[Adopted as Ch. 65 of the 1970 Code]
[Amended 3-13-1974]
No person shall dig up any street, sidewalk, curb or public place for any reason or purpose without a written permit from the Superintendent of Public Works.
A. 
Any person desiring such a permit shall make an application in writing therefor, specifying the location where the work is to be done, the purpose of the same and the time within which the work shall be completed and the street, sidewalk, curb or public place replaced or reestablished, and such application shall also state that the work shall be done under the supervision of the Superintendent of Public Works, who must be notified, in writing, of the commencement of the work and of its completion and that such work and the replacement of the street shall be done to the satisfaction of the Superintendent of Public Works, and such application further shall state that the applicant, in the event that a permit is issued, agrees to indemnify and hold the Village of Port Jefferson harmless from all damages and costs by reason of injury to person or property arising directly or indirectly from the opening of such street or by reason of any failure to repair and replace said street to the satisfaction of the Superintendent of Public Works.
(1) 
The intent of this article is to protect the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson from costs and expenses resulting from repairing streets, sidewalks, curbs and/or public places from unrepaired damage caused by digging of such areas, primarily by public utilities and persons/entities engaged in commercial enterprises. For that reason, the Superintendent of Public Works shall have the discretion to waive, in whole or in part, any of the provisions of this Chapter 215 where the person seeking to dig up any street, sidewalk, curb or public place does so with respect to such person’s residence.
[Added 12-21-2009 by L.L. No. 19-2009]
B. 
Surety.
[Amended 12-21-2009 by L.L. No. 19-2009]
(1) 
The Superintendent of Public Works shall not issue such written permit unless, together with such written application, a performance bond, good bank check or security of the applicant, sufficient to cover the full cost of repairing or replacing said street or public place as estimated by the Superintendent of Public Works, shall be furnished to the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson. The amount of the performance bond, bank check or security of the applicant shall be as follows: where the cost of the repair and/or replacement is less than $250,000, the performance bond, bank check or security of the applicant shall be in the sum of $5,000; where such cost is between $250,000 but less than $500,000, the amount of the performance bond, bank check or security of the applicant shall be 5% of such cost; where such cost is in excess of $500,000, the amount of the performance bond, bank check or security of the applicant shall be 10% of such cost.
(2) 
Any performance bond provided pursuant to this section shall be issued by a bonding or surety company, the selection of which shall be subject to the prior written approval of the Board of Trustees. The manner of execution and sufficiency of such performance bond shall be subject to the prior written approval of the Board of Trustees and the Village Attorney. If the applicant submits its own security or submits a bank check, any such security and/or bank check shall be subject to the prior written approval of the Board of Trustees.
C. 
At such time as the work referenced in § 215-1A above is completed, the area wherein the digging took place must be repaired according to New York State Road Specifications. At such time, the person referenced in § 215-1 shall provide to the Village a maintenance bond or substitute security for one year in the sum of $5,000, which bond or substitute security shall be subject to the prior written approval of the Board of Trustees and the Village Attorney. The performance bond called for in § 215-1B above shall not be released until all work has been approved by the Superintendent of Public Works and the maintenance bond or substitute security referenced above provided to the Village.
[Added 12-21-2009 by L.L. No. 19-2009]
Every person to whom such a permit is issued shall, at all times while said work is being done, have such permit at the place where the work is being done and shall exhibit the same to any police officer or to any officer or authorized representative of the Village of Port Jefferson who shall desire to inspect the same.
[Amended 3-13-1974; 3-7-1984 by L.L. No. 2-1984; 11-5-1986 by L.L. No. 8-1986; 8-19-2002 by L.L. No. 8-2002; 12-21-2009 by L.L. No. 19-2009]
The fee for the permit required under this article shall be $500 for each opening to be made in any street, sidewalk, curb or public place. No person required by order of the Board of Trustees to construct or replace sidewalks or curbs shall be required to pay a fee for such a permit.
A. 
Penalties. Any person who digs up any street, sidewalk, curb or public place for any reason or purpose without a written permit from the Superintendent of Public Works, which permit shall be subject to the surety and fee requirements set forth above, shall be subject to a fine in the sum of not less than $2,500. In such event, any subsequent application for such written permit shall require, in addition to the surety and fees set forth above, an additional inspection fee of $500 and the prior payment of the fine referenced above.
B. 
Emergency repairs.
(1) 
In the event that emergency repairs are required resulting from the digging up of any street, sidewalk, curb or public place as provided herein, if required while Village offices are closed or during a time when the Superintendent of Public Works is unavailable, the person responsible for such emergency repairs must immediately notify the Code Enforcement Bureau of the Village who is to inspect the area or areas in need of such emergency repairs, prepare a written report as to such emergency repairs, which report shall be submitted to the Superintendent of Public Works. In such event, an application for a permit to perform such emergency repairs must be submitted to the Superintendent of Public Works by the close of the first business day following the day on which the need for such emergency repairs arose. Failure to make timely application and/or to obtain such permit shall result in a fine of not less than $2,500.
