Borough of Baden, PA Street Openings

Any and all activity within the right-of-way of any street, alley, lane or cartway which involves cutting, breaking or disturbing the surface thereof. In this article, the term "opening" shall have essentially the same meaning as "excavation."

PERSON

Includes any natural person, partnership, firm, association or corporation.

STREET

Any public street, avenue, road, square, alley, highway or other public place located in the Borough of Baden and established for the use of vehicles, and shall also include public sidewalks wherever said sidewalks are located within the boundary lines of any public street, avenue, road, square, alley or highway.

§ 163-2 Permit required.

It shall be unlawful for any person or persons to open, in any way disturb or to make an excavation of any kind in any street within the Borough of Baden for any purpose without first securing a permit therefor, as hereinafter provided.

§ 163-2.1 Application for permit; indemnification of Borough; insurance.

Any person who shall desire to make any openings or excavations in any of the streets in the Borough of Baden shall file an application with the Borough Secretary.[1] A copy of that application is to be provided to the Street Department Foreman. Therein, the applicant shall specify the purpose, the exact location of the proposed opening or excavation, the measurements of the length, width and depth thereof, and any other information that the Borough or its Street Department Foreman shall require. The application shall contain an agreement on the part of the applicant that the work shall be done in full compliance with the ordinances of the Borough and the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

[1]

Editor's Note: The application form, which was attached to this ordinance, is on file in the Borough offices.

Furthermore, said agreement by the applicant shall save, defend and keep harmless the Borough and indemnify it against any charges associated with the proposed opening or excavation and all damages to persons or property resulting in any manner therefrom or occurring in the prosecution of the work connected therewith or from any other matter, cause or thing relative thereto.

The applicant is to obtain public liability and property damage insurance in an amount sufficient to indemnify and save harmless the Borough from all liability for damages or injury done to persons or property incurred by reason of such opening or excavating or any failure to properly protect, maintain, barricade, light, backfill and/or otherwise properly affect the same. This insurance shall not be in an amount less than $25,000 for injury to persons and $10,000 for injury to property. The Borough's Street Department Foreman shall set the amount of insurance necessary in accordance with the size of the opening. This insurance requirement shall be waived upon receipt of notice of self-insurance by any public utility or municipal authority.

Such permit shall not be given for a period of longer than 15 days from the date thereof without renewal.

§ 163-2.2 Restrictions upon opening newly improved streets.

[Added 6-15-2011 by Ord. No. 911]

No permit shall be issued which would allow an excavation or opening in a paved and improved street surface that is less than five years old, unless the applicant can demonstrate clearly that:

(1)

The public health or safety requires that the proposed work be permitted; or

(2)

An emergency condition exists that requires that the work be performed.

If said permit is issued, the applicant shall be required to pave/restore/overlay a minimum twelve-foot width (or the entire cartway width if deemed appropriate by the Borough Secretary), which width shall run the entire length of the opening, plus 50 feet on each of the two sides of the opening, and shall be completed in accordance with Borough specifications.

§ 163-2.3 Fees.

Before any permit shall be issued to open or excavate any street in the Borough, the applicant shall pay the Borough Secretary a permit fee in the minimum amount of $100 to cover the cost of inspection and other incidental services in connection therewith. When application shall be made to open or excavate any longitudinal opening or excavation in excess of three square yards, before any permit shall be issued, the applicant shall pay, in addition to the minimum fee, $25 for each additional square yard or fraction thereof above the initial three square yards.

§ 163-2.4 Supervision of work; costs; completion of work.

[Added 2-20-2013 by Ord. No. 921]

All work in connection with openings or excavations in any street or sidewalk, including excavation, protection, refilling and temporary paving, shall be done by the applicant at his expense, and all such work shall be subject to the provisions of this article and to the supervision and approval of the Street Department Foreman. However, the Street Department Foreman may require that cutting of the surface of improved streets or sidewalks and the backfilling of all excavations shall be done by the Borough and the charge therefor shall be paid by the applicant on the basis of actual costs of the work plus 10%.

§ 163-2.5 Backfilling/restoration.

[Added 2-20-2013 by Ord. No. 921]

Every person who shall open or excavate any street or sidewalk in the Borough shall thoroughly and completely refill the opening with granulated slag or equivalent so as to prevent any settling thereafter and shall restore the surface to the same condition as it was before the opening or excavation. Such restoration shall be in accordance with the specifications of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, which are hereby adopted as specifications of the Borough for restoration of surfaces of streets and sidewalks. As restored, the surface shall conform to the proper grade and be of the same surface covering as the part of the street or sidewalk immediately adjoining the opening. If, within two years after the restoration of the surface, as herein provided, defects shall appear therein, resulting from defective backfilling or restoration by the applicant, the applicant shall redo the work within the period of time set by the Street Department Foreman or reimburse the Borough for the cost of all necessary repairs, backfill and/or restore the surfaces of the street and sidewalks.

Old fill, soil, broken pavement, stones, roots and any other material or debris shall not be used in the aforesaid backfill.

§ 163-2.6 Manner of excavation.

