[Adopted 4-16-1987 by Ord. No. 87-6; amended
in its entirety 10-19-1995 by Ord. No. 95-10 (Ch. 53 of the 1974
Township Code)]
No person, company, firm or corporation shall
remove, excavate, dig or in any way disturb any public street within
the Township of Oxford for any purpose without first obtaining a road-opening
permit from Oxford Township. The term "street," as used herein, shall
mean any publicly owned street, road or right-of-way over which the
public travels, including dedicated but unaccepted subdivision streets,
and all of the land between street lines, whether improved or unimproved.
A.
The application for a road-opening permit shall be
made on a form obtained from the Township Clerk.
B.
Applications, together with the application fee, shall
be submitted to the Township Clerk and reviewed by the Township Engineer
and Police Chief. The Township Clerk shall issue a permit when the
provisions of this article have been complied with.
The fee for a road-opening permit shall be $50.
The applicant shall be responsible to reimburse
the Township for all sums paid to the Township Engineer and such other
Township professionals for the services rendered by said Engineer
and other Township professionals in connection with the permit application.
The application shall be accompanied by an escrow payment in the sum
of $400, to be applied on account of payment to the Township Engineer
and other professionals. Any unused portion of said escrow shall be
returned to the applicant at the conclusion of the application process.
A.
The application shall be accompanied by two copies
of a diagram or plan depicting the excavation or other activity for
which the permit is sought and all proposed traffic control devices,
barricades, signage and lighting.
B.
No road-opening permit shall issue until the Township
Engineer shall approve the applicant's diagram or plan depicting the
excavation or other activity for which the permit is sought and all
signage or other traffic control devices deemed necessary by the Township
Engineer.
[Added 7-18-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-11]
A.
Notice of pending paving; time restriction on excavation. When the
Township shall improve or pave any street, the Superintendent of the
Department of Public Works shall first give notice by delivering it
personally, or by posting notice on the premises, and by regular mail
to all persons owning property abutting on the street, about to be
paved or improved, and to all public utilities and authorities operating
in the Township, and all such persons, utilities and authorities shall
make all connections, as well as any repairs thereto, which would
necessitate excavation of the street, within 45 days from the giving
of such notice. The time shall be extended if permission is requested,
in writing, and approved by the Superintendent of the Department of
Public Works.
B.
Opening newly-paved street: restrictions. No permit shall be issued
to any person given notice under § 12.1A hereof, which would
allow an excavation or opening in a paved or improved street surface,
less than five years old, unless the applicant can clearly demonstrate
to the Township Committee that public health or safety requires that
the proposed work be permitted, or unless an emergency condition exists.
C.
Opening newly-paved street: penalty charge. If by special permission
of the Township Committee, a permit is issued to open any paved or
improved street surface less than five years old, a payment shall
be made for the opening, except that the payment shall be waived in
the event the work is of an emergency nature. The payment shall be
equal to 2% of the cost of restoring the opening for each unelapsed
month, or fraction thereof, for the five-year restriction period.
A.
All signage and other traffic control devices shall
be placed on self-supporting structures and shall not be affixed to
trees, utility poles or traffic devices which are the property of
the Township. All signing and other traffic control devices shall
conform to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets
and Highways, current edition. All signing and other traffic control
devices shall be kept clean and distinct and free from grease, dust
or other blurring matter so as to be plainly visible at all times
of day and night. No signing or other traffic control devices shall
be permitted to be obscured by trees or parked vehicles.
B.
All excavations shall be kept properly barricaded
at all times and, during the hours of darkness, shall be provided
with reflective material or warning lights.
C.
Lighting, as required, shall be activated from 1/2
hour before sunset to 1/2 hour after sunrise and at any other time
when there is not sufficient light to see persons and vehicles for
a distance of at least 500 feet.
A.
The Chief of Police or his designee may, in the exercise
of his reasonable discretion, require the contractor to supply one
or more flagmen on the job site.
B.
Flagmen, when used in construction work areas, shall
be equipped with the following:
(1)
An orange cap and vest which shall be reflectorized,
except during warm weather, when orange tee shirts may be substituted,
provided that they are reflectorized.
(2)
A red flag, measuring at least 24 x 24 inches; for
night and darkness conditions, lights shall be used in place of said
flag.
(3)
Sign paddles consisting of stop/slow messages, as
per the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and
Highways, current edition. When used at night or in darkness, the
stop/slow faces shall be reflectorized.
