[Amended 6-26-2002 by L.L. No. 6-2002]
Pursuant to § 130, Subdivision 6, of the Town Law of the State of New York and in addition to all requirements of the Highway Law of the State of New York, the following requirements are hereby enacted.
No person, firm, association, corporation or municipality, except officials and employees of the Town of LaGrange in the conduct of their official duties or contractors employed by the Town of LaGrange, shall dig, excavate or tunnel under any public street, highway, sidewalk or other public place or shall permit, allow or participate in digging, excavating or tunneling under any such public street, highway, sidewalk or public place in said Town of LaGrange without first having been granted a permit to do so as hereinafter provided.
[Amended 7-22-2009 by L.L. No. 2-2009]
A. 
All applications for permits hereunder shall be in writing, in duplicate, on such forms as shall be provided by the Town and shall be approved, in writing, by the Town Highway Superintendent and filed with the Town Clerk.
B. 
A sketch of the proposed work shall be submitted, in duplicate, with each permit application for approval by the Town Highway Superintendent. The sketch shall show a plan view of the existing conditions at the site of the proposed work and the proposed work, together with all necessary dimensions, details and specifications.
C. 
The amount of the permit fee shall be set forth on the prevailing fee schedule adopted by resolution of the Town Board and as such schedule is modified from time to time by resolution of the Town Board.
A. 
All such permits under this Part 4 shall be granted pursuant to a resolution to that effect adopted by the Town Board at a regular or special meeting thereof and shall be issued pursuant to such resolution by the Town Clerk, who shall deliver such permit to the applicant before any such excavating or tunneling shall be started.
B. 
In cases of emergency, a temporary written permit may be granted by the Town Highway Superintendent, who shall report the granting and issuance of such temporary emergency permit and the reason for granting the same to the Town Board at its next regular meeting. An emergency within the meaning of this Part 4 shall include only the location and repair of water or gas leaks or other dangerous and wasteful conditions, but shall not include any condition of which the time element alone shall be the grounds thereof. Any public service corporation which has a bond filed, as herein required, may proceed to excavate, locate and repair any leak or other dangerous condition upon discovery without waiting for such emergency permit, but shall apply for and receive such emergency permit before refilling such excavation and in all other ways shall comply with the requirements herein set forth.
Whenever a permit shall have been issued hereunder, the applicant shall properly barricade such excavation, shall place and maintain standard windproof lights and such signs and warning devices so as to properly protect the public and shall erect and maintain such other warnings or devices as the Town Highway Superintendent may require. Upon the applicant's failure to do so, the Town Highway Superintendent may install, as the agent of such applicant, such warnings and lights as he deems necessary, and the costs thereof shall be paid by the applicant and shall be collectible under the bond of such applicant or by civil action therefor, but the installation of such warning by the Town Highway Superintendent shall not increase the Town's liability therefor.
Every such excavation for which a permit shall have been issued hereunder shall be backfilled in compacted layers of clean, well-graded run-of-bank gravel in a good and workmanlike manner and shall be adequately resurfaced with surfacing similar to the surrounding surfacing, and such work shall be completed within the time specified in such permit. All such work shall conform to the requirements of § 199-26, as applicable.
Whenever it appears from the application that a permanently improved or paved highway, street, sidewalk or other public place shall be taken up, broken or damaged in any way by reason of the excavation or tunneling to be performed under such permit, the applicant shall reimburse the Town for the cost of making the necessary repairs thereto or of the replacement thereof. The Town Highway Superintendent and Town Engineer shall estimate the cost thereof in advance and report such estimates to the Town Board, who may require a cash deposit in advance of the issuance of the permit of such estimated amount. When the work shall have been completed, any unexpended balance of such deposit shall be refunded to the depositor and such applicant shall be liable for any additional amount which such work may cost, if such deposit shall be inadequate. If no such deposit be required and the Town Highway Superintendent shall be required to perform any services or work or furnish any materials in refilling such excavations or resurfacing any such public street, highway, sidewalk or other public place, the expense thereof shall be a charge against the applicant, and if the Town Highway Superintendent fails, neglects or is unable to recover such amount so expended within 60 days, he shall report the same to the Town Board who shall maintain an action against the applicant under the bond or policy or otherwise. If any paving, sidewalk, curb or gutter settles or sinks after or by reason of such excavation or removal of any highway surface, drain ditch, drain pipe, curb, gutter, sidewalk or other property belonging to the Town or of any special district thereof and which may have been damaged or broken by reason of such excavation, the cost of repairing or replacing the same shall be a charge against the applicant and collectible as hereinbefore and hereinafter provided.
