[Adopted 7-15-1997 by Ord. No. 467[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance supersedes
former Art. I, Openings, adopted 3-31-1995 by Ord. No. 1.
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, entity
or corporation to make any opening or excavation in or under any Borough
street, alley or thoroughfare or right-of-way unless and until a permit
therefor is secured from the Borough Manager, for each separate undertaking,
such permit and the application therefor to be in such form as may
be required from time to time by said Borough Manager, and which form
shall contain among other things a statement that the applicant agrees
to the terms of this article. Reasonable restrictions and conditions
may be attached to the permit. The Borough Manager, Building Official
or police officers of the Borough shall promptly prohibit any work
being done without a proper permit or contrary to the terms hereof.
The charge for said permit shall be $25 for
each separate undertaking, which sum shall be paid at the time of
application of said permit. This fee may be adjusted from time to
time by resolution of Council.
The application for the permit and every issued
permit shall specify a time when said opening or excavation may remain
open and the place where said opening or excavation may be made, together
with the probable length, width and depth thereof, and such further
information as the Borough Manager may from time to time require,
and any additional surface to be disturbed and any additional time
required shall be endorsed on the permit by the Borough Manager; provided,
however, that emergency breaks or leaks may be repaired and a permit
therefor secured within 24 hours thereafter. The application will
also include a traffic plan and site plan of the affected area.
No such permit shall be issued by the Borough
Manager unless and until the applicant shall have filed with the Manager
the following:
A.
A certificate or other document, issued by an insurance
company properly authorized to do business in the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, evidencing the issuance to the applicant of a policy
of public liability insurance, including so-called XCU coverage, insuring
against personal injury or property damage which may be occasioned
by the proposed opening. The policy shall provide for maximum coverage
of at least $500,000 single sum for personal injury or property damage
arising out of a single occurrence. The certificate shall reflect
that the Borough is an additional insured party as to work performed
upon or in streets of the Borough and not merely a certificate holder.
B.
A bond executed by the applicant and one corporate
surety and approved by the Borough Manager in a sum determined by
Council from time to time, indemnifying and saving harmless the Borough
from all damages of whatever kind which may not have been paid by
the aforementioned liability insurance policy and which might be incurred
by reason of the opening of said street or thoroughfare, as aforesaid,
and by reason of any failure to properly protect, maintain, light
and repair the same.
C.
Cash or certified check in such sum as the Borough
Manager shall designate to be used for the following purposes:
(1)
In filling or refilling or generally repairing
or replacing any opening which the applicant has not properly repaired,
replaced or filled; and
(2)
For the completion of the proper improved surfacing
to restore the affected area, whether it be brick, concrete or asphalt,
and any other needed improvement or permanent sealing, where the applicant
has not properly performed these tasks.
D.
Any public utility company or municipal authority, lawfully operating upon or in the streets and thoroughfares of the Borough, may file, in lieu of separate certificates, bonds and cash deposits as described in Subsections A through C above for each separate excavation, a certificate of insurance, bond and deposit meeting the requirements of Subsections A through C above and covering all operations of the applicant upon or in Borough streets for a year or other period of time. The appropriate amount of the periodic deposit made by a particular utility or authority shall be determined by the Borough Manager based upon the applicant's then-recent volume of street excavations in the Borough. The certificate, bond and deposit shall conform in all other respects to the requirements of Subsections A through C.
It shall be the duty of any person, firm or
corporation causing an opening or excavation to be made to protect
and safeguard the same, while open, by barriers and lights, to thoroughly
and completely fill the same, puddling and ramming so as to prevent
any settling thereof, and to continue to keep the same filled and
level with the surface until the permanent paving has been put in
place. The permanent paving (brick, concrete or asphalt) shall be
placed by a contractor selected by the permit holder and approved
by the Borough and paid for by the holder of such permit. The obligation
to keep the opening filled and level with the surface shall continue
with the permit holder until the permanent paving has been placed.
The permanent paving must be completed promptly and must comply with
the design standards set forth in the Borough's Subdivision Ordinance.[1] For purposes of this article, "promptly" will mean within
two weeks of the completion of the work necessitating the opening
or excavation. Said time may be extended by the Borough Manager for
good cause shown, which will include adverse weather conditions.
If the work in opening or filling or maintaining
or permanently paving and completely restoring the surface shall not
be promptly done, or shall be unskillfully or improperly or incompletely
performed, the Borough Manager, or any other person designated by
Council, may cause the same to be done in such manner as the Borough
Manager may deem proper, and the expense thereof, including any overhead
expense, shall be charged to the person, firm or corporation by whom
the opening or excavation as aforesaid was made, together with an
additional charge of 10% as a penalty. No new openings under an existing
permit shall be made and no new permit shall be issued to any person,
firm or corporation where either or both of the following are present:
the person, corporation or firm is in default under this section,
until the costs and penalty herein provided for are paid; or the person,
firm or corporation has openings or excavation already caused by them
which have not been properly filled, and the surface maintained and
restored as aforesaid, in a safe condition at the proper grade, all
of which the Borough Manager or other person so designated by Council
shall be sole judge and whose opinion thereon shall be final.
Any person, partnership or corporation violating
any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced
to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 and costs of prosecution; provided
that each violation of any provision of this article, and each day
the same is continued, shall be deemed a separate offense.
The Borough Manager may appoint other persons,
including the Borough Engineer, to assume all or some of the Manager's
functions hereunder.
[Added 3-13-2007 by Ord. No. 507]
A.
No permit shall be issued by the Manager which would
allow an excavation or opening in a paved and improved street surface
that is less than five years old, unless the applicant can demonstrate
clearly that the public health or safety requires that the proposed
work be permitted; or unless an emergency condition exists that requires
that the work be performed.
B.
In this instance, the applicant shall be required to pave/restore/overlay a minimum twelve-foot width (or the entire cartway width, if deemed appropriate by the Manager in his sole discretion), which width shall run the entire length of the opening, plus 50 feet on each of the two sides of the opening, and shall be accomplished in accordance with Borough specifications. The financial security in § 109-3.1 hereof shall reflect the increased dimensions of this section.
