[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Bethel as indicated in article histories.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 3-1-1971]
[Amended 6-11-2003]
No person shall place snow and ice on any portion of a public traveled
road or sidewalk within the Town of Bethel, in such a manner as to obstruct
the normal flow of traffic either by foot or vehicle, with the intent to leave
said snow or ice thereon.
Whoever violates this article shall forfeit not less than $5 for each
offense, the same to be recovered on complaint before any court, and the same
shall at once be paid to the Treasurer of the Town of Bethel for the use of
said Town.
[Adopted 3-20-1984]
[Amended 6-13-2007]
This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Town of Bethel,
Maine, Street Excavation and Driveway Ordinance."
This article is adopted pursuant to 23 M.R.S.A. §§ 3351 to
3360A.
[Amended 6-13-2007]
This article is designed to permit necessary digging and excavation
in Bethel streets, and establishes an application and procedure providing
for measures to protect underground facilities and restore the surface of
the street to a durable, as-new condition. Additionally this article specifies
the design of private driveways located on local public roads.
[Amended 6-11-2003; 6-13-2007]
It is necessary from time to time for owners, corporations, persons, firms or the Water District to excavate Bethel streets to install or repair underground facilities and construct driveways. Such excavations and driveways shall be built to the standards necessary to eliminate the later development of unsafe and offensive bumps or sags in the road surface and drainage facilities, protecting the value and safety of the road network. This article establishes excavation and driveway permit procedures and is in conjunction with Chapter 125, Road Design and Construction, Article I.
The following words and phrases when used in this article will, for
the purpose of this article, have the meanings respectively ascribed to them
in this section. Whenever any words and phrases used in this article are not
defined herein but are defined in the laws of Maine regarding excavations
under public streets, then such definition shall be deemed to apply to such
words and phrases used herein.
Any day other than Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday.
A way giving access from a local public road to an abutting parcel
or parcels. Driveways are commonly characterized by being owned by the person,
persons or entities being served.
[Added 6-13-2007]
Immediate excavation necessary to prevent injury, death or loss of
an existing vital service.
Any operation in which earth, rock or other material on or below
the ground is moved or otherwise displaced by means of power tools, power
equipment or explosives and including grading, trenching, digging, ditching,
drilling, auguring, tunneling, scraping and cable or pipe driving, except
tilling of soil and gardening or agricultural purposes.
An individual, partnership, municipality, state, county, political
subdivision, utility, joint venture or corporation and includes the employer
of an individual.
Any public road, sidewalk, highway or traveled way within the boundaries
of a deeded Town right-of-way.
Any item of personal property buried or placed below ground for use
in connection with the storage or conveyance of water, sewage, electronic,
telephonic or telegraphic communications, electric energy, oil, gas or other
substances and including but not limited to pipes, sewers, conduits, cables,
valves, lines, wires, manholes, attachments, appurtenances and those parts
of poles below ground.
[Amended 6-11-2003]
A.
Any person, firm, corporation or district desiring to
make an excavation in any Bethel street or sidewalk shall first have the excavation
contractor obtain a street opening permit from the Public Works Director.
All such permits are issued in accordance with 23 M.R.S.A. § 3354.
B.
The Public Works Director shall approve the construction
schedule for all street or sidewalk opening permits.
[Amended 6-13-2007]
C.
Fee. The fee for an excavation permit shall be as provided
in the Town of Bethel Fee Schedule.
[Added 6-13-2007]
A.
Any person, firm, corporation or district desiring to construct
a driveway on any local public street shall first obtain a driveway permit
from the Public Works Director. All such permits are issued in accordance
with 23 M.R.S.A. § 3354.
B.
The Public Works Director shall approve the construction schedule
for all driveway permits.
C.
The owner is responsible for the first pipe or culvert and the
first installation and the Town is responsible for all future maintenance.
D.
Drainage:
(1)
Existing roadside drainage in gutter or ditch lines shall not
be altered or impeded by the applicant. The applicant must provide at his/her
expense suitable and approved drainage structures at all entrances.
(2)
Surface drainage shall be provided so that all surface water
on the areas adjacent to the road shall be carried away from the roadway.
(3)
Where a drainage culvert is required to maintain roadside drainage,
the Public Works Director must approve the pipe diameter/length and type of
pipe material prior to installation. In most cases the pipe size shall be
at least 15 inches in diameter and 20 feet in length. No concrete culverts
are allowed.