All work performed under such permit shall be performed as expeditiously as possible and all excavations shall be refilled as soon as possible and within the time limit for which such permit shall have been issued. In the event any excavation shall remain unnecessarily open or is allowed to remain open after the expiration of said permit, the Town Highway Superintendent shall cause such excavation to be filled and report the cost thereof to the Town Board, who shall recover said amount from the applicant as provided herein.
In the event any permit shall be revoked, the excavation shall be immediately refilled by the applicant under the direction of the Town Highway Superintendent, whether the contemplated work is completed or not, and upon the failure or neglect of the applicant to comply with such order to refill such excavation, proceedings as though such permit had expired shall be had as herein set forth.
Every permit granted to this Part 4 shall be granted subject to all of the terms and conditions set forth herein and subject to such additional terms and conditions which the Town Board may specify in the particular case.
A permit, as provided for by this Part 4, shall be required to replace, change, alter, raise, lower or cut a curb, sidewalk or gutter and shall be granted under all the terms and conditions of this Part 4 applying to other excavations, except that where such specified work is to be performed within one working day and completed within said day, the Town Board may, upon the written recommendation of the Town Highway Superintendent, grant such permit without requiring a bond therefor, but such exception shall not apply to excavations of more than six inches in depth below the surrounding surface nor where such excavations are made between the gutter and curblines of any street or highway nor where barricades may be required to protect the public. No permit shall be required of a public service corporation to erect poles, provided that such corporation has previously filed the bond as herein required.
A. 
The applicant shall file with the Town Clerk proof of liability insurance policy providing the following limits of liability with the Town of LaGrange named as additional insured:
(1) 
Bodily injury liability: $1,000,000 for each person and $2,000,000 for each occurrence.
(2) 
Property damage liability: $500,000 for each occurrence.
B. 
Each such liability insurance policy shall be endorsed to eliminate exclusion of underground damage from coverage and also to include the Town Board in property damage coverage.
C. 
Such general liability insurance coverage shall also provide that the Town of LaGrange and its officers, agents and employees shall be indemnified and defended against any and all lawsuits by reason of the issuance of said permit or by reason of the performance of the work for which said permit was granted and issued, including all costs and expenses made or incurred by said Town and its officers, agents and employees in defending any action brought against said Town by reason thereof, and also guaranteeing the faithful performance by the applicant of all of the terms and conditions of such permit and of the ordinance with amendments regulating excavations in and under public street, highways, sidewalks and other public places in the Town of LaGrange, Dutchess County, New York.
D. 
Such public liability insurance policies provided to the Town pursuant to this chapter shall further provide that the limits of liability will not be reduced or any coverages eliminated without a minimum of 30 days' written notice to the Town, through the Town Clerk, by the principal insurer.
E. 
Every bond or policy so filed shall be submitted for approval by the Town Attorney. In the event that the bonding or insurance company shall fail or be liquidated prior to the final disposition of any action maintained against said Town of LaGrange, the applicant shall be primarily liable and shall continue to indemnify said Town, and the acceptance and approval of such bond or policy shall not release the applicant from such liability. Every such bond or policy shall specifically provide indemnity and protection to the Town for a period of one year after the completion of the work performed under such permit.
The failure to comply with any lawful order of the Town Highway superintendent or the Town Board hereunder or the violation of this Part 4 or any part thereof shall be a misdemeanor and a first offense shall be punishable by a fine not to exceed $350.00 or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or both, and subsequent offense shall be punishable in accordance with Town Law § 268. The applicant shall be liable to the Town for all loss or expense incurred by reason of such failure to comply with or violation of such order or this or any part thereof.
Nothing herein shall be construed to invalidate or void any ordinance of any water or sewer district in said Town of LaGrange, but the two shall be read together, and whichever shall require the greater protection shall be complied with.
All moneys expended from the highway funds of the Town shall, when recovered as herein provided, be credited to the item of the highway fund from which such expenditure was made, but all penalties recovered hereunder shall be credited to the general fund of the Town.