Chapter 70 STREETS, SIDEWALKS AND OTHER PUBLIC PLACES[1]

Sec. 70-1. Placing goods, firewood, coal and other articles on street or sidewalk.

No person shall deposit, place or put, or suffer to be deposited, placed or put, by any person in his employ, any goods, wares, firewood, coal or article of any kind, on any sidewalk, or in any part of any public street or highway, except while actually removing the same into or out of some building or enclosure.

(Code 1967, § 22-1)

Cross reference(s)—Obstructing streets, sidewalks, hallways, etc., § 50-2.

Sec. 70-2. Prohibited acts on sidewalks.

No person shall ride, drive or lead any animal or move or trundle any tricycle, bicycle or any vehicle of any kind upon any sidewalk in the town, except light carriages for the convenience of children, or unless for the purpose of necessarily crossing the same; nor shall any person allow any animal belonging to him or under his care to stand on such sidewalks; nor shall any person split, saw or cut any firewood or lumber, or break up any coal on such sidewalks.

(Code 1967, § 22-2)

Sec. 70-3. Excavations.

(a)      Permits. Only excavating contractors or public utility companies (hereinafter "street excavators"), licensed by the town as set forth in subsection (b) below, shall be allowed to dig into or otherwise break the surface of any public street or way in the town. Prior to proceeding with any such digging or excavating in any public street or way in the town, the street excavator shall first obtain from the director of public works a permit which shall be issued only after:

(1)     A plan is filed with the department of public works setting forth the location and extent of the proposed work;

(2)     The applicant has paid the director of public works a fee as set by town council resolution to cover the expenses of the issuance of the permit and the requisite inspections;

(3)     The applicant has filed with the town clerk a bond satisfactory to the director of public works in an amount as follows:

a.        For utility services not exceeding four permits in a calendar year a bond of $10,000.00 shall be sufficient. For each additional utility service permit, the bond shall be increased by $2,500.00.

b.       For utility main replacements, utility main extensions, or similar large projects, a bond or certified check equal to the estimated cost of the street repair as determined by the director of public works, but in no event less than $10,000.00 shall be filed with the town clerk by the applicant.

(4)     The street excavator shall verbally notify the director of public works of any significant deviation from the approved plans prior to performing additional work. The director of public works shall determine if additional bonding is necessary and shall advise the street excavator. The permit and accompanying plans may be modified in writing to allow additional work. Any work performed that significantly deviates from the approved plans, and that has not been approved in writing by the director of public works, shall be grounds for cancellation of the permit. The director of public works or his designee may issue an immediate cease and desist order. The director, upon issuance of such order, shall schedule a hearing, if one is sought in writing by the permit holder, within 48 hours.

(5)     Permit applications shall be submitted to the director of public works as far in advance as possible, but not less than 48 hours in advance of intended project commencement. The applicant shall provide a schedule for the work with the permit application and shall verbally notify the director of public works of any schedule changes. In the event of an emergency, work may commence and/or proceed without a permit, provided that immediate verbal notice is given both to the Officer on Duty of the Tiverton Police Department, and to the director of public works, or if he or she is unavailable, the verbal notice shall be given to the director of public works on the next regularly scheduled business day. A permit application for emergency work shall be submitted to the director of public works within two business days following the emergency work being commenced.

(b)      Drain layers. All persons desiring to be licensed in the town as a drain layer shall file an application with the town clerk accompanied by a license fee as set by town council resolution.

(Ord. of 7-25-11, § 12)

Sec. 70-3.1. Excavations including curb cuts.

(a)      State streets. All excavating including curb cuts on state streets must receive prior approval from the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT).

(b)      Town streets. All excavations including curb cuts on town streets must receive prior approval from the department of public works (DPW) director and shall in accordance with the technical requirements of the RIDOT "Rules and Regulations Concerning Permission for Use of State Highway Rights of Way" and/or as amended by the DPW director.

(Ord. of 10-27-08(2))

Sec. 70-3.2. Excavations.

(a)      Permits. Only an underground utility contractor, as defined in G.L. § 5-65.3-2, duly licensed by the state contractors registration and licensing board as set forth in subsection (b) below, or a public utility, shall be allowed to dig into or otherwise break the surface of any public street or way in the town. Prior to proceeding with any such digging or excavating in any public street or way in the town, the underground utility contractor shall first obtain from the director of public works a permit which shall be issued only after:

(1)     A plan is filed with the department of public works setting forth the location and extent of the proposed work;

(2)     The applicant has paid the director of public works a fee of $50.00 to cover the expenses of the issuance of the permit and the requisite inspections;

(3)     The applicant has filed with the town clerk a bond satisfactory to the director of public works in an amount as follows:

a.        For utility services not exceeding four permits in a calendar year a bond of $10,000.00 shall be sufficient. For each additional utility service permit, the bond shall be increased by $2,500.00.

b.       For utility main replacements, utility main extensions, or similar large projects, a bond or certified check equal to the estimated cost of the street repair as determined by the director of public works, but in no event less than $10,000.00 shall be filed with the town clerk by the applicant.

