[Adopted 2-27-2001 by Ord. No. 01-11]
This article may be cited as the "Street Openings and Excavations Ordinance of the Borough of Glassboro."
It shall be unlawful for any person, partnership, association or corporation to cut, break into, excavate or open any road, street, avenue, highway or sidewalk in the Borough of Glassboro, or any portion of the right-of-way, without first making written application to the Public Works Department stating the kind, character and purpose of the proposed excavation or opening and such other information which may be reasonably required to fulfill the requirements of this article. Applications shall be accompanied by two copies of a scaled plan, showing its location and size, to be distributed, to the Superintendent of Highway Department. There shall be obtained from the Superintendent a permit for each and every opening.
Permits shall be issued, subject to the terms hereof, by the Public Works Department upon the approval of the application by the Superintendent, which approval shall be given if the application and plans conform to the requirements of this article and provide for the work to be performed in accordance with the current New Jersey State Highway Department Standard Specifications for Road and Bridge Construction. Permit (application and plans) must be signed by the Borough Highway Department Superintendent to be valid.
Upon review and approval of permit (application and plan), with any necessary revisions, the Superintendent shall return one signed set of same to the applicant.
The permit for street opening shall be valid, as prescribed herein, for a period of one year from the date of issuance. All proposed work and all temporary and permanent repairs shall be completed in this one-year period, after which the security deposit will be returned if all repairs are completed to the satisfaction of the Superintendent.
A. 
The proposed construction shown on the permit (application and plan) shall proceed, during the one-year permit period, in accordance with the following phase sequence:
Time Frame
Actual Time
Activity
First to second month
2 months
Proposed construction and all temporary repairs to be completed
Second month
2 weeks
Temporary repairs removed and permanent concrete repairs completed
Second to sixth month
4 months
Time period to allow disturbed subsurface soil to settle and/or compact (streets)
Sixth to seventh month
1 month
Temporary repairs removed and permanent repairs completed
Seventh to twelfth month
5 months
Time period for permanent repairs to be tested and inspected
B. 
The one-year permit validation period may be changed or revised as may be necessary when recommendation by the Superintendent is reviewed and approved by the Council.
Before an issuance of any street opening permit, fees and cash security performance deposit shall be received in the offices of the Borough Clerk as follows:
A. 
Single street openings involving only one lot frontage.
(1) 
Filing fee (nonrefundable): $100.
(2) 
Superintendent review and inspection fee (nonrefundable): $200.
(3) 
Cash security performance deposit: $750.
NOTE: Superintendent shall make recommendation of additional escrow funds should the project repair costs exceed the initial escrow deposit.
B. 
Multiple openings per street or multiple lot frontages per application during a one-year period commencing on January 1 and ending December 31.
(1) 
Filing fee (nonrefundable): $100.
(2) 
Superintendent review and inspection fee (nonrefundable): $500.
(3) 
Cash security performance deposit: $5,000 for a period of one year.
(4) 
For utility companies and/or contractors anticipating numerous multiple road opening permits per calendar year, the applicant may post a one-time $10,000 cash security deposit for a one-year period beginning January 1 and ending December 31. However, the applicant must submit the appropriate filing, review and inspection fees on a per-application basis.
Upon such notice to the Superintendent and under his inspection, the contractor securing the permit hereunder shall immediately, after completing the work necessitating the excavating or opening, refill with material suitable to the Highway Superintendent, properly tamped, and restore the excavation or opening with a temporary cover as follows: earth and gravel roads with gravel not less than eight inches thick; all other roads with four inches of bituminous stabilized base course, Mix I-2, and all walkways with four inches of bituminous cold patch. The applicant shall maintain the area of excavation free from potholes and depressions until the final surface has been applied and approved. The final surface for streets shall require the milling of two inches of stabilized base course and installation of two inches of bituminous surface course, I-5. The final surface for sidewalks shall be four-inches-thick Class (B) concrete.
A. 
If the Borough completes either temporary or permanent repairs following a street opening, all costs incurred by the Borough shall be deducted from the cash security performance deposit, along with new filing fee and new Superintendent inspection and review fees. Costs for such repairs shall include but shall not be limited to all labor, wages, supervision, equipment, materials, gas, oil and advertising.
B. 
If the Borough completes both temporary and permanent repairs, the entire cash security performance deposit shall be made available to a cost incurred by the Borough by affecting said repairs with the balance of deposit, if any, to be credited to the general revenues of the Borough. The holder of the permit shall be considered in default on the permit when the applicant fails to make needed repairs within 10 days after written, regular mail notification from the Superintendent. After a permit is in default, the Borough shall make all necessary repairs without any further notification to the holder of the permit.
Unless written permission is obtained from the Superintendent, no permit holder shall be allowed permission to cut, break into, excavate or open a road, street, avenue or highway for a greater distance than 300 feet at one time or keep the same open for a longer period than one week. For all the period during which such road, street, avenue or highway is being cut, broken into, excavated or opened by the permit holder, there shall be provided by the permit holder a space of street level of at least 10 feet in width for the purpose of allowing vehicles free and unimpeded use of the same. In no event shall a permit be valid for a period of time in excess of 60 days after its issuance without the written approval of the Superintendent.
All cuts, breaks, excavations or openings shall conform in size to the application on which the permit is based and shall be performed in neat, even and rectangular sections. All excavations to a depth of four feet or over, and such other excavations as may be required by the Superintendent of Highway Department, shall be shored and braced to support the walls of the trench in accordance with applicable Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations for the protection of workmen and to prevent the unintentional widening of the trench.
