[Amended 4-11-2017 by Ord. No. 1911]
A. 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.
B. 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.
C. 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.
D. 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.
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.
[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.
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:
A. 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]
B. Said bond shall remain in full force and effect until
the monitoring well or wells shall be removed; and
C. 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.
The schedule of fees or deposit required shall
be as follows:
A. 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.
B. 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]
C. 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]
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.
[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.
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.
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.