Municipal Code Chapter 16.20 IMPROVEMENTS

Town of Emmitsburg
300A S. Seton Ave Emmitsburg, Maryland
21727
240-629-6300

Code Index | Title: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

Title 16: Subdivisions

16.04 General Provisions
16.08 General Requirements
16.12 Procedures Generally
16.16 Design Standards
16.20 Improvements
16.24 Preliminary Plats
16.28 Final Plats
16.32 Modifications and Exceptions
16.36 Fees
16.40 Amendments
16.44 Appeals
16.48 Forest Conservation

Chapter 16.20 IMPROVEMENTS

16.20.010 General.

All improvements in a subdivision shall conform with these standards and specifications, and other requirements which may be adopted by the town or Frederick County, or by such other governmental agencies which may have jurisdiction over each facility, as stipulated below. Nothing, however, shall be construed as prohibiting a subdivider from installing improvements of a higher type than the minimum required herein. All water and sewer improvements shall comply with the "Frederick County General Conditions and Standard Specifications for Water Mains, Sanitary Sewers and Related Structures" unless otherwise noted in these regulations. (Prior code Appx. B Art. VIII § 8.1)

Section 16.20.020 Minimum Requirements

General.
1. All new streets shall have curb and gutter.
  1. Curb and gutter may be installed by the slipform method. Strict adherence to typical section is required. Work which deviates from the specified typical section or which exhibits excessive honey combing, sagging, exposed aggregate, poor workmanship or other structural or alignment deficiencies shall be rejected and the work redone.
  2. All inlet shall be Maryland State Highway Administration type WR single grate, except in sump areas. In sump areas a Maryland State Highway Administration standard WR inlet shall be used at the low point of the sump.
2. The developer will provide all storm drains necessary to give adequate drainage within the subdivision.
  1. All storm drain pipe shall be either reinforced concrete or fully bituminous coated corrugated metal or aluminized steel type 2 corrugated steel pipe.
  2. Spacing of storm drain inlets shall be designed to limit the spread of water along the curbline to a maximum of eight feet.
  3. Crusher run or stone dust is to be used as bedding and cover material when suitable rock-free backfill is not available.
3. All water and sewer lines in the development shall be installed by the developer to the town's specifications. All taps (connections) shall be made by the developer, and the regular tap (connection) fees currently in force shall be imposed.
4. All engineering services necessary for the installation of streets, curb and gutter, and of the water and sewer will be provided by the developer with the approval of the town.
5. All new streets shall be graded and drained, base material applied, curb and gutter constructed, surface treatment applied, utilities installed, all in accordance with the standards of design and construction adopted by the town or may hereafter be adopted.
Water Facilities. Every subdivision shall be provided with a community water supply and distribution system including a connection for each lot and appropriately spaced fire hydrants. The source of supply shall be the municipal water system. At the time of installation of the water distribution lines, a connection shall be made and a service line installed to the curb line of each lot.
1. All fire hydrants shall be M & H Model 929 or as approved by the town and county code.
2. All valve boxes shall be of cast iron. PVC boxes, in part or whole, are not permitted.
3. All curb stops shall be ball valve type, Ford Model B44 or equal. Curb stops and box shall be located one foot behind the sidewalk (toward the property).
4. Duplexes and townhouse units only, one service line off the main may be used to serve two units. If this option is chosen the service line shall be one inch from the main to the property line. A "Y" branch (one inch by three-fourths inch by three-fourths inch) shall then be installed and a curb stop and box installed on each branch off the "Y."
5. Compression fittings are required for all corporation stops, "Y" branch connections, house connections and curb valves. Flared fittings are not permitted.
6. Water meters (sized two inch and under) shall be according to town code Chapter 13.04 Water System. A jumper wire shall be installed across the meter (from pipe to pipe) to provide for an uninterrupted ground should the meter be removed. All water meters are to be installed pursuant to the direction of the town manager.
7. "L" copper service lines are not permitted in Emmitsburg. "K" copper or an acceptable equal is required.
8. Copper house connections from the main to the curb stop shall be bedded and covered with sand when suitable rock-free backfill is not available.
9. Unless permission is otherwise granted, all service line taps shall be made by the wet tap method. (Water main under pressure).
10. Emmitsburg is underlain by a hard red shale which in many areas is close enough to the surface to interfere with utility installation. Due to the frequency of rock excavation requiring undercut and backfill all trenches for pipe installation shall be undercut six inches below subgrade and backfilled with crusher run or stone dust. Use crusher run or stone dust as trench backfill to a point one foot above the top of the pipe. From this point on backfill as specified in the Frederick County "General Conditions and Standard Specifications" and "Standard Details."
Sewer Facilities. Every subdivision shall be provided with a complete sanitary sewer system connected to the municipal system. When connected to the municipal system, it shall be constructed to meet the standards and requirements of each system and shall become a part thereof. At the time of installation of the sanitary sewer collection system a "Y" connection shall be provided and a lateral installed to each lot. The lateral will terminate at the R/W line or property line with a cleanout and tightly sealing end cap.
1. Sanitary sewer lines shall be PVC, Schedule 40 or SDR 35.
2. Emmitsburg permits the use of inside manhole drops per Frederick County Standard Detail 204A.
3. Emmitsburg requires the "A-loc" type of gasket to seal the sewer pipe to the manhole. (or as approved of by the town)
4. Emmitsburg is underlain by a hard red shale which in many areas is close enough to the surface to interfere with utility installation. Due to the frequency of rock excavation requiring undercut and backfill all trenches for pipe installation shall be undercut six inches below subgrade and backfilled with granular material. Use granular material as trench backfill to a point one foot above the top of the pipe. >From this point on backfill as specified in the Frederick County "General Conditions and Standard Specifications" and "Standard Details."