All permit holders shall, whenever any cut, excavation or opening would be dangerous if left exposed, erect a suitable barricade or railing [in accordance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD)] around the same in such manner as to prevent danger to pedestrians or vehicles and place upon such fence or railing and upon any building materials and appliances suitable and sufficient warning lights during the period of darkness.
All permit holders shall keep the area of their work clear of dirt and debris at all times and shall carry away and dispose of excess dirt, debris and other materials resulting from their work.
All moneys received hereunder by the Public Works Department shall be accounted for and deposited with the Borough Treasurer.
In case of any emergency involving any underground gas, water, sewer, telephone or electric facility, where immediate repair is imperative to prevent loss or damage to streets or property or discontinuance of service, it shall not be necessary to obtain a permit before commencing such repair, but such permit shall be obtained within two days thereafter, and this section shall not be held or taken in any case to exempt the person, partnership, association or corporation repairing said facility from any other of the provisions of this article.
The terms of this article shall not apply to a street in any subdivision approved by the Borough of Glassboro Planning Board prior to acceptance of said street for maintenance by the Borough.
A. 
Any person to whom a permit is issued who fails to provide the appropriate notices to either the Borough, the Highway Department Superintendent or any Borough employee charged with the responsibility of inspecting said street opening shall be required to reimburse the Borough of Glassboro for any and all costs incurred in correcting any deficiencies in the street opening or the subsequent repair of same.
B. 
Any person violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions of this article shall, in addition to the liability as set forth above, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine of not less than $500 and not more than $2,000, imprisonment for a term not to exceed 90 days or a period of community service for not more than 90 days, or any combination thereof, at the discretion of the Municipal Court Judge. Each day such violation is committed or permitted to continue shall constitute a separate and distinct offense and shall be punishable as same.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
[Added 8-27-2019 by Ord. No. 19-38]
No permit shall be issued for any street opening which would disturb the pavement of any road having been constructed, reconstructed or overlaid until a period of two years after the completion of said construction, reconstruction or overlay, except in the event of an emergency or hardship as described below. The two-year period as articulated herein shall be calculated from December 31 of the year in which said road was constructed, reconstructed or overlaid and run two years thereafter.
A. 
Notice of improvement. Before any street is improved or paved, the Borough Clerk shall give notice to all persons owning property abutting on the street and to all public utilities and authorities operating in the Borough that the street is about to be paved or improved. Such notice shall state that all connections and repairs to utilities in the street and all other such work which requires excavation of the street, including the installation of sewer laterals and other utility connections from gas or water mains to the curbline of unimproved lots shall be completed within 30 days of the receipt of notice. This subsection shall not excuse any person from the requirement of obtaining a permit as provided herein, except that there will be no requirement of posting a performance guarantee for the street restoration.
B. 
Emergency opening.
(1) 
If an emergency opening is made, telephone notice of the opening shall be immediately given to the Police and Fire Departments of the Borough of Glassboro, and a permit application shall be filed on the next business day.
(2) 
In the event that an entity shall be required to open a street and/or roadway as a result of an emergency, said emergency opening shall be reviewed by the Borough Engineer, and if the Borough Engineer shall determine that no such emergency existed, then the entity so opening the street and/or roadway shall have a fine imposed upon such entity in the amount of $1,000 for the first nonemergency opening, a fine of $5,000 for a second nonemergency opening, and a fine of $10,000 for a third nonemergency opening.
C. 
Hardship condition.
(1) 
In the event in which a property owner has a hardship condition which requires a street opening permit to be issued contrary to this section, the Borough of Glassboro may grant relief if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) 
A letter addressed to the Borough, care of the Borough Clerk, is received detailing the hardship and necessity of opening the street in lieu of waiting the prescribed period of time.
(b) 
Upon receipt of the letter, a public meeting date will be set for the Borough to take formal action.
(c) 
The property owner making the request shall serve a notice to all property owners within 200 feet, by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by personal hand delivery, a minimum of 10 days prior to the public meeting.
(d) 
The property owner shall file a copy of the notice served to adjoining property owners with an affidavit of proof of delivery of notice with the Borough Clerk at least three days prior to the public meeting. The notice must:
[1] 
Identify the property by street address and block and lot.
[2] 
State the reason for the hardship.
[3] 
State the type and size of the utility opening.
[4] 
Advise the adjoining property owners that if they have any objections, they must advise the Borough Clerk, in writing, as to their objections to the proposed street opening at least three days in advance of the public meeting.
[5] 
State the date and time of the public meeting.
[6] 
Be approved by the Borough Clerk prior to mailing.
(2) 
The Borough shall consider the request at a public meeting and review all objections received, in writing. Approval or denial of the request shall be through formal adoption of a resolution.
(3) 
A request which includes the extension of a utility main shall not be considered and will be automatically denied.
(4) 
A request based solely on economic savings shall not be considered and will be automatically denied.
D. 
Roadway restoration.
(1) 
In the event that an emergency or hardship requires the opening of a roadway that has been resurfaced by the Borough during the previous five years, a full width restoration will be required. The restoration will consist of six-inch dense graded aggregate base course, and a six-inch bituminous stabilized base course, Mix I-2, brought to existing grade, within the excavated area. A full width, curb to curb, milling two inches in depth to extend 20 feet beyond the limit of excavations will be performed after proper settlement in the trench area. The allowable time for the settlement shall be 45 days unless otherwise directed by the Borough Engineer. The final surface course shall be a two-inch bituminous concrete surface course, Mix I-5.
(2) 
Trench restoration may be permitted under special circumstances and at the option of the Borough of Glassboro and the Borough Engineer for openings having a minimum impact on the longevity and serviceability of the street in question.