Borough of Middlesex, NJ Excavations

Subject to the provisions of this section, it shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to remove, excavate, dig up or in any way disturb, or cause or suffer to be removed, excavated, dug up or in any way disturbed, the surface of any public street, road or highway within the Borough of Middlesex, or any sidewalk, gutter or pavement therein, for any purpose whatsoever, without first having obtained from the Construction Office, in writing, a permit for so doing; provided, however, that this article shall not apply to any public utility company, under the regulation of the State Board of New Jersey Public Utility Commissioners, whose duty it is to furnish gas, water, electric and telephone service to consumers within the limits of the Borough of Middlesex when said public utility authority is engaged in cases of emergency, such as water breaks, gas leaks and other similar situations. In all other instances, public utility companies shall be expected to and are required to abide by all of the provisions of this article. When any such person, firm or corporation shall apply for such a permit, the applicant shall state, in writing, the place or places in said Borough where said work is to be done, the character and extent of the work and the time within which it is to be completed.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, no public street, road or highway excavations, dig ups or disturbances shall be permitted upon a public street, road or highway in the Borough of Middlesex if such public street, road or highway has been previously paved within the immediately preceding five years. However, subject to the conditions of a developer's agreement to be entered into between a developer and the Borough, street excavations, dig ups or disturbances upon a public street, road or highway located within a designated redevelopment area of the Borough of Middlesex may occur upon public streets, roads or highways paved within the immediately preceding five-year period with the approval of the governing body.

Any excavation, dig up or disturbance of the surface of any public street, road or highway within the Borough of Middlesex must be fully restored by the person, firm or corporation who removed, excavated, dug up or in any way disturbed such public street, road or highway, at the sole direction and to the satisfaction of the Borough Engineering Consultants, which shall include, at minimum, milling and paving such public street, road or highway from curb to curb, across the entire width of the public street, road or highway, to fully encompass the area of such excavation, dig up or disturbance along the length of the public street, road or highway. If, in the sole and independent judgment of the Borough Engineer, the restoration of any public street, road or highway as required hereunder should not immediately occur, the person, firm or corporation who removes, excavates, digs up or in any way disturbs a public street, road or highway hereunder shall be required to pay to the Borough an amount equal to the anticipated costs of such restoration, as determined by the Borough Engineering Consultant.

All persons, firms or corporations requesting to excavate, dig up or disturb the surface of any public street, road or highway within the Borough of Middlesex must post a bond for the maintenance of the restoration of such public street, road or highway in an amount not less than 120% of the estimated cost of the restoration. Such maintenance bond shall be in a form acceptable to the Borough Engineering Consultant and must be in place for not less than two years from the date of the completion of such restoration.

§ 359-2 Issuance of permit.

Upon application being made to the Construction Office, as aforesaid, the said Construction Official will issue a permit upon receipt of the fee hereinafter prescribed.

§ 359-3 Restoration of street surface; cost.

[Amended 8-11-2020 by Ord. No. 2004]

After the work for which the permit is issued has been completed and the excavation has been refilled, the Supervisor of the Middlesex Borough Public Works Department shall estimate the charge for restoring the surface to its original condition, and, after the deduction of said charge from the sum paid by the applicant, plus 50% to be taken out of this amount for administration charges, the balance, if any, will be returned to the applicant. In the event, however, that the prescribed fee is not sufficient to defray the expense of restoring the surface excavated, the applicant shall pay the necessary difference plus 50% to be taken out of this amount for administration charges to the Borough of Middlesex.

§ 359-4 Placing of monitoring well in public right-of-way.

Monitoring wells may be placed in the public right-of-way upon all of the same terms and conditions of all provisions of this chapter and:

Posting of a bond in the amount of $3,500 per each well, in a form satisfactory to the Borough Engineer, and an additional charge of 50% of the $3,500 or $1,750 for an administration charge;

[Amended 8-11-2020 by Ord. No. 2004]

Said bond shall remain in full force and effect until the monitoring well or wells shall be removed; and

A certificate of liability insurance shall be obtained in the amount of $1,000,000 and shall name the Borough of Middlesex as a named insured. Said insurance shall remain in effect until the well or wells is/are removed.

§ 359-5 Fees.

The schedule of fees or deposit required shall be as follows:

Excavations in streets of concrete, concrete base with a bituminous top, bituminous macadam (penetration method), macadam base with a bituminous top, or an equivalent; provided, however, that the minimum fee for excavations in such streets shall be $2,500 where the excavation pertains to vacant land and to an improved lot.

Excavations in sidewalks, curbs or gutters, provided that no concrete or other permanent form of sidewalk is disturbed. In the event that a concrete or other permanent form of sidewalk is disturbed, the fee shall be $625.

[Amended 10-26-2010 by Ord. No. 1786[1]]

[1]

Editor's Note: This ordinance provided an effective date of 1-1-2011.

For prescribing sidewalk and curb grades by the Borough Engineer, the fee shall be $625, except that such fee shall not apply in the case of single-family dwellings constructed in residence zones by individual landowners, not to exceed two lots, nor shall such fee apply in the case of church construction or other public buildings constructed within the Borough.

[Amended 10-26-2010 by Ord. No. 1786[2]]

[2]

Editor's Note: This ordinance provided an effective date of 1-1-2011.

§ 359-6 Record of permits.

All permits granted under this article shall be recorded by the Construction Office in a book to be kept by them for that purpose, and all such permits shall specify fully the name and residence of the applicant, the place or places at which the work is to be done, the character of the work and the time within which it is to be completed. No such permit shall be valid unless the place, time and character of the work are specified in it.

§ 359-7 Bond in lieu of permit fees.

[Amended 8-11-2020 by Ord. No. 2004]

In lieu of paying any of the permit fees, the applicant may give a bond satisfactory to the Borough of Middlesex, in such form and in such amount as shall be determined by the Borough Engineer, conditioned upon the restoration by such applicant of the street, road, highway, sidewalk, gutter or pavement thereon to a proper condition promptly and without expense to the Borough at the conclusion of the work for which such permission is sought. A bond will be put up in the amount of $3,500 with an additional charge of 50% of the $3,500 or $1,750 for an administration charge that will be paid directly to Middlesex Borough.

§ 359-8 Guarding excavations; notice to Supervisor.

The person, firm or corporation to whom any permit of this chapter shall be granted shall guard the excavation or excavations by the erection of suitable visible barriers by day and the maintenance of suitable visible lights by night. The person, firm or corporation shall immediately notify the Supervisor of the Middlesex Borough Public Works Department when the surface of the said street, road, highway, sidewalk or gutter is ready to be restored to its original condition and refer to Chapter 407, Article XXI, Traffic Controls for Street and Highway Construction and Maintenance Operations.

§ 359-9 Violations and penalties.

Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, pay a fine not exceeding $2,500 or be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not to exceed 30 days, or be subject to both such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the Judge of the Municipal Court.