ARTICLE III, Excavations

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ARTICLE III, Excavations

§ 197-16. Permission required; conditions to be established.

A. No person shall injure or tear up, excavate in, hydraulic jack, bore under or interfere in any manner with any highway, street, curbing, sidewalk, crosswalk, drain or sewer or any part thereof, nor shall he dig any hole, ditch or drain or erect any pole in any highway, street, curbing, sidewalk, crosswalk or any public place or park in the village, without first having obtained permission, in writing, from the Superintendent of Public Works or other official designated by the Board of Trustees.

B. The Superintendent of Public Works or other official so designated shall state the period during which the work may be performed and establish such other conditions and provisions so as to save the village harmless and protect the public, including but not limited to, the furnishing of bonds, insurance, safeguards and warning. The basic conditions and provisions are hereinafter set forth.

§ 197-17. Overnight openings; emergency openings.

A. No person shall dig or cause to be dug any hole or trench in any street, lane or alley of the village and not properly refill the same before dark of the day during which the same was dug, unless he shall request permission from the Superintendent of Public Works to leave such hole or trench open during the following night, protected by suitable guards and signals, giving the exact location thereof, before 2:30 p.m. of the day during which said hole or trench was dug, and unless he shall further protect such hole or trench by suitable guards and signals.

B. In case of any emergency arising at night, Sundays or legal holidays and on other occasions when village offices are closed when an immediate excavation may be necessary for the protection of public or private property, the same shall be reported to the Police Department, which may grant permission to make the necessary excavation upon the express condition that an application be made in the manner herein provided on or before 12:00 noon of the next following business day.

§ 197-18. Application for permit; permit fee.

A. Any person desiring to procure a permit as herein provided, shall file with the Village Clerk's office at least twenty-four (24) hours before the time proposed to begin such work a written application upon a form prepared and provided by the village. Such application shall state the applicant's name; the name of the street, alley, curbing, sidewalk or public place in or under which it is desired to make the excavation or opening; the purpose, size and location the proposed excavation or opening; the names and business or residential address of the person for whose benefit the work is to be done; and the time during which it is desired for such opening to be permitted.

B. When required by the Superintendent of Public Works, the application shall be accompanied by a plat, pencil tracing or sketch showing the location, character and dimensions of the proposed excavation or opening for the installation of new work or the location and character of the alterations involving the location of pipes, conduits, wires or other conductors.

C. A permit fee of fifteen dollars ($15.) per pavement, road or curb cut is required at time of application.

§ 197-19. Surety; bond; insurance.

A. Surety. A certified check made payable to the village in the sum of two hundred dollars ($200.) per each street cut area of fifty (50) square feet or less and fifteen dollars ($15.) for each curb cut, shall be filed with the application by the contractor as a guaranty that all public street pavement and curb cuts will be properly repaired. The surety shall be retained by the village until the Superintendent of Public Works deems it necessary to return the check upon satisfactory completion of the work. In the case of a street opening, the surety will be held for one (1) year after permanent pavement has been replaced. During the one-year period, the restored street opening will be the responsibility of the applicant and deterioration of an opening may result in appropriate legal action being taken against the surety and/or applicant. The surety may be held for future work if the permittee so requests, in writing, to the Village Clerk-Treasurer.

B. Deduction from surety. Replacement or restoration of any pavement of surface which is delayed by more than thirty (30) days or repavement, which is not done in accordance with the village's applicable general construction policy may be repaired by the Department of Public Works or a private contractor engaged by the village, and the cost of the same, plus any other incidental expenses, shall be deducted from surety on file.

C. Bond. Applicants operating in or using any of the streets under a franchise may file a bond in the penal sum of one thousand dollars ($1,000.), or more if required, in lieu of the surety of two hundred dollars ($200.). A public utility may, in lieu of the one-thousand-dollar bond required, file an agreement that it will perform the work required by the village and guarantee the same for the life of the adjoining pavement or until such time as the street is resurfaced.

D. Liability insurance. All street opening applicants shall have and maintain adequate liability insurance [minimum one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.)] and file a certificate of insurance with the Village Clerk-Treasurer's office, with a ten-day, prior notice of cancellation clause.

§ 197-20. Excavations on private lands adjoining streets.

Any person who shall make or cause to be made any cellar, pit, hole or excavation upon his or her lot or upon a lot occupied by any such person, adjoining to and within four (4) feet of the fence line of any public street or alley of this village shall cause the same to be protected by the erection of good and sufficient guards and barriers between such cellar, pit, hole or excavation and the fence line of the street, the same to extend the length of such cellar, pit, hole or excavation.

§ 197-21. (Reserved)