[Adopted 8-9-1977 by Ord. No. 77-15
(Ch. 131, Art. I, of the 1977 Code); amended in
its entirety 3-9-1999 by Ord. No. 99-03]
[Amended 11-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-22]
A.
No person, company, firm or corporation shall remove,
dig into, excavate or take up, or cause or procure to be removed,
excavated or dug up, the surface of any public right-of-way, street,
lane, alley, court, sidewalk or other public place or any pavement
or other improvement therein which is under the control of the Township
of Hillsborough without first having obtained and being in possession
of a valid, written permit to do so.
B.
It shall be the duty of the Engineering Department
to issue such a permit when all the requirements for granting same
have been complied with by the applicant, and any such permit may
be revoked by the Engineering Department at any subsequent time if
the applicant does not continue to comply with the requirements of
this article.
C.
At the discretion of the Engineering Department, a
separate permit required for each opening may be waived in the case
of a public utility making numerous openings or for the installation
of utility poles or guy wires. The application and the issuance of
the permit shall be in the name of the party actually doing the work,
except in the case of public utilities who have posted bond with the
Township.
D.
No excavation
shall be permitted on a newly constructed or resurfaced road for a
period of not less than five years. This subsection does not include
excavation of the right-of-way abutting said newly constructed or
resurfaced road. Should such an opening be required for emergency
purposes, permission must be obtained from the Engineering Department
and restoration plans reviewed and approved by the Township Engineering
Department.
[Amended 11-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-22]
A.
All applicants for permits shall give at least 72
hours' notice, in writing, to the Engineering Department, specifying
the place, kind and approximate size of the excavation or work and
the time required to do the work, except in cases of emergency such
as the breaking of a public utility, in which case such notice shall
be given to said Department as soon as possible.
B.
The applicant is made aware that he shall notify gas
companies prior to digging as is required by state law. By calling
the Underground Location Service, toll-free number 800-272-1000, the
applicant satisfies this requirement.
C.
The Engineering Department shall send copies of all
permits to the Police Department. The Police Department will notify
the Board of Education, Rescue Squad and appropriate fire company.
The applicant, in accepting a permit under this
article, shall be deemed to have agreed to indemnify and save harmless
the Township of Hillsborough from and against all loss, cost or damages
incurred by reason of any damage to any property, injury to any person
or any loss of life resulting from any negligence of the applicant
or its agents or servants in performing the work covered by the permit,
and the Township of Hillsborough, in issuing said permit, thereby
discounts any liability in connection therewith. The Township inspection
is solely for the purpose of ensuring that the existing facilities
are restored so that the Township will not incur the financial responsibility
of replacing or restoring facilities damaged or destroyed or incompletely
restored by others.
A.
Before each permit for any series of openings is granted,
the applicant shall make a payment to the Engineering Department in
the sum of $75, payable to the Treasurer of the Township of Hillsborough.
This payment is a fee to cover the nominal cost of issuing the permit
and is not returnable to the applicant.
[Amended 7-14-1992 by Ord. No. 92-10; 11-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-22]
B.
In addition to the above fee, the applicant shall
also be required to deposit with the Engineering Department cash,
a check or a surety bond, payable to the Treasurer, Township of Hillsborough,
in an amount in accordance with the following schedule:
[Amended 3-24-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-12; 11-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-22]
(1)
For each and every proposed opening to be made in
pavement the sum of $30 for each square yard of right-of-way to be
disturbed, up to a total of five square yards shall be posted as a
fee to cover the cost of inspection.
(2)
For any permit the minimum nonrefundable inspection
fee shall be $75 regardless of the number of openings.
(3)
For each and every proposed opening to be made in
pavement the sum of $75 for each square yard of right-of-way to be
disturbed, up to a total of five square yards shall be posted as a
refundable performance guarantee escrow.
(4)
For any permit the minimum refundable performance
guarantee escrow shall be $150 regardless of the number of openings.
(5)
For any permit with proposed openings disturbing more
than five square yards of right-of-way, inspection fee escrow and
performance guarantee escrow shall be such sum as prepared by the
Township Engineering Department deemed to be reasonable given due
regard to the total square yards disturbed.
C.
The escrows described in Subsections B(3), (4) and (5) shall be required to ensure compliance with the regulations contained in this article and shall be returned to the applicant, less any Township expenses in connection therewith, after the applicant has restored the pavements removed or damaged by the excavation in accordance with all the regulations contained therein.
D.
The above escrows shall be held and then returned
after a period of one year from the date the final restoration was
accepted by the Engineering Department.
[Amended 11-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-22]
E.
In the event the provisions of this article are not
adhered to, the Township may, at its discretion, expend any or all
of the funds deposited to ensure compliance.
