[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.
H. 
Contractors operating under Township contract who have posted a performance bond shall be exempt from Subsection B(1), (2), (3), (4) and (5).
I. 
Public utilities that have posted escrow pursuant to Subsection G may elect to be billed annually by the Township for the fees described under Subsections A, B(1) and B(2).
[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:
(1) 
Bodily injury:
(a) 
One hundred thousand dollars each person.
(b) 
Three hundred thousand dollars each accident.
(2) 
Property damage: $50,000 each accident.
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.
[Amended 12-27-1977 by Ord. No. 77-21]
Any person, firm or corporation violating the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be deemed guilty of a Class C violation, punishable as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II.