[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.
[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.
BUSINESS DAY
Any day other than Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday.
DRIVEWAY
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]
EMERGENCY EXCAVATION
Immediate excavation necessary to prevent injury, death or loss of
an existing vital service.
EXCAVATION
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.
PERSON
An individual, partnership, municipality, state, county, political
subdivision, utility, joint venture or corporation and includes the employer
of an individual.
STREET
Any public road, sidewalk, highway or traveled way within the boundaries
of a deeded Town right-of-way.
UNDERGROUND FACILITY
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.
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.
[Added 6-14-2006]
This article may be amended by vote of a Town Meeting as provided in Chapter
5, Administration, Article
VII.