(4)     The underground utility contractor shall verbally notify the director of public works of any significant deviation from the approved plans prior to performing additional work. The director of public works shall determine if additional bonding is necessary and shall advise the underground utility contractor. The permit and accompanying plans may be modified in writing to allow additional work. Any work performed that significantly deviates from the approved plans, and that has not been approved in writing by the director of public works, shall be grounds for cancellation of the permit. The director of public works or his designee may issue an immediate cease and desist order. The director, upon issuance of such order, shall schedule a hearing, if one is sought in writing by the permit holder, within 48 hours.

(5)     Permit applications shall be submitted to the director of public works as far in advance as possible, but not less than 48 hours in advance of intended project commencement. The applicant shall provide a schedule for the work with the permit application and shall verbally notify the director of public works of any schedule changes. In the event of an emergency, work may commence and/or proceed without a permit, provided that immediate verbal notice is given both to the officer on duty of the Tiverton Police Department, and to the director of public works, or if he or she is unavailable, the verbal notice shall be given to the director of public works on the next regularly scheduled business day. A permit application for emergency work shall be submitted to the director of public works within two business days following the emergency work being commenced.

(b)      Underground utility contractors. All persons or corporations desiring to be licensed by the state contractors registration and licensing board as an underground utility contractor shall obtain said license in accordance with state law.

(1)     Enforcement. Any infraction of this section will be grounds for the public works director and/or the town administrator to file a complaint with the state contractors registration and licensing board, and to seek any administrative remedies or take any enforcement action authorized by state law.

(c)      Finished or hard-surfaced streets. When digging is done in a so-called finished or hard-surfaced street or way, the contractor must comply with the following:

(1)     All excavations in paved street surfaces shall be cut in a neat, straight line. No trench will remain open overnight and the contractor shall schedule his operations accordingly.

(2)     Backfill material shall be suitable sand or gravel, shall be placed in lifts of eight inches and thoroughly compacted by an approved mechanical compactor. Excavated material may be used if approved by the director of public works or a professional engineer. Within 12 inches of the subgrade of the pavement, the backfill material shall be good, clean bank run or processed gravel, compacted in lifts of six inches.

(3)     Temporary pavement or cold mix shall be used and shall be rolled or tamped in place so that the top of the refilled excavation is even with the surrounding road level. No refilled excavation is to be left overnight without some form of approved temporary patch.

(4)     Within a period of not less than two, nor more than three months after excavation is filled, as specified herein, the contractor must remove the temporary patch and replace it with hot bituminous plant mix.

(5)     The patch material shall be equivalent in thickness to the existing abutting pavement, but not less than three inches thick, applied in layers and extended one foot beyond the preceding layer. The surface layer shall be one and one-half inches of bituminous concrete, compacted separately. Under no circumstances will the trench be left overnight without a bituminous material cover.

(6)     Where indicated on the drawings or where directed by the director of public works, the roadway surface shall be repaired by the infrared method. Specifications will be supplied by the department of public works.

(d)      Unpaved or unfinished streets, ways or shoulders. When digging in unpaved streets or ways or along unpaved or unfinished shoulders of hard-paved streets or ways:

(1)     All fills is to be tamped down in layers as it is installed so that the finished work will be brought back to the original height of the road or shoulder.

(2)     The top 12 inches of backfill shall be a good clean bank run or processed gravel compacted in lifts.

(e)      Large projects and curb-to-curb excavations. When a road will be excavated for utility main replacements, utility main extensions, or similar large projects, the contractor shall provide a curb-to-curb overlay after patching. The director of public works shall prescribe the thickness and method of applying the overlay. The director of public works shall also have the discretion to waive curb-to-curb overlay for good cause.

(f)       Traffic control. All work done on town streets is to be planned and scheduled so that a minimum of one lane of the flow of traffic is not interrupted along the street. Excavated material, if interfering with traffic, is to be immediately picked up and removed from the site. When directed by the director of public works or the chief of police, the contractor is to request and pay for the services of a policeman.

(Code 1967, § 22-4; Ord. of 3-25-96; Ord. of 9-28-98; Ord. of 11-25-02; Ord. of 7-24-06(3); Ord. of 10-27-08(2); Ord. of 3-31-16)

Editor's note(s)—An ordinance of October 27, 2008, renumbered this section from § 70-3 as § 70-3.2.

Cross reference(s)—Earth removal, § 38-56 et seq.

Sec. 70-4. Discharge of water onto town roads.

It shall be unlawful for any person to make any connection into a town road drainage system, or to drain, pump or discharge water onto the travelled surface of a town road without first obtaining permission from the director of public works for the town.

(Code 1967, § 22-5)

Sec. 70-5. Drainage.