[Added 2-20-2013 by Ord. No. 921]

No opening or excavation shall extend from the curbline into the street a distance greater than one foot beyond the center line of the street before being refilled and the surface of the street restored to a condition safe and convenient for travel.

No opening or excavation in any street shall extend more than 500 feet longitudinally at any one time.

The work of opening or excavation shall be conducted so as not to interfere with access to fire hydrants, fire stations, water mains, sewers or their connections or any other subsurface lines or constructions, until permission of the proper authorities in connection with such subsurface lines or constructions shall have been obtained.

No tunneling shall be allowed without the express approval of the Street Department Foreman and permission therefor endorsed upon the permit. The backfilling or a tunnel excavation shall be made only in the presence of the Street Department Foreman or inspector designated by him and shall be done only in a method approved by him.

All openings or excavations shall be backfilled promptly with suitable materials and thoroughly compacted in layers, each of which shall not exceed six inches in depth.

On improved streets, the backfilling shall be placed to within 10 inches of the surface and in compliance with § 163-2.5 of this article.

On unimproved streets, a temporary paving of suitable stony materials, thoroughly bound and compacted, shall be installed flush with the surface of the adjoining surface.

During the making of any opening or excavation, every necessary and reasonable precaution shall be taken by the applicant to keep the street or sidewalk in a safe and passable condition both by day and night by guards, barriers, lanterns and other devices. All permits are granted under and subject to the express condition that the person to whom the same is issued shall indemnify, save and keep harmless the Borough from any loss, in damages or otherwise whatsoever, which may or shall be occasioned at any time by the said opening or excavation or by any leak, explosion or other injury from any pipe, apparatus, conduit, or any other matter placed in the said opening or excavation.

The applicant shall notify the Street Department Foreman when the opening or excavation is ready and the backfilling is to be done, in the case of unimproved streets, and before temporary paving, in the case of improved streets and sidewalks.

In the event that any work performed by or for an applicant shall, in the opinion of the Street Department Foreman, be unsatisfactory and the same shall not be corrected in accordance with his instructions within the time fixed by him, or in the event that the work for which the permit was granted is not completed within the time fixed by the Street Department Foreman, the Borough may proceed to correct such unsatisfactory work or complete any such work not completed and charge the cost thereof, plus 20%, to the applicant.

On all improved streets, prior to finishing the surface, the applicant shall place a six-inch-thick concrete pad underneath said surface and extending at least six inches beyond the limits of the opening/excavation in all directions.

The applicant shall, at all times and at his or its own expense, preserve and protect from injury any adjoining property by providing proper foundations and taking other measures suitable for that purpose. The applicant shall, at his or its own expense, shore up and protect all buildings, walls, fences or other property likely to be damaged during the progress of the opening or excavation work and shall be responsible for all damages to public or private property or streets or sidewalks resulting from his or its failure to properly protect and carry out said work. Whenever it may be necessary for the applicant to trench through any lawn area, said area shall be reseeded or the sod shall be carefully laid out, rolled and replaced with the said cut sod or new sod after ditches have been backfilled as required by this article. All construction and maintenance work shall be done in a manner calculated to leave the lawn area in a condition as nearly as possible to that which existed before such work began. Furthermore, the applicant shall replace, by like kind and size, any trees or shrubs removed from said area at his or its cost and expense.

As the opening/excavation work progresses, the street or sidewalk shall be thoroughly cleaned of all rubbish, excess earth, rock and other debris resulting from such work. All cleanup operations at the location of the opening/excavation shall be accomplished at the expense of the applicant and shall be completed to the satisfaction of the Street Department Foreman. From time to time, as may be ordered by the Street Department Foreman and in any event immediately after completion of said work, the applicant shall, at his or its expense, clean up and remove all refuse and unused materials of any kind resulting from said work. Upon failure to do so within 24 hours of receiving notice, said work may be done by the Borough and the applicant shall be liable to it for the cost thereof plus 20%.

After any excavation is commenced, the applicant shall proceed expeditiously so as not to obstruct public travel any more than necessary. Thus, the applicant must renew its permit every 15 days through the Street Department Foreman.

Except for instances of emergency, the applicant shall conduct and carry out its excavating and restoration between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. in a manner that minimizes inconvenience and annoyance to the general public and neighboring property owners.

§ 163-2.7 Emergencies.

In case of any leak, explosion or other accident in any subsurface pipe, line, construction or apparatus, it shall be lawful for the person owning or responsible for such pipe, line, construction or apparatus to commence an opening or excavation to remedy such condition without first securing a permit, provided that an application for a permit shall be made immediately and not later than the next business day, and that all provisions of this article are fully complied with. If any such emergency condition shall not be immediately attended to by the owner or person responsible, the Street Department Foreman shall proceed as necessary to do the work and alleviate the emergency situation and charge the cost thereof plus 10% to such owner or person responsible.

§ 163-2.8 Violations and penalties.

Any person, whether as principal, agent or employee, violating or assisting in the violation of any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000, plus the costs of prosecution thereof, and, in default of payment of such fine and costs, to undergo imprisonment for not more than 90 days; provided, however, that each violation of any provision of this article and each day the same is continued shall be deemed to constitute a separate offense. All fines shall be payable to the Borough.