F.
Payments and deposits shall be delivered to the Engineering
Department, made payable to the Treasurer, Township of Hillsborough,
New Jersey, in cash or by check.
[Amended 11-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-22]
G.
Public utilities that have posted an escrow of $5,000 with the Township shall be exempt from the requirements of Subsections B(3) and (4); however, the provisions of Subsection B(5) may be applied if and where the Township Engineering Department deems appropriate given due regard to the total square yards disturbed.
[Amended 6-14-2000 by Ord. No. 2000-17]
A.
The applicant, in accepting a permit under this article,
shall furnish a certificate of insurance that he has in effect public
liability and property damage insurance as shall protect him and the
Township of Hillsborough as a named insured from any and all claims
for damages for personal injury, including accidental death, as well
as from claims for property damage which may arise from the work to
be carried on under the permit. The amounts of such insurance shall
be not less than the following:
B.
All insurance shall be in effect for at least one
year following the restoration of the excavated area.
The applicant shall comply with the following
rules and regulations:
A.
The applicant shall notify the Engineering Department
at least 48 hours in advance of the exact time of starting the work
on all excavations.
[Amended 11-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-22]
B.
All traffic control must be per Township Code §§ 259-18 to 259-26. Permission to close a road to traffic shall first be secured from the Engineering Department and the Hillsborough Township Police Department, and such permission shall only be valid for the time specified. Such approval shall require the Police Department to give notification of such closing to local fire departments, the Rescue Squad, the Board of Education Transportation Supervisor and to the general public.
[Amended 11-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-22]
C.
The applicant shall keep all road openings properly
guarded at all times for the safe passage of all vehicular and pedestrian
traffic in conformance with local, state and federal safety standards.
D.
All openings shall be covered or filled during the
hours of darkness unless permission is obtained from the Engineering
Department and the Police Department and the opening is adequately
protected.
[Amended 11-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-22]
E.
Warning signs; safety precautions.
(1)
It shall be the duty of every person cutting or making
an excavation in or upon any public place to place and maintain barriers
and warning devices necessary for the safety of the general public.
Barriers, warning signs, lights, etc., shall conform to the requirements
of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways,
latest edition, prepared by the United States Department of Transportation
and adopted by the Federal Highway Administration and acceptable to
the Department of Public Works. Warning lights shall be electrical
markers or flashers which shall be used to indicate a hazard to traffic
from sunset of each day to sunrise of the next day and other periods
of limited visibility due to atmospheric conditions. Warning lights
shall fully comply with the standards indicated in the aforementioned
manual.
(2)
The permittee shall take appropriate measures to ensure
that, during the performance of the work, traffic conditions, as near
normal as possible, shall be maintained at all times so as to minimize
inconvenience to the occupants or users of adjoining properties and
to the general public.
(3)
Warning signs shall be placed far enough in advance
of the construction operation to alert traffic in a public street,
and cones or other approved devices shall be placed in channel traffic
in accordance with the manual and acceptable to the Engineering Department.
[Amended 11-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-22]
F.
The applicant shall open no greater part of such road
then shall be reasonably necessary.
G.
Any road opening shall be promptly backfilled with
select or approved material and restored immediately following completion
of work for which the specific opening was required.
H.
Where multiple openings are made, the applicant may
be required to construct a continuous overlay to eliminate a washboard
effect.
I.
Installations shall be in shoulder areas where possible,
and all conduits shall be placed by boring or jacking wherever feasible
or required.
J.
All valve box installations in paved areas shall be
set in concrete to prevent movement.
K.
When a utility, authority, developer, company or any
person proposes to open portions of any street or public place larger
than five square yards, a set of plans may be required depicting the
proposed opening and the extent of restoration and shall be given
to the Engineering Department prior to issuance of permit for its
approval. A meeting with the permittee and the Engineering Department
shall be held when deemed necessary by the Department.
[Amended 11-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-22]
L.
If utility companies or authorities make said openings,
said utility company or authority inspectors will cooperate with the
Engineering Department to ensure that said openings are properly protected
and restored.
[Amended 11-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-22]
M.
Permission to cross or modify bridges, culverts or
other drainage structures must first be obtained from the Somerset
County Engineer or from the Hillsborough Township Engineer before
a road opening permit will be issued.
[Amended 11-9-2021 by Ord. No. 2021-22]
A.
The backfilling and pavement restoration of openings
made under the jurisdiction of this article shall comply with current
standard details prepared by the Township Engineering Department and
adopted by the Township Committee. The Township Engineering Department
may upgrade pavement restoration as adopted if deemed necessary and
in the best interest of the Township.
B.
The Engineering Department shall be notified at least
24 hours in advance of starting permanent pavement replacement.