C.
In those circumstances wherein N.J.S.A. 39:4-81 requires
the flagman to be a traffic or police officer, the applicant shall
enter into a police services agreement with the Township, which said
agreement shall make provision for the Township to provide the services
of uniformed traffic or police officers to the applicant at the cost
to the applicant of a sum equal to 1.5 times the hourly rate for each
uniformed traffic or police officer providing traffic control services,
the sum of $6 per hour administration fee, and the sum of $10 per
hour for each police vehicle used for providing traffic control.
All work shall be done in such a manner as to
cause a minimum of interference with travel on the street affected.
No street shall be closed to traffic unless such closing is approved
by the Chief of Police or his designee. The Chief of Police or his
designee shall specify the time and date of the closure and reopening
of the roadway, with no deviation permitted. The Police Department
and Department of Public Works shall be informed of all street closings
at least 24 hours in advance, except that, where work is of an emergency
nature, notice shall be given to the Police Department and Department
of Public Works when work commences.
A.
All trenches shall be backfilled by depositing therein
select backfill (Type 5, Class A) in layers of not more than six inches
in depth, each thoroughly rammed or tamped.
B.
All pavement surfaces are to be replaced in accordance
with the specifications of this Township governing new construction
of such pavements but shall be a minimum of five inches of bituminous
stabilized base course and two inches of fine aggregate bituminous
concrete surface course.
C.
After the ditch has been properly compacted, a two-inch
temporary cold patch of blacktop pavement is to be applied to bring
the existing ditch to the level of the adjoining pavement. Approximately
two weeks thereafter, the cold-patch layer and five inches of the
backfill material is to be removed, the edges of the adjoining pavement
cleaned and seven inches of hot bituminous concrete pavement laid
in its place and thoroughly rolled. Where the existing road is only
surface-treated, the entire area of the ditch shall then be surface-treated
with asphaltic oil and stone and the final application rolled with
a six-ton roller. Where required by the Township Road Supervisor,
permanently paved roads shall be cut with a saw before the final pavement
is applied in order to give a proper bind and a neat appearance.
The work of backfilling and installing the temporary
pavement shall be made within 24 hours after the completion of the
work for which the opening was made. The backfilling and replacement
of the subbase and the installing of the permanent pavement shall
be completed within 30 days after starting, except that the Township
Engineer, in his discretion, may make exceptions to the above time
limits if, in his opinion, it is impractical to complete the work
within the above-mentioned time.
No person shall position, store or park any
construction equipment on any street after working hours, except with
approval by the Chief of Police of his designee.
The application shall be accompanied by a certificate
of insurance demonstrating that the applicant is the owner of a general
liability insurance policy providing not less than $2,000,000 coverage
for personal injury or death and $30,000 coverage for property damage.
By making application for a road-opening permit, the permit holder
agrees to save harmless the Township of Oxford, its officers, agents
and servants from and against any loss, injury or damage resulting
from the negligence or fault of the permit holder, its agents, servants
and/or assigns or any injury or damage proximately related to any
activity undertaken pursuant to the road-opening permit.
A.
Prior to the issuance of the road-opening permit,
the applicant shall provide the Township with a performance guaranty
in favor of the Township in an amount equal to the estimated cost
of completing the activity authorized by the road-opening permit,
including restoration.
B.
The form of the performance guaranty shall be as approved
by the Township Attorney, and the amount of the guaranty shall be
as determined by the Township Engineer.
C.
Upon completion of all activity undertaken pursuant
to the road-opening permit and satisfactory restoration, as certified
by the Township Engineer, the permit holder shall be released from
all liability pursuant to the performance guaranty.
[Amended 8-5-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-07; 9-16-2009 by Ord. No.
2009-05]
A.
The Township
Engineer shall have the power to grant such exceptions from the requirements
of this chapter as may be reasonable if the literal enforcement of
one or more provisions of this chapter is impracticable, unnecessary
given the scope and nature of the proposed activity or will extract
undue hardship.
Failure to comply with any of the conditions
of the road-opening permit or the terms and conditions of this article,
as the case may be, shall be construed as a violation of this article
and shall be grounds for the revocation of the road-opening permit.
[Amended 1-7-2009 by Ord. No. 2008-21]
Any person who violates any provision of this
article shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine of up
to $2,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 90 days or a period
of community service not exceeding 90 days, or any combination thereof,
in the discretion of the court.
