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Town of Fort Edward, NY
Washington County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (2) Index
[Adopted 7-9-1990 as L.L. No. 7-1990]
The Town Board of the Town of Fort Edward hereby finds that its existing ordinances which apply to street openings are inadequate and do not vest the Superintendent of Public Works with sufficient flexibility to ensure that work is done in a proper manner. The Board further finds that inadequacy also exists in regards to the installment of culverts and unrelated drainage which accompanies the street openings. The Board therefore finds that it is necessary to adopt this Article in order to establish general standards governing the issuance of permits for street openings' proper drainage.
A. 
No person, firm, association, corporation, special improvements district, public utility or municipal, state or other public district shall open, dig up, cut, remove, lower, raise or create new accessor egress to or from any street or portion thereof within the jurisdiction of the town without first obtaining a permit from the Superintendent of Public Works.
B. 
Any person, firm, association, corporation or special improvement district may alter a street or portion thereof without first obtaining a permit if a condition exists which creates an immediate danger of personal injury or property damage, provided that application for a permit is made at the earliest possible opportunity, and further provided that said work shall be governed by all requirements which would have applied had a permit been obtained in advance of said work's being initiated.
As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CULVERT
A conduit for conveying water through an embankment.
PERSON
An individual, a partnership, a corporation, an association, a joint-stock company, a trust, any unincorporated organization or a government or political subdivision thereof.
SIDEWALK
The area on each side of the road from the property line to the gutter line or, if there is a curb, to the roadway side of the curb.
STREET
Includes but shall not be limited to roads, gutters, driveways which lead into roads and curbs and sidewalks adjacent to roads.
A. 
Every application for a permit to open, dig up, cut, remove, lower, raise or in any other way alter any street or entranceway or expansions thereof, and installments of any culverts or drainage swales within the jurisdiction of the town, shall be in writing and shall state the purpose, extent, location and nature of the proposed work.
B. 
A fee in the amount adopted by the Town Board pursuant to Town Code § 50-1 and listed on the Fee Schedule[1] shall accompany every application for a permit, and, in addition, the applicant shall deposit with the Town Clerk such sum of money as is required by the Superintendent of Public Works.
[Amended 6-13-2005 by L.L. No. 6-2005]
[1]
Editor's Note: The Fee Schedule is on file in the Town offices. See § 50-1.
C. 
Each application for a permit shall also be accompanied by a certificate of insurance, in an amount and in form approved by the Superintendent of Public Works and issued by an insurance company authorized to do business within the State of New York, running to the town, which insurance shall in no event be less than two hundred fifty thousand dollars/five hundred thousand dollars ($250,000./$500,000.) for bodily injury liability and no less than $100,000 for property damage liability, to save the town harmless from all claims, actions or proceedings brought by any person for injury to person or property resulting from or occasioned by any fault of default by the town, its employees or agents, or by the person to whom the permit was issued or anyone acting thereunder. The policy shall also protect the town in a sum fixed by the Superintendent of Public Works, which shall in no event be less than $10,000, against any damage caused to any street or other public property by reason of the work done pursuant to any permit issued hereunder.
D. 
The Superintendent of Highways is hereby empowered and authorized to utilize the engineering services of the Town Engineer for assistance with any permit submittal.
The Superintendent of Public Works shall additionally adopt specifications related to the installment of culverts and related drainage. Said permit approval does not in any way provide responsibility for the continued maintenance of said culverts, whose responsibility rests with the property owner. Such specifications shall be formulated in such a manner as to ensure that the materials used are suitable for the particular purpose and that the work is performed in a safe and workmanlike manner. The applicant shall be required to conform with these specifications as a condition of the issuance of said permits.
No work may be commenced under any permit granted pursuant to this Article unless or until such notice as shall be directed by the Superintendent of Public Works shall have been given public service corporations and such other entities, persons, associations or corporations as have lines, mains or other property in the streets so as to permit them to protect their property.
Each permit issued pursuant to the terms of this Article shall be at all times in the possession of the parties actually performing the work.
The town of issuance of any such permits assumes no responsibility for supervising the work of any applicant or for the work actually performed by any applicant and shall not be liable for the negligence of any such applicant.
A. 
In the event that an unsafe condition is created in connection with any work being performed pursuant to a permit issued hereunder, which condition creates an immediate danger of personal injury or property damage, the town shall have the right to take whatever action is necessary and perform such work as is required to restore the same to a proper and safe condition, and the cost thereof shall be charged against the applicant and may be deducted from the deposit made by him or paid by the surety, as the case may be.
B. 
In the event that an applicant fails to abide by the specifications issued by the Superintendent of Public Works, the town shall have the right, after 24 hours' written notice to the applicant, if said applicant has not made satisfactory arrangements to correct the situation, to cancel the permit or otherwise take whatever action is necessary to remedy the applicant's noncompliance, and the cost thereof may be charged against the applicant and deducted from the deposit made by him or paid by the surety, as the case may be.
A. 
Any person, firm, association, corporation, special improvement district, public utility or municipal, state or other public district which performs work without obtaining the permit required hereunder shall be liable to pay a penalty not to exceed $250 for each day that work is conducted without such permit. In addition, such violation shall constitute disorderly conduct, and any such person committing said violation shall be and hereby is declared to be a disorderly person.
B. 
The town may prohibit the continuation of work being performed pursuant to a permit in the event that such work is being performed in a manner inconsistent with the specifications adopted by the Superintendent of Public Works. If the town issues an order in writing which requires said work to terminate and if the applicant and/or the person performing said work for the applicant fails to obey such order, then both the applicant and the person performing such work shall be deemed to have violated this article and shall be liable for a fine up to $250 for each day that said work continues. Said order may be served on the applicant or the person performing said work for the applicant by personal delivery, by telegram or by certified mail, return receipt requested. In addition, any such person committing said violation shall be and hereby is declared to be a disorderly person.
A. 
The Superintendent of Highways is hereby empowered to issue a variance and waiver under the proper circumstance, provided that the integrity and legislative intent of the findings of the article are adhered to.
B. 
This chapter shall not apply to agricultural-related drainage; however, should drainage and/or related culvert work be used for nonagricultural purposes, a permit must be sought at that time for approval.
This article shall supersede all other local laws, ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations of the Town of Fort Edward to the extent that they are inconsistent with this article.