Drainage. Every subdivision shall be provided with storm drains, culverts, drainage ways, or other works adequate to collect and dispose of all water originating on or flowing across the property without inundating or damaging roads, lots, or other conformity with the standards and specifications adopted or may hereafter be adopted by town or county. The county engineer shall review the plans of those facilities which may be within his jurisdiction and give his recommendations to the mayor and commission.
1. All storm water management ponds and similar open facilities retaining water at a depth greater than three feet and/or having side slopes steeper than 3:1 must be fenced.
2. Fencing to be of wood, metal, plastic or masonry materials with a minimum height of forty-two (42) inches. Fence to be constructed so as to resist from any direction a horizontal force of twenty (20) pounds per square foot applied over the gross area of the fence. The fence shall be constructed so that it is not penetrable by small children.
3. All such fence enclosures shall completely enclose the entire pond and/or similar open facility and shall be provided with a gate (large enough to service appropriate maintenance equipment) that is equipped with a locking device that can only be opened from the inside of said fence.
4. The design, lay-out, location and material of all such fences must be approved by the planning commission.
Topsoil shall be removed from residential lots or used as spoil, but shall be redistributed to its former depth and in all cases, good soil conservation practices shall be used to prevent soil erosion and siltation during and after subdivision development.
Street Signs. A name sign of an approved design shall be erected by the town at each new street or road intersection. Cost associated with the purchase and installation of the sign and post is borne by the developer.
Monuments and Pipes. Permanent monuments shall be placed, as required for markers in Article 17, Section 59 of the 1957 edition of the Annotated Code of Maryland (or as revised and/or amended). After the grading is completed, the subdivider must see that monuments are at proper locations. Iron pipes shall be set along the property line of all streets and roads at points of intersection, curvature or tangency, and at such points along the subdivision boundaries not already marked by monuments.
Street Lighting. Every subdivision shall be provided with street lights. A separate street lighting plan shall be submitted with the improvement plans.
The developer shall keep a working set of as-built drawings during construction. After construction is complete, a final set of as-built drawings, one set of reproducibles and one set of prints, shall be furnished to the town.
1. The developer shall coordinate the installation of other utilities, gas, telephone, electric, TV cable, to the extent that common trench installations may be used whenever possible. A preliminary plan shall be sent to each utility for their use in designing the plan for their buried facilities. Each utility shall submit a plan for installation of their utilities to the town for review and approval prior to beginning construction.
2. No utility construction shall begin until all locations have been approved.
3. As-built drawings shall be kept and two sets of clean, legible as-builts shall be furnished to the town after construction.
4. All utilities mentioned in subsection (J)(1) of this section shall provide warning tape over top all their installations. Tape shall be installed one foot directly above the utility and have appropriate markings on the tape indicating the type of buried utility underneath.
Proposed schedules of development and updates must be furnished to the town in a timely manner.
Written notice of intent to start work must be provided to the town no later than ten business days prior to the proposed start date.
Submittals must be provided on all materials to be used in the development of the project and approved by the town before any of the materials are delivered to the project site. All materials and workmanship must meet and/or exceed all applicable requirements for the work being performed.
Construction is to be done Monday through Saturday between the hours of seven a.m. and eight p.m. and Sundays nine a.m. and seven p.m. Any construction to be done outside of the aforementioned time frame requires the approval of the town manager.
The town of Emmitsburg is requiring all contractors who install new water mains to follow the procedures listed below before any mains are to be connected to the town's water distribution system.
1. When filling the pipe with water, an approved liquid chlorine slurry will be added to the fill water. When the pipe is full, check for chlorine level in pipe.
2. A two-hour hydrostatic leak test will be conducted at a pressure no less than of one hundred fifty (150) pounds psi.
3. After the two-hour leak test has been approved by the town, a twenty-four (24) hour test will be done at the town's normal operating pressure. Currently, the normal operating pressure is approximately eighty (80) pounds psi. The town representative will notify you if this pressure has changed.
4. After the twenty-four (24) hour leak test, the town requires the pressure to be taken up to a minimum of one hundred fifty pounds (150) psi for fifteen (15) minutes. Record the amount of water required to return the pressure to the low pressure test level and the high pressure test level. Once approval is acquired, the main is to be flushed out until a 1.0 mg/l chlorine residual is met. The testing will be done by the town. The flushing water will be discharged into a sanitary sewer. At no time will the discharge water be allowed to run off, causing any discharge into any nearby streams or fields.
5. Once the chlorine residual of 1.0 mg/l has been met, a bacterial sample will be collected by the town of Emmitsburg water department.
6. Once the results from the lab show the water is safe for human consumption, the main can then be approved to be connected into the distribution system.
7. The town requires forty-eight (48) hours advanced notice before the testing is to be done. (Ord. 06-09 § 1 (part): Ord. 02-12: (part) Ord. 01-16; Ord 01-01; Ord. 00-15; Ord. 99-03; Ord. 98-13; Ord. 96-18; Ord. 96-04 § 1 (part): prior code Appx. B Art. VIII § 8.2)

