is issued shall indemnify, save and keep harmless the Township
from any loss in damages, or otherwise whatsoever, which may or shall
be occasioned at any time by the said excavation, or by any leak,
explosion or other injury from any pipe, apparatus, conduit, or any
other matter placed in the said excavation.
F. The applicant shall notify the Township Engineer when
the opening or excavation is ready for backfilling before any backfilling
is done, when backfilling work is completed, when the temporary paving
has been installed and when the street has been permanently restored
so that inspections may be made.
G. In the event that any work performed by or for a permit
holder shall, in the opinion of the Township Engineer, be unsatisfactory
and the same shall not be corrected in accordance with his instructions
within the time fixed by him, or in the event that the work for which
the permit was granted is not completed within the time fixed by the
Township Engineer, the Township may proceed to correct such unsatisfactory
work or complete any such work not completed, and charge the cost
thereof, plus 20%, to the applicant.
H. All work, except in the event of emergencies, shall
be performed between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and sunset.
In the case of any leak, explosion or other
accident in any subsurface pipe, line, construction or apparatus,
it shall be lawful for the person owning or responsible for such pipe,
line, construction or apparatus to commence an excavation to remedy
such condition before securing a permit, provided that application
for a permit shall be made immediately and not later than the next
business day thereafter, and that all other provisions of this article
are fully complied with. If any such emergency condition shall not
be immediately attended to by the owner or person responsible for
such pipe, line, construction, or apparatus, the Township Engineer,
after such notice as he shall deem necessary under the circumstances
of the particular case, shall proceed to do the work necessary and
required by such emergency, and charge the same on the basis of cost
plus 20% to such owner or person.
The permission herein granted does not confer
upon the permittee or its contractors the right to cut, remove or
destroy trees or shrubbery within the legal right-of-way except under
specifications, regulations and conditions as the Township may prescribe.
The applicant shall give timely notice to all
persons owning property abutting on any street within the Township
about to be paved or improved and to all public utility companies
operating in the Township, and all such persons and utility companies
shall make all water, gas or sewer connections, as well as any repairs
thereto, which would necessitate excavation of the said street within
30 days from the giving of such notice, unless such time is extended
in writing for cause shown by the applicant. New paving shall not
be opened or excavated for a period of five years after the completion
thereof, except in case of emergency, the existence of which emergency
and the necessity for the opening or excavating of such paving to
be determined by the Township Engineer. If it is sought to excavate
upon or open a utility line within five years after the completion
of the paving, applicant shall make written application to the Township
Council, and a permit for such opening shall be issued only after
express approval of the Township Council, or its duly designated representative.
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 which interfere with the improvement
of the roadway at its own cost and expense.
No new water, sewer, steam or gas main or electric,
telephone or other utility line shall hereafter be laid or constructed,
and no such existing main or line shall be extended, in any of the
streets of the Township until the plan therefor shall have been first
filed with the Township Engineer and such plan, and the exact location
of such main or line, approved by him. The Township Engineer shall
not approve the locating of any such main or line at a depth of less
than 30 inches from the surface of the street unless he shall be convinced
that locating the same at a depth of more than 30 inches from the
surface is impossible or impractical.
No company, corporation or association shall
dig up any street or alley without first giving to the Township a
bond with some acceptable trust or surety company as surety in the
sum determined by the schedule of fees, conditioned for the faithful
performance of these provisions and also for any and all damages,
claims, demands, suits, costs and counsel fees occasioned or arising
from the digging up, opening or closing of said streets and alleys.
Payment for all work done by the Township under
the provisions hereof shall be made by the person made liable therefor
under the provisions hereof within 30 days after a bill therefor is
sent to such person by the Township. Upon failure to pay such charges
within such time, the same shall be collectible by the Township by
a claim on the bond or financial security posted for the project,
or by an action in assumpsit or in the manner provided by law for
the collection of municipal claims. The above remedies shall be at
the option of the Township and shall be cumulative.