Utility companies will now be required to do a full-width road repaving if they make any cuts or openings to a road, if the road was repaved within a five-year period.
At the Board of Commissioners meeting on Sept. 22, commissioners unanimously approved an ordinance on second reading amending the code of the borough on streets and sidewalks. The ordinance tightens repaving procedures and how utility companies have to do repairs on roads when they open them. It is an update of an existing ordinance to deal with the issues the borough has had with utility companies making holes in new roads or doing a poor job of repaving the roads.
“What drove this ordinance change is utility companies primarily. We have had a couple of instances where we had brand new roads and the utilities come in and chop them up, putting all kinds of holes in them looking for leaks, and left us with a newly paved road that is in very poor shape,” Commissioner John Moscatelli said.
The update includes more details to the already-existing moratorium including applying for permits, repaving procedures and how repairs should be done.
The biggest change was that if any utility work needs to be done on a road that was repaved within the last five years, the company that has to make any cuts or holes in the road must do a full width repaving for restoration.
When road work is done, the borough will notify residents in the area and make them aware that work is being done, and that if there is anything they want to do that would require a street opening, they would need to do it before the road is redone. Residents will have 45 days from the date of notification to submit any orders for work that requires a road opening.
After a street is repaved, there will be a five-year period where no street opening permits will be issued unless there is an emergency.
“If there is anything that (residents) want to do that requires a street opening, they really need to do it before the road is redone. It is going to be much harder if somebody comes up two years in. It will be a little harder to do now and a little more expensive,” Moscatelli said.
In other news:
• Commissioners gave two proclamations at the meeting, one for Idle Free Zones and the other for Walk to School Day. The first proclamation stated the borough’s support of Idle Free Zones and information on gas emissions and effects of idling.
The second proclamation stated Oct. 7 as Walk to School Day and encouraged everyone to consider pedestrian safety on that day.
• Commissioners adopted the borough’s revised guidelines for board members for all appointed members of borough boards and commissions.
The first guidelines were approved in 2008. Due to some language incidents and one that included the chairman of the zoning board last year, the borough decided to update the guidelines. Commissioners thanked the Human Relations Commission for its help in doing so.
• Commissioners approved Haddonfield Crew Club to host its Ergathon on Sunday, Nov. 15 at Kings Court.
• The next Board of Commissioners meeting will be on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at 7:30 p.m.
