It shall be unlawful for any person to cut, break into, excavate or open any street of the township without first securing a permit from the Township Clerk as required herein, except that with respect to any resident of Franklin Township, such resident shall not be required to place deposits as is otherwise required in Article IV. Residents may coordinate with the Public Works Department for the opening and closing of any streets and shall reimburse the Township of Franklin for reasonable costs involved in such openings and closings (residents being specifically exempted from paying the township administration fee, engineering review fee and security deposit, since such residents pay real estate taxes within the Township of Franklin and such openings would be isolated instances requiring minimum township involvement).
No person to whom a permit has been granted shall perform any work in
any amount or quantity greater than that specified in the permit, except that
upon the approval of the Engineer, additional work may be done under the provisions
of the permit in any amount not greater than 10% of the amount specified in
the permit. Any deposit deposited in connection with the original permit shall
be deemed to cover any such additional work as may be approved pursuant to
this section within the limit mentioned herein.
Work for which a permit has been issued shall commence within 45 days
after the issuance of the permit therefor. If not so commenced, the permit
shall be automatically terminated. Permits thus terminated may be renewed
upon the payment of an additional permit fee as originally required.
Permits are not transferable from one person to another, and the work
shall not be made in any place other than the location specifically designated
in the permit.
Every permit shall expire at the end of the period of time which shall
be set out in the permit. If the permittee shall be unable to complete the
work within the specified time, he shall, prior to expiration of the permit,
present in writing to the Clerk a request for an extension of time, setting
forth therein the reasons for the requested extension. If such an extension
is necessary and not contrary to the public interest, the permittee may be
granted additional time by the Township Clerk for the completion of the work
upon recommendation of such extension by the Township Engineer.
The provisions of this chapter shall not be applicable in those instances
where the highway is maintained by the State of New Jersey or by the County
of Gloucester, except in such cases where the township may have special arrangements
with the state or county.
A.
Any permit may be revoked by the Township Committee after
notice to the permittee for:
(1)
Violation of any condition of the permit or of any provision
of this chapter.
(2)
Violation of any provision of any other applicable ordinance
or law relating to the work.
(3)
Existence of any condition or the doing of any act constituting
or creating a nuisance or endangering the lives or properties of others.
B.
Written notice of any such violation or condition shall
be served upon the permittee or his agent engaged in the work. The notice
shall contain a brief statement of the grounds relied upon for revoking the
permit. Notice may be given either by personal delivery thereof to the permittee
or by certified or registered United States Mail addressed to the permittee.
C.
A permittee may be granted a period of 48 hours from
the date of the notice to correct the violation and to proceed with the diligent
prosecution of the work authorized by the permit before said permit is revoked.
D.
When any permit has been revoked and the work authorized
by the permit has not been completed, the township shall cause such work to
be done as may be necessary to restore the street or part thereof to as good
a condition as before the opening was made. All expenses incurred therein
by the township shall be recovered from the deposit the permittee has deposited
with the township.
It shall be the duty and responsibility of each applicant to:
A.
Make a written application for such permits with the
Township Clerk on such forms as the township shall prescribe. No work shall
commence until the Engineer has approved the application and plan and the
applicant has paid and provided all fees, deposits and certificates required
by this chapter. The Clerk will issue a permit within 14 days after receipt
of the Township Engineer's approval of the permit application and all required
fees, deposits and certificates from the applicants.
B.
Include, in the application, information 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 chapter.
C.
Furnish in triplicate a scaled plan showing the location
of the work to be performed under said permit. If approved by the Engineer,
one copy of such plan shall be returned to the applicant at the time the permit
is granted.
D.
Obtain a permit for each and every opening.
E.
Agree to save the township, its officers, employees and
agents harmless from any and all costs, damages and liabilities which may
accrue or be claimed to accrue by reason of any work performed under said
permit. The acceptance of any permit under this chapter shall constitute such
an agreement by the applicant, whether the same is expressed or not.
F.
Pay a permit and engineering review fee and security deposit in accordance with the requirements of Article IV herein.
G.
Furnish a certificate of insurance as required by Article V of this chapter or, in the case of a public utility or authority, furnish a self-insurer certificate issued by the Security Responsibility Bureau of the Division of Motor Vehicles, Department of Law and Public Safety, for the State of New Jersey.
H.
Keep the original copy of the permit and an approved
copy of the plan in the possession of the party or parties actually doing
the work and, when required, exhibit the same to the Engineer, duly authorized
inspectors or, in the instances of county or state highways, to the respective
inspectors of these authorities.
