[Adopted 12-2-1970 by Ord. No. 276]
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to
make any opening or excavation in or under any street, alley or thoroughfare
within the limits of the Borough of West Conshohocken unless and until
a permit therefor is secured from the Borough Secretary for each separate
undertaking, such permit and the application therefor to be in the
form prepared by the Secretary, which shall contain a statement that
the application agrees with the terms of this article. Permits herein
are intended to include a permit to connect with the sanitary sewer
system when such system is installed within the Borough or to open
or to make an excavation in connection therewith.
[Revised 7-8-1975 by Ord.
No. 305; amended 3-10-2009 by 2009-01, approved 3-10-2009]
The charge for said permit shall be listed in the Borough's
adopted fee schedule which may be amended from time to time by resolution.[1]
It shall be the duty of any person, firm or corporation to whom
a permit is issued or by whom any opening or excavation is made as
aforesaid to provide and maintain proper and adequate guards, barriers
and lights to prevent accidents, and such person, firm or corporation
shall assume all risks and be liable for all damages by reason of
the openings and excavations and by reason of any failure to properly
fill the hole or trench.
It shall be the duty of any person, firm or corporation causing
an opening or excavation to be made to thoroughly and completely fill
the same, puddling and ramming so as to prevent any settling thereafter.
A.
It shall be the duty of any person, firm or corporation causing an
opening or excavation to be made in any street, after refilling the
opening or excavation as hereinbefore provided, to complete the refilling
and to resurface the opening, including a six-inch cutback on all
four sides thereof, as follows:
(2)
Openings in excess of 18 square feet of street surface area.
(a)
Refill with a six-inch thickness of ballast containing sufficient
screening to secure the stones from moving when and if the excavation
settles.
(b)
Add a two-inch thickness of binder, I.D. 2.
(c)
Complete with a one-inch thickness of blacktop macadam machine-tamped
or rolled completely level and even with the surrounding street surface.
B.
Any person or persons, firm, company, corporation or utility granted a permit under § 99-21 of this article shall, at his or their own cost and expense, keep and maintain each and every portion of the street immediately over and above the excavations made in pursuance of the permit granted, in good condition and repair for a period of two years following the date of completion of the work.
C.
No person or persons, firm, company, corporation or utility shall
make any opening in any street without having first posted a bond
to cover refilling, resurfacing, maintenance and repairs and any damage
that may accrue therefrom or be caused thereby. Firms, companies and
utilities shall furnish a two-year bond in the amount of $25,000 per
year. All other bond requirements shall be proportionate to the cost
of the work, maintenance and damage that might accrue. In lieu of
the bond, the Borough Secretary or Chairman of the Street Committee
may authorize the applicant for a permit to post a cash deposit of
not less than $75 to cover the cost of refilling, resurfacing and
maintaining a street opening for a period of two years from the date
of completion thereof. If, after said two-year period has expired,
the permit holder has fulfilled all his duties and obligations under
this article, said deposit, by motion of Borough Council, shall be
refunded.
In no case shall any opening or excavation made by any person,
firm or corporation be considered in the charge or care of the Borough
or any officer or person employed by the Borough, and no officer or
employee is authorized to in any way take or assume any jurisdiction
over any such opening or excavation. However, if the person, firm
or corporation causing the opening to be made deems it to his or its
advantage to employ the same workmen as do similar work for the Borough,
such person, firm or corporation may do so.
The permits provided for by this article shall be issued by
the Borough Secretary when directed to do so by the Chairman of the
Street Committee, who shall, prior to issuing such directive, review
the application for the permit with the Borough Engineer and secure
his advice as to whether it is in the best interests of all concerned
to grant the said permit.
From and after the enactment of this article, no corporation,
firm or individuals shall be issued a permit by the authorities of
the Borough to make any excavations in the highways of the Borough
of West Conshohocken for the installation of water, gas, sewer or
other service pipes or for any other purpose whatsoever where such
highways have been paved or resurfaced with a permanent pavement or
with Tarvia macadam or which shall hereafter be so improved and paved
within the period of five years from the passage of this article or
within five years from the time said highways shall hereafter be paved
with a permanent pavement or with Tarvia macadam, unless permission
to do so is specially granted by the Council of the Borough under
such regulations and conditions as the Council shall prescribe.
Before any of the highways of the Borough shall hereafter be
paved with a permanent pavement or with Tarvia macadam, 30 days'
notice in writing shall be given by the Street Committee of Council
to all owners of buildings and of vacant lots abutting upon such highways
to make all needed replacements of or repairs to such service pipes
now installed in such highways and to install such service pipes where
none now exist.
From and after the passage of this article, no person or corporation
shall erect or construct or cause to be erected or constructed a crossing
or driveway over the gutters of this Borough nor in any way block
or obstruct the gutters or allow said gutters to be blocked or obstructed
so as to prevent the free passage of water or to divert the water
from the gutters to the street whereby damage is caused to said street.
The Street Committee is hereby authorized and directed to remove
any private bridges or gutter covering which diverts a part of or
all of the water from the gutter into the street and thereby damages
the roadbed of the latter, provided the said Committee shall first
give the owner or person maintaining the bridge or gutter covering
20 days' notice to so reconstruct the same so as not to interfere
with the free flow of water in the gutter.
[Added 7-8-1975 by Ord. No. 305; amended 10-12-2010 by Ord. No.
2010-14, approved 10-12-2010]
Any person violating the provisions of this article shall be subject to the provisions detailed in Chapter 53A of the Code of the Borough of West Conshohocken.