(2) 
In the event of any such need for emergency repairs, the person referenced above shall also be responsible for placing cones, tape, barriers and/or such other required items to give notice to persons in or about the vicinity of such emergency repairs of the existence of the conditions giving rise to such emergency.
No person not otherwise authorized by law to do so shall erect or maintain on or over any street or sidewalk within the Village of Port Jefferson any telegraph, telephone, electrical line or other poles or string any wire, rope or other material over any street or sidewalk within the Village without a permit from the Board of Trustees. All telephone, telegraph, electric light or electric power poles, where the same are located upon the public highways within the Village, shall be marked with the name or initials of the owner or owners of said poles in distinct and legible letters and characters.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 65-5, Placement or hanging of signs, banners or insignia over sidewalks, which immediately followed this section, was repealed 6-11-1992 by L.L. No. 4-1992.
No builder, contractor or workman in control of any operations or repairs upon private property shall obstruct any sidewalk in the Village or endanger the safety of pedestrians over such sidewalk. If such building or repair operations shall necessitate the temporary obstruction of such sidewalk or the existence of a condition making the use of such sidewalk unsafe, the Board of Trustees, in its discretion and subject to such restrictions as it may impose, may authorize the temporary closing of said sidewalk during the period of such operations.
[Amended 6-11-1992 by L.L. No. 4-1992]
The owner or occupant of every building or lot and the owner of every unoccupied building or lot which adjoins upon a sidewalk shall see that said adjoining sidewalk is at all times kept unencumbered and free from dirt, rubbish or other matter which may obstruct the free and proper use of the same.
No person shall encumber any street, sidewalk or public place in the Village with any material whatever or erect or maintain any encroachment, sign or projection in, over or upon any of the streets, sidewalks or public places or make any excavations in or upon said streets, sidewalks or public places or immediately adjoining said streets, sidewalks or public places or obstruct any street, sidewalk or public places within the Village of Port Jefferson so as to hinder, impede and delay free traffic for a period longer than five minutes without a special permit from the Board of Trustees.
Whenever the Superintendent of Public Works shall find that sidewalk or sidewalks adjoining any real property in the Village of Port Jefferson out of repair or in an unsafe and dangerous condition, he may order, in writing, the owner or occupant of said real property to remedy or remove such condition or make such repairs as may be necessary in his judgment. It shall be the duty of every owner or occupant on whom such an order is served to comply with said order within the time specified therein. Service of said order may be made either by delivering a copy of said order to the owner or occupant or by delivering it to any person in charge of said real property or, in case no such person is found, by affixing a copy thereof in a conspicuous place on said property or by mailing a copy of said order to the owner or occupant directed to his last known address.
A. 
Grade. No person shall construct or cause or permit to be constructed a curb or sidewalk of cement, concrete, stone, brick or other similar substance on any street, highway, sidewalk or other public place within the Village of Port Jefferson without obtaining, prior to said construction, from the Superintendent of Public Works the proper grade for such curb or sidewalk.
B. 
Application. It shall be the duty of a person desiring to construct a curb or sidewalk as is described in the foregoing Subsection A to make a written application therefor to the Superintendent of Public Works, designating the street, avenue, highway or public place upon which such curb or sidewalk is to be constructed.
C. 
Elimination of curb cuts. Any curb cut, the existence of which can no longer by justified because of its disuse or location, may be eliminated by order of the Board of Trustees upon application by the Superintendent of Public Works. Any person who owns property upon which such curb cut is located or the access to which such curb cut provides shall be notified at least 10 days before the meeting of the Board of Trustees at which the elimination of such curb cut is to be considered and shall have the opportunity to present arguments or reasons for its existence. In the event that the Board of Trustees shall order such curb cut eliminated, the Village of Port Jefferson shall bear the entire expense of such elimination.
[Added 3-13-1974]
D. 
Width of sidewalks: specifications. The width of sidewalks in the Village of Port Jefferson shall be in accordance with the specifications and regulations established by the Superintendent of Public Works.
[Added 4-15-1971]
In all streets, sidewalks, utility easements and rights-of-way, all new installations, renovations, expansions, extensions and improvements involving 500 feet or more of utility distribution supply lines and/or service connections shall be placed underground. Applications for the installation of underground facilities shall be submitted to the Public Works Commissioner, in a form prescribed by him, for his review and approval.
[Added 3-13-1974; amended 6-11-1992 by L.L. No. 4-1992; 1-5-2015 by L.L. No. 1-2015]
A. 
Failure to obtain a permit required by this article or creating any condition which is the result of action requiring a permit under this article, without first obtaining such permit, shall constitute a violation of this article. Each day that any such condition exists, without the proper permit being first obtained, shall constitute a separate and distinct violation of this article.
B. 
Any person who violates this article or fails to comply with any of its requirements shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to the penalties provided in § 1-2 of the Code of the Village of Port Jefferson.