As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
EMERGENCY
A condition or circumstance which involves immediate danger
to life or property, or both, or which involves a possibility of interruption
or curtailment of a service furnished to the public by a public utility.
PERMITTEE
Any public utility, individual or company to which a permit
has been issued under and pursuant to this article.
The fees payable for permits issued under this article shall be as provided in Chapter
91, Fees and Licenses. Such fees shall be applied to cover administrative costs of processing the application and engineering inspection fees necessitated by the work to be done.
In all cases where the sewer, laterals or other road openings
for any purposes shall not run at right angles to the street or shall
require an opening wider than three feet, the fees for the permits
above mentioned shall be double the fees for each opening in excess
of three feet in width; and for all openings exceeding a distance
of 15 feet, the fee shall be predicated upon the payment of a street
opening fee for each additional 15 feet that a street is opened.
Before the issuance of a permit, there shall be furnished to
the Borough a policy of insurance, insuring the Borough against public
liability and property damage with no less than single limit coverage
of $1,000,000 for personal injuries and no less than coverage of $250,000
for property damage. A municipal corporation or public utility corporation
may, in lieu of an insurance policy, file with the Borough its bond
to hold the Borough harmless from all damages to persons or property,
including the defense of any action, which may result from the issuance
of any permit and the work in connection therewith.
The permittee shall comply with the following general conditions
with regard to the opening, backfilling and resurfacing of any public
street or public place:
A. The permittee shall keep each opening properly guarded and, at night,
have lights placed thereat and, in doing the work, interfere as little
as possible with the travel along the road and open no greater part
of the road at any time than shall be allowed by the Borough. If the
excavation is to extend the full width of the road, no more than 1/2
of the road shall be opened at one time, and such 1/2 shall be backfilled
before the other 1/2 is opened, so as to permit the free flow of traffic.
B. The opening shall be backfilled immediately, and the pavement shall
be restored with at least a temporary pavement or bituminous concrete
base material unless otherwise directed by the Borough Engineer.
C. Restoration of the opening shall be the responsibility of the permittee, and any deposit posted with the Borough as hereinbefore provided shall be returned only after compliance with §
170-20 of this article.
D. The applicant shall give a twenty-four-hour notice to the Borough
Engineer prior to making an opening and prior to beginning surface
restoration.
E. No opening shall be commenced on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, except
in a case of emergency.
F. On a bituminous-surface-treated road, the edges of the opening shall
be cut straight through the bituminous surface before the trench is
excavated.
G. The work shall be so conducted as not to interfere with the water
mains, gas lines, sewer lines or their connections with houses unless
the permission of the proper authorities shall have been obtained.
All rock within five feet of a water main or other pipe, which might
be damaged thereby, shall be removed without blasting. No excavation
which will damage trees shall be made.
H. After the underground installation has been completed, the permittee
shall promptly backfill the excavation. The backfill may consist of
the excavated materials but shall be free of all organic material,
debris and clay. It shall be placed in lifts of no more than 12 inches,
each lift to be thoroughly compacted to a grade of 24 inches below
subgrade, the remainder to be backfilled with bank-run gravel. Should
the excavated material be unsuitable for backfill, in the opinion
of the Borough Engineer, then the entire trench shall be backfilled
with bank-run gravel and compacted as described above. Bank-run gravel
shall conform to New Jersey State Department of Transportation soil
aggregate dry Type 1A.
I. After the backfill has been placed, the permittee shall install a
temporary pavement of bituminous material over the opening and shall
keep such temporary pavement to grade until it has been replaced by
a permanent pavement.
J. When final settlement has taken place, the permittee shall replace
the temporary pavement with a permanent pavement, which shall not
be less than 12 inches larger than the length and width of the opening.
The permanent pavement shall be of the same type as the original pavement,
unless authorized by the Borough Engineer. The Borough Engineer shall
be given one day's written notice previous to the time when the permanent
pavement is to be installed in order to permit an inspection thereof.
K. The permittee shall utilize advanced reconstruction technology (e.g.,
infrared) to restore the pavement surface to the satisfaction of the
Borough Engineer.
[Added 10-22-2008 by Ord.
No. 2008-18]
L. If work so permitted is to be performed on a street or roadway in
the Borough within five years after the street or roadway has been
resurfaced and/or reconstructed, the permittee shall be required to:
[Added 10-22-2008 by Ord.
No. 2008-18]
(1)
Provide a written explanation as to the necessity of the work
to the Borough Engineer.
(2)
Utilize advanced technologies subject to the approval of the
Borough Engineer (e.g., infrared) to restore the work area.
(3)
Post a performance guarantee with the Borough in the amount
of 120% of the cost of the road improvements and a maintenance guarantee
of 15% of the cost of construction, as estimated by the Borough Engineer
for a two-year period from final acceptance. Such guarantees may be
posted as cash, irrevocable letter of credit or bond in a form approved
by the Borough Attorney (minimum guarantee shall be $1,000).
(4)
Post escrow funds of $750 to allow the Borough Engineer to make
inspections as necessary to assure compliance with the requirements
of this section.
In case of emergency, any public utility, individual or company
may make an excavation in or tear up the surface of any road without
first having obtained from the Borough of Kenilworth a permit therefor,
in which case the public utility, individual or company shall make
application for such permit within two working days after the occurrence
of such emergency, provided that the public utility, individual or
company first facsimile transmits to the office of the Borough Clerk
and Borough Building Department a statement concerning the emergency
in question. If the emergency occurs on a weekend, the FAX notice
required by this section shall be made to the Police Department.
In accepting a permit, the permittee shall be deemed to have
agreed to indemnify and save harmless the Borough from and against
any and all loss, costs 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 permittee, its agents or servants in performing
the work covered by the permit.
The provisions of this article shall not be applicable to any excavation work under the direction of competent Borough officials, by employees of the Borough or by any contractor of the Borough or agency or department of the Borough performing work for and on behalf of the Borough necessitating openings or excavations in streets, nor shall this article apply to any excavation work performed adjacent to or within public rights-of-way by subdividers or site developers in accordance with approved subdivision or site plans, provided that such subdividers or site developers have, if required, posted cash guaranties and surety in accordance with §§
170-20 and
170-21 of this article.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. II)]
Any person, firm or corporation who or which violates any provision of this article shall, upon conviction, be subject to the general penalty set forth in Chapter
1, Article
I, General Penalty, of the Borough of Kenilworth Code.
The Borough Engineer, Superintendent of the Department of Public
Works and the Police Department shall have the authority to enforce
the provisions of this article.