[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Hancock as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted 12-12-1983 by L.L. No. 1-1983 as § 37-8
of the 1983 Code; amended in its entirety 9-14-1992 by L.L. No. 4-1992]
No person, firm or corporation, including public service companies
and municipalities other than the Village of Hancock, shall make any
excavation in any street, sidewalk or highway in the Village for any
purpose without first obtaining a permit therefor from the Village
Clerk as hereinafter provided.
A.
Application for permits shall be filed in writing with the Village
Clerk upon application blanks which he or she shall provide in such
manner as he or she shall from time to time prescribe. Applications
shall state the nature, location, extent and purpose of the proposed
excavation.
B.
Applications by public service companies must be accompanied by a
general undertaking in such form as may be approved by the Board of
Trustees. Said general undertaking is tendered to assure that, after
completing the excavation, said applicant shall leave the street,
highway, sidewalk, pavement, curb or gutter in the same condition
as it was prior to the excavation.
C.
Applications by persons, firms or corporations other than public
service companies for excavations in the street, sidewalk or highway
must be accompanied by a cash deposit in an amount as the Board may
establish with the Village Clerk or, in the alternative, a surety
company bond, to be approved by the Village Attorney, to assure that,
after completing the excavation, said applicant shall leave the street,
sidewalk, highway, pavement and curb or gutter in the same condition
as it was prior to excavation. In the event that the applicant fails
to repair or replace such sidewalk, pavement, curb or gutter in the
time provided in the permit, the deposit shall be forfeited to the
extent necessary to repair such surface as left undone by the applicant.[1]
Each applicant must pay, to the Village Clerk, a permit fee
in an amount established by resolution of the Board of Trustees[1] for each excavation, except those for utility poles. However,
no additional permit fee will be charged under this article for any
initial water tap or initial sewer tap; and no permit fee will be
charged in connection with new construction where a building permit
has been obtained.
[1]
Editor's Note: The current fee resolution is on file in the
office of the Village Clerk.
A.
The applicant shall file with the Village Clerk a general liability
insurance policy or certificate of insurance naming the Village of
Hancock as an additional insured at the same time he files his application
for the permit. The Board of Trustees shall approve the policy as
to form.
B.
The policy shall insure the Village of Hancock and the applicant
and shall cover all operations relative to the excavation and reconstruction
thereof.
C.
Said policy shall have minimum limits of liability at least of $1,000,000
for bodily injury to each person and aggregate liability of at least
$2,000,000 for each accident and property damage liability of at least
$1,000,000 for each accident and aggregate property damage of at least
$2,000,000. The Board of Trustees may establish greater minimum limits
from time to time by resolution.[1]
D.
In lieu of the aforesaid liability insurance, public service companies
may submit a general undertaking in such form as shall be approved
by the Board of Trustees.
The Superintendent of Public Works may require any person making
a sidewalk or street excavation pursuant to a permit granted hereunder
to give notice of such excavation to public service companies or municipal
districts having lines, mains or other property in the streets, and,
when such notice shall have been required, no work shall be commenced
or done under such permit until such required notice has been fully
complied with to the satisfaction of the Superintendent of Public
Works.
A.
Any person making an excavation covered by this article shall erect
suitable barriers or guards for the protection of persons using the
streets or sidewalks and, in addition thereto, shall set up and maintain
during the hours of darkness sufficient lights or flares to properly
illuminate the area. Such person shall also take all necessary precautions
for the protection of the property of the Village, of public service
companies or municipal districts and of others which may be endangered
by such excavation or the work incident thereto, and he shall comply
with all directions given by the Village Superintendent of Public
Works with respect to such barriers, lights, flares and protective
measures.
B.
Open excavation in the Village used for commercial or industrial
purposes shall be enclosed with a substantial fence with suitable
gates.
A.
Work under the permit shall be commenced within 30 days from the
date of the issuance of the permit and continued in an expeditious
manner unless extension of this period is approved by the Board of
Trustees.
B.
Construction.
(1)
When work is being performed on any Village street or sidewalk, no
pavement cuts or trenches are to be left unfilled overnight except
in emergencies, and in such cases adequate precautions must be exercised
to protect traffic. When working on any Village sidewalk, street or
road, contractors must complete final backfilling of any open trench
within 14 days from the time of its opening.
(2)
All pipes or mains crossing highway pavement shall, whenever possible,
be driven beneath the roadway without disturbance from the edge of
the pavement. Such crossover pipes shall, whenever possible, be enclosed
in sleeves or larger pipes so that repairs or replacements may be
made in the future without future disturbance of the roadway pavement.
(3)
In the event that a trench is opened, the trench will be compacted
to within four inches of the road surface after completion of the
necessary work and construction. The existing asphalt surface shall
then be cut back at least 12 inches on either side of the undisturbed
subgrade.
(4)
At the discretion of the Village Superintendent of Public Works,
the contact surfaces, the packed surfaces and/or adjacent pavement
edges shall be painted and sealed with approved bituminous and/or
bluestone material before or after placing the course of asphalt,
which shall be four inches of New York State Specification 6-8 hot
plant mix. This course shall be rolled with an eight- to ten-ton roller,
and surface variations in excess of 1/4 inch shall be eliminated or
the pavement relaid.
(5)
If the trench work is in the earthen shoulder of the roadway, the
proper compaction, as outlined above, shall apply with the addition
of a covering of sod or grass seeding as specified by the Superintendent
of Public Works.
C.
Traffic control. Traffic is to be maintained at all times during
the progress of work. Adequate signs, barricades and lights necessary
to protect the public shall be provided. Flagmen to direct traffic
shall be employed continuously during periods when only one-way traffic
can be maintained or when equipment is operated back and forth across
the pavement area. No construction equipment or materials shall be
left on the pavement after working hours, nor shall any construction
equipment or materials be placed in any way, manner or location that
will obstruct the highway or railroad warning signs. Barricades, whether
in sidewalk or roadway areas, shall have prominently displayed for
police convenience the address and telephone number of someone available
24 hours a day who shall reestablish the same in an emergency. Access
to adjacent property shall be maintained.
D.
Notification. The applicant will be responsible for notifying the
Superintendent of Public Works 24 hours prior to street or sidewalk
opening and street or sidewalk closing.
[Adopted 12-12-1983 by L.L. No. 1-1983 as § 37-9
of the 1983 Code; amended in its entirety 9-14-1992 by L.L. No. 4-1992]
Every person owning or occupying land fronting upon any street
or highway of the Village shall keep the said walk opposite his premises
or the premises occupied by him, on the side of the street on which
his premises lie, free and clear from snow and ice and shall remove
all snow and ice from said walk as early as 10:00 a.m. every morning
and within two hours after being notified to do so by the Mayor, any
Trustee or the Superintendent of Public Works of the Village. In removing
such snow or ice, no person shall put the same in the ditch or drain
or gutter of the street or in any manner fill up or obstruct any such
drain or gutter.
In every case in which snow or ice is not so removed or when
the gutter is so obstructed, it shall be the duty of the Superintendent
of Public Works immediately to remove the same, and the expense of
such removal shall thereupon become and be a lien upon such land,
to be enforced in the manner provided by law.