E.
Construction:
A.
Charges. When the Town's facilities are used, the permit
holder shall pay the applicable charges as provided in the Town of Bethel
Fee Schedule.
[Amended 6-11-2003]
B.
Minimum charge. There will be a minimum charge made for
any street or sidewalk opening equivalent to three square yards assessed at
the appropriate unit rate above.
C.
Three or more openings in sequence. Where three or more
street openings are made in sequence, adjacent openings being 15 feet or less
from center to center, the responsible party will be charged for one opening
measured from the first opening to the last opening.
A.
General. For street openings exceeding 100 square yards, the responsible party may request the Town's permission to contract privately for the street or sidewalk repairs. Street and sidewalk repair work must be done to the Town's specifications as stated below and in Chapter 125, Road Design and Construction, Article I, and is subject to frequent inspection by the Road Commissioner or his designated agent.
B.
Performance guarantee. After reviewing the scope of work applied for with the responsible party and private contractor, the Road Commissioner may require the responsible party to post either a performance bond, cashier's check, deposit into an escrow account, irrevocable letter of credit from a lending institution, joint passbook savings account or another form of performance guarantee acceptable to the Road Commissioner as computed at the appropriate unit rate cited above in § 67-9A times the estimated area of the opening.
C.
Violations. The performance guarantee shall be conditional
upon the performance of any work by the applicant for which a specific permit
is issued in compliance with the requirements of this article.
(1)
Proper performance of the work shall include the repair
or replacement of any public or privately owned property damaged in the course
of the work.
(2)
The performance guarantee shall be further conditional
upon the applicant's maintenance of any areas in a condition approximating
as nearly as possible that which existed prior to the excavation for a period
of two years (24 months) from the date upon which the refilled excavation
is accepted by the Road Commissioner or his representative. Any settlement
of the refilled surface of the excavation within the two-year period shall
be deemed to be conclusive evidence of defective backfilling by the applicant.
(3)
In any case in which the applicant neglects or refuses to complete any such excavation in accordance with the requirements of this article or Chapter 125, Road Design and Construction, Article I, or to correct substandard work after demand made within said two-year period, the Town of Bethel may complete the work or perform any necessary repairs and reimburse the costs of so doing from the check or bond or charge the same to the applicant.
D.
Inspections. The permittee shall cooperate in the making
of inspections for the performance of work by the Road Commissioner or his
representative. The permittee shall notify the Road Commissioner so that an
inspection can be made before any backfilling is done. The permittee shall
also notify the Road Commissioner of the completion of work in order that
the final inspection can be made to determine whether the work has been done
in a manner acceptable to the Town. Prior to any such acceptance, the permittee
shall have his men and equipment available to return to the excavation on
short notice to make corrections in the work specified by the Road Commissioner
or his representative.
The party performing the street opening work, by virtue of having acquired
a permit, agrees to perform the work in accordance with the following:
A.
The street and/or sidewalk surface shall be clean cut
in a straight line prior to excavation. The cut portion of the surface of
the street and/or sidewalk shall be cut back an additional 12 inches on each
side beyond the sides of the actual opening necessary to perform the work.
B.
On all streets where a permanent pavement has been built,
a period of two months shall elapse after a trench has been backfilled before
the permanent surface is replaced, and during this two-month period a temporary
surface of premixed bituminous material shall be used. On all other streets,
the trench shall be patched with premixed bituminous material as soon as the
backfilling has been completed.
C.
Excavated material will be allowed for use as backfill as long as it contains no rocks or pavement chunks larger than six inches in diameter and can be compacted to meet the requirements of Chapter 125, Road Design and Construction, Article I. Pipes carrying heated substances will be thoroughly insulated.
D.
The last 18 inches of backfill shall be a bank-run or
screened gravel having a maximum partial diameter of four inches; fine sand
is unacceptable.
E.
The backfill shall be placed in nine-inch lifts and compacted
by power tampers of an approved type with a minimum energy of 250 feet/pound
per square foot of tampers. (Backfilling a trench and compacting with a backhoe
or truck is not acceptable except in special instances allowed by the Road
Commissioner or his designated representative.)
F.
The contractor or individual obtaining the permit shall
assume full responsibility for performing this work in accordance with the
following regulations, subject to final approval by the Road Commissioner
or his representative.