16.20.030 Improvement plans.

Plans for the foregoing improvements shall be prepared by a registered professional engineer for review by the appropriate public authorities prior to construction. Such plans shall be sufficient to show the proposed location, sizes, type, grades, and design features of each facility, including the following:

Profiles. Profile of each street center line, with grades (including projections beyond the subdivision boundaries where significant), and showing water and sewer lines, manholes, culverts, streams, etc. Scale: one inch to fifty (50) feet horizontal, one inch to five feet vertical or larger.
Cross-sections. Typical street cross-sections for all streets, at a scale not smaller than one inch to five feet, showing width of curbs, sidewalks, trees, utilities, etc. Where considerable cuts or fills are required, special cross-sections shall be shown on the plan. A grading plan showing existing and proposed contours may be furnished in lieu of special cross-sections.
Sanitary and Storm Drains. Location plans and profiles for proposed sanitary and storm sewers or drains, with grades and pipe sizes indicated.
Water System. Location plan of proposed water distribution system showing pipe sizes and locations for valves and fire hydrants.
Street Lights. Location plan and details for proposed street lights shall be submitted. Minimum requirements include:
1. All lighting shall be high pressure sodium;
2. All electrical service lines shall be installed underground and shall be metered from a commercial service;
3. Maximum height of street lights shall be fifteen (15) feet in residential zones and (20) feet in commercial and industrial zones;
4. Street light details shall include photometries for proposed fixture;
5. All applicable county and NEC regulations shall be adhered to;
6. The style of light fixtures shall be approved by the planning commission and the mayor and commissioners.
7. The developer shall submit a design layout for street light installation. Information shall include (but not be limited to):
  1. Plans depicting light locations and controller locations;
  2. Manufacturer's catalog information and design specifications;
  3. Photometrics of the proposed fixture.
8. Lighting Standards.
  1. Maintain a minimum of .25 foot-candles of light on local access streets. At street intersections a minimum of .5 foot-candles of light is required;
  2. Maintain a minimum of .5 foot-candles of light on all collector streets;
  3. In commercial areas, maintain a minimum of 1.0 foot-candles of light at street level; in all parking areas and pedestrian walking areas. (Ord. 06-09 § 1 (part) Ord. 96-04 § 1 (part): prior code Appx. B Art. VIII § 8.3)

16.20.040 Inspection and acceptance.

All construction work on improvements required herein shall be subject to inspection during and upon completion of construction by an authorized representative of the town. Approval and acceptance may be made by such representative with the town manager's consent, if found to be in accordance with the approved plan.
Costs of on-site inspection, and/or review of feasibility or construction plans shall be born by the developer. Said costs to be paid prior to the issuance of a zoning certificate or building permit. (Ord 06-09 § 1 (part): prior code Appx. B Art. VIII § 8.4)

16.20.050 Improvement plans review fees.

To partially defray the expense of reviewing improvement plans, a fee shall be paid to the town. This fee must be paid prior to entering into a public works agreement with the town. Fee shall be two hundred dollars ($200.00) per sheet. (Includes title sheet, plans, profiles, misc. and special details, excludes those sheets reviewed by county, state agencies for required permits.) (Ord. 06-09 § 1 (part): Prior code Appx. B Art. VIII § 8.5)

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