[Adopted as Ch. 29 of the 1976 Code]
[Amended 9-1-2009]
The City Council shall appoint a standing Committee
on Highways, whose duty shall be to investigate all petitions which
may be presented to the City Council for the laying out, relocating,
altering, discontinuing or making specific repairs in any way, street
or highway in the City and to report thereon to the City Council and
to consider and report upon any other matters relative to highways,
streets, bridges and other public places, which may be referred to
said Committee by the City Council.
Any order or petition for the paving of a street
or public highway must specify not only the length but also the width
of such street or highway to be paved.
[Amended 9-1-2009]
The several streets in the City of Chicopee
shall be called and known by the names by which they are now called
until the same shall be altered by the City Council, and the City
Council may at any time change or alter the name of any street, highway
or public place and shall establish the names of all streets, highways
and public places which may hereafter be laid out and accepted by
the City or by any authority within the City, and no two streets or
public places shall bear the same name.
[Amended 9-1-2009]
No private street or way shall be hereafter
laid out, established or accepted or made a public street unless all
parties interested in the premises waive damages, and then such street
shall not be laid out of a width less than 50 feet, unless the same
was actually constructed prior to January 1, 1907, or was in existence
prior to the incorporation of the City unless, in the opinion of the
City Council, it would be impracticable to have such street laid out
of the full width of 50 feet.
All streets accepted as public streets shall
be marked with permanent markers so that they can be located at any
time.
No street or way constructed on private lands
by private parties after January 1, 1907, shall be laid out, established
or accepted as a public street or recommended for such acceptance
unless the same has been previously constructed and completed in accordance
with the following specifications:
A.
A plan and profile showing the location and grade
of every street or way which it is proposed to lay out and establish
as a public street shall be filed with the City Clerk by the corporation,
company or individual proposing to open said street at the time of
laying out as a private way and before the same is graded or improved.
Such plan and profile shall be drawn to such scale as may be required
by the City Engineer and to his approval and shall show the location
and grade of all connecting streets.
B.
Every such street or way shall be constructed not
less than 50 feet in width and shall have a roadway of not less than
25 feet in width and shall be of such cross section as the City Engineer
may prescribe.
C.
The entire area of every such street or way shall
be cleared of stumps, rocks, roots and other unnecessary materials
and of all trees not desirable for preservation.
D.
All clay, loam and loamy materials shall be removed
from the limits of the roadway and of the sidewalks to such depth
as may be required by the City Engineer and shall be deposited outside
of the limits of such street, and the space to the subgrade shall
be filled with sand or other suitable materials, thoroughly compacted.
E.
All work in excavation and embankment shall be brought
accurately to a subgrade of not less than six inches for the roadway
and four inches for the sidewalk below the finished grade. All side
slopes in excavation and on adjoining land shall be at a ratio to
be furnished by the City Engineer.
F.
All embankments shall be made of loam, clean sand,
gravel, cinders, furnace slag, rocks or broken stone only. Under no
circumstances shall any perishable material be used for the making
of such streets or street embankments.
G.
The roadway shall be covered with binding gravel or
other good hardening material as may be prescribed by the City Engineer
and finished to the established grade to the satisfaction of the Mayor
and Superintendent of Streets. The tree belt and side slopes adjoining
the street line shall be covered with good loam at least eight inches
in depth and so applied as to ensure against slipping. The roadway
shall be completed before any report is made on the petition for acceptance.
Sections 243-10, 243-11 and 243-12 of this article shall have no application to highways laid out and established within that area of the City which is bounded as follows: easterly by the westerly line of Bridge Street; westerly by land now or lately of Fisk Rubber Company; northerly by the southerly bank of the Chicopee River; and southerly by the northerly line of Main and West Main Streets.
No street or way shall hereafter be laid out,
established or accepted as a public street in the City of Chicopee
unless the sewer or drain therein, if one exists at the time of acceptance,
is constructed in accordance with the directions of or is approved
by the City Engineer in regard to the dimensions, materials and grade
thereof.
[Amended 9-1-2009]
All petitions which may be presented to the
City Council for laying out, widening, altering, relocating or discontinuing
any street or way in the City shall be referred to the standing Committee
on Highways, which shall give a public hearing thereon at such time
and place as said Committee shall determine. The Committee shall cause
a written notice of such hearing, signed by the City Clerk, to be
left at the usual place of abode of the owners of the land over which
such way is proposed to be laid out, widened, altered, relocated or
discontinued and of the owners of land abutting on said way or to
be delivered to such owners in person or to the tenants or authorized
agents of such owners. If an owner has no such place of abode in the
City and no tenant or authorized agent therein known to the Committee
or if, being a resident of the City, he is not known as such to the
Committee, such notice shall be posted up in some public place in
the City. Said notices shall be delivered or posted up at least seven
days before the time appointed for the hearing. At the time and place
appointed, the Committee shall meet and hear all parties interested
who shall claim to be heard. The Committee shall view the premises
and, after such view and hearing, shall report to the City Council
whether the common convenience and necessity require that such street
be laid out, widened, relocated, altered or discontinued as petitioned
for; and in case the report is in favor of granting the petition,
it shall contain a description of the boundaries and measurements
of the street as proposed, the names of the owners of all lands included
therein or abutting thereon who claim damage by reason of the laying
out, widening, relocating, altering or discontinuing of said street
or persons affected by said laying out, widening, relocating or discontinuing
of such street or way as proposed, together with the amount of damages
proper and reasonable to be awarded to each of such owners or other
persons affected by said laying out, widening, relocating or discontinuing.
The aforesaid notices may be served by the Chief of Police or any
duly qualified police officer, constable or special police officer
who may be designated by the Mayor or the City Council.
[Amended 9-1-2009]
In case of the laying out, widening, relocating
or altering of any street or way, the City Council shall cause permanent
bounds thereof to be established and marked.
No street or way shall be altered in its grade
to the damage of any persons or corporation, in any real estate or
in the convenient use and enjoyment of any interest in any real estate
unless like proceedings are had in reference to notice, hearing, report
and determination as are provided for in the case of laying out streets.
This Article shall not be construed as forbidding
the laying out of the highways in accordance with the statutes of
the commonwealth.
The Superintendent of Streets shall, immediately
on the completion of the installation of a curbing on any street or
way, have the proper assessment bill of 1/2 the cost of such installation
sent to each and every estate owner whose estate abuts on such improved
street or way. The Superintendent of Streets shall see that the City
Collector and the City Auditor are furnished a duplicate bill of each
and every charge.
In all streets and roads in which main sewers
or water pipes are laid and in all streets and roads that may be paved
with so-called permanent material, all pipe connections shall first
be made and sub ends carried to the side of the street to each respective
lot. Such connections shall be made whether or not the abutting property
is improved.