(a)      No person who intends to grade his property to town road grade shall do so without making provision, at his own expense, for disposition of road drainage by the installation of pipe, inlets, catchbasins, manholes, headwalls and ditches of proper size and material as may be necessary in the determination of the director of public works, to protect the town's drainage rights.

(b)      Where the construction of a driveway necessitates crossing a town road drainage ditch, a culvert pipe shall be installed in the ditch by the person performing such construction at his expense. Under no circumstances will existing ditches, swales or gutters be filled without adequate alternate provisions for drainage being made and approved by the director of public works.

(Code 1967, § 22-6)

Sec. 70-6. Assignment of police officers to construction projects.

(a)      The chief of police shall have the power to assign police officers to any road construction project within the town when it is determined by him that such an assignment is necessary for the public safety.

(b)      The officers so assigned will be paid for such duty by the contractor in accordance with the terms of the agreement entered into between the town and the F.O.P. Lodge #23.

(Code 1967, § 21-18)

Sec. 70-7. Prohibited motorized devices upon roadways.

(a)      It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a motorized device on any public sidewalk, street or roadway. For the purposes of this section, a "motorized device" means a device which may be propelled by human power or helper power or by both, with a motor rated not more than 1½ brake horsepower or two (S.A.E.) horsepower, which is capable of a maximum speed of not more than 30 miles per hour, except vehicles moved exclusively by human power, electric personal assistive mobility devices, including Segways and motorized wheelchairs.

(b)      Any person convicted of willfully violating this section shall for the first offense be subject to a fine not to exceed $100.00 and/or a requirement to perform community service for a total time not to exceed 20 hours over a period not to exceed 30 days during times other than his or her hours of school attendance and employment. For the second offense, he/she/they shall be subject to a fine of $200.00 and/or community service and for the third and any subsequent offense, be subject to a fine of $300.00 and/or community service, provided however that in the event that there are no offenses in three successive years from the date of the last offense, then the next offense shall be treated as a first offense.

(Ord. of 8-23-04)

Sec. 70-8. Energy efficient streetlights.

(a)      Definitions.

(1)     Fixture means the assembly that holds a lamp and may include an assembly housing, a mounting bracket or pole socket, a lamp holder, a ballast, a reflector or mirror, and a refractor or lens;

(2)     Full-cutoff luminaire means a luminaire that allows no direct light emissions above a horizontal plane through the luminaire's lowest light emitting part;

(3)     Glare means direct light emitting from a luminaire that causes reduced vision or momentary blindness;

(4)     Illuminance means the level of light measured at a surface;

(5)     Lamp means the component of a luminaire that produces the light;

(6)     Light trespass means light emitted by a luminaire that shines beyond the boundaries of the property on which the luminaire is located;

(7)     Lumen means a unit of measurement of luminous flux;

(8)     Luminaire means the complete lighting unit, including the lamp and the fixture;

(9)     Permanent outdoor luminaire means any luminaire or system of luminaires that is outdoors and intended to be used for seven days or longer;

(10)   State funds means any bond revenues or any money appropriated or allocated by the general assembly;

(11)   Town funds means any bond revenues or any money appropriated or allocated by a municipality; and

(12)   Town road means any public highway, road, street, avenue, alley, driveway, parkway or place, under the control of the Town of Tiverton, dedicated, appropriated or opened to public travel.

(b)      No state funds or town funds shall be used to install or replace a permanent outdoor luminaire for roadway lighting unless:

(1)     The luminaire is designed to maximize energy conservation and to minimize light pollution, glare and light trespass;

(2)     The luminaire's illuminance is equal to the minimum illuminance adequate for the intended purpose of the lighting;

(3)     For a luminaire with a rated output of more than 1,800 lumens used on town roads, such luminaire is a full-cutoff luminaire; and

(4)     The town council determines that the purpose of the lighting installation or replacement on town roads cannot be achieved by reducing the speed limit in the area to be lighted or by installing reflectorized roadway markers, lines, warnings, informational signs, or other means of passive or reflective lighting.

(c)      No public utility company or electrical installer may install or replace a permanent outdoor luminaire for roadway lighting in the Town of Tiverton if the cost of operating such luminaire is paid for by town funds unless subdivisions (1), (2), (3), and (4) of subsection (b) of this section are satisfied.

(d)      The town council may waive the provisions of subsection (b) of this section when, after a request for such a waiver has been made and reviewed, the town council determines that such a waiver is necessary for the lighting application. Requests for such a waiver shall be made to the town council in such a form as the town clerk shall prescribe and shall include, without limitation, a description of the lighting plan, a description of the efforts that have been made to comply with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section, and the reasons such a waiver is necessary. In reviewing a request for such a waiver, the town council shall consider design, safety, costs, and any other factors deemed appropriate.

(e)      Nothing in this section shall be construed as to require that any luminaire or streetlight in the Town of Tiverton must be replaced. The provisions of this section shall only apply when new permanent outdoor luminaires are installed or existing permanent outdoor luminaires are replaced.

(Ord. of 9-12-11(2))