Proposed amendments to a city ordinance would ratchet up the rules for those who want to dig up or excavate city streets.
Ward 8 Councilor Stephen Rourke wants to make several changes to the ordinance, including extending the moratorium on digging up or excavating streets that have been resurfaced or reconstructed from three to five years - that is unless a special permit is granted by the city.
"We're exercising more control over the quality of the streets, so they'll be in better condition for a longer period of time," Rourke said yesterday.
John Tashjian, director of the city's Consolidated Public Works Department, said at Monday's Public Works Committee meeting that he supported Rourke's proposal to extend the time frame.
"I totally agree with the five-year moratorium," Tashjian said. "I think it's a great idea and I think it puts us in line with other communities."
Rourke is also recommending that the ordinance be changed to require a developer or any other entity to present the city with a plan showing the dimensions of the excavated area and the areas that would be resurfaced, before they can be granted a permit to do the work.
He also wants to amend the law so that those seeking permission to excavate or dig up city streets will be required to issue a bond to the city of at least $5,000, which would remain in force for two years following the completion of any resurfacing.
Tashjian told Rourke that the city already requires a $5,000 bond up front, but only for companies to be on the city's list of approved contractors.
Rourke said yesterday that he might be in favor of requiring that the bond issue be required for each resurfacing patch that's done following an excavation.
At Monday's Public Works Committee meeting, Ward 3 Councilor George A. Darcy III said that said there needed to be a bond required from a contractor or developer for every project so that they will follow up to make sure their work is up to snuff.
"Because if it's not worth their while, they won't be back," he said.
The city's ordinance now requires that any excavations that are done within 10 feet of each other be combined when it comes time to resurface the roadway.
Council President Thomas Curtin suggested that be expanded to 20 feet.
"When you drive around city streets, you see these patchworks, which are sometimes 11 feet from each other and it just looks lousy," Curtin said Monday.
Rourke said he would he would revise his proposal and the matter would be discussed at a future meeting.
Richard Conn can be contacted at 781-398-8004 or rconn@cnc.com.
