(a) General.
(1) All installation of new, or maintenance of existing, Improvements shall be in accordance with the current City of Carmel standards or of the federal, state or local government agency that have jurisdiction such installation and maintenance activities and in accordance with § 6-220(b)(7) of this code.
(2) No construction activity, installation of improvements or clearing of any vegetation or ground cover shall occur in areas designated as Tree Preservation Easement.
(3) No construction activity, installation of Improvements or clearing of any vegetation or ground cover shall occur within a platted or dedicated landscape easement with the exception of additional tree or plant material or other vegetation with the approval of the City of Carmel Urban Forester.
(4) Excepting those improvements allowed by other codes or ordinances or allowed by a permit from the Board of Public Works and Safety pursuant to Carmel City Code § 8-67, no construction or other materials utilized to improve or maintain the premises or temporary or permanent improvements, shall be installed, placed or stored:
a. Within a platted or dedicated drainage, sanitary, utility or other designated easement.
b. Within areas designated as Flood Route.
c, Within platted or dedicated right-of-way or public ground.
d. Upon, in or under any street, greenway or alley.
(5) No person shall alter or modify existing grading or ground surface elevations within easements or rights-of-way at any time.
(6) No person shall alter or modify existing City of Carmel, public or other improvements within easements or rights-of-way at any time without proper approvals.
(7) Grading, filling, excavating or any change in the grade of the premises is permitted outside of platted or dedicated easements or rights-of-way, but shall be acceptable in appearance, shall not cause, create or result in or represent the potential to cause, create or result in a detriment and shall not result in the diversion of stormwater.
(8) For all work in the City of Carmel right-of-way, the owner or responsible party shall:
b. Notify the Department of Engineering Right-of-Way Manager and Construction Manager at least 24 hours in advance of the start of construction within the right-of-way.
c. Restore the right-of-way as requested by the City during and at the completion of construction. This shall include, but not be limited to repair and/or complete removal and replacement to current City standards of damaged curbing, pavement, sidewalk, sod, grass, trees, or other vegetation. Determination of damaged public improvements shall be the sole discretion of the City.
d. Prior to starting the work, schedule a pre-construction meeting with the Department of Engineering to review the Department's construction requirements, staff notification requirements, required inspections for certain stages of the work and to review the authority of the Department as it relates to work within the City right-of-way.
e. Provide an acceptable traffic control plan for the work within the right-of-way and obtain Department of Engineering approval of the plan prior to commencing the work in the event that closure of any lanes of travel of the public street necessary for completion of the work and such closure is approved by the Board of Public Works and Safety.
f. Post traffic control devices at the locations on the approved traffic control plan and notification of the Department of Engineering of such postings at least one week in advance of the start of construction.
(b) Permits and bonds.
(1) Pursuant to Carmel City Code § 8-65, the owner or responsible party shall obtain proper permits and post proper bonds or other performance guarantees required by the City for all work in right-of-way and for connections to a public drainage system prior to starting the work. Work in the right-of-way is subject to inspection and acceptance by the City.
(2) The owner or responsible party shall obtain all other permits and post all other performance guarantees required by the City and shall obtain all other permits from other federal, state or local government agencies having jurisdiction over such installation and construction activities prior to starting the work.
(3) The owner or responsible party shall provide written approval from the homeowners association to the City for all proposed installation of new, or maintenance of existing, improvements if the approval of the homeowners association for such work is stipulated in the restrictive covenants.
(c) Review and approval.
(1) The City, and in some instances the homeowners association, depending on the restrictive covenants of subdivision, reserves the right to review, approve or deny any and all proposed improvements, or modifications to existing improvements on the premises, within the right-of-way or within platted or dedicated easements.
(2) The City may provide technical advice to the owner or responsible party for installation of proposed improvements or modifications to existing improvements but assistance will be limited to advice only. The City assumes no responsibility if the improvement does not function properly or as intended.
(3) Prior to installing any new, or conducting maintenance of existing, improvements on the premises, within platted or dedicated easements or within the right-of-way, the owner or responsible party shall review the covenants for any restrictions related to the installation or maintenance activities. The City will not approve installation of Improvements that violate existing restrictive covenants.
(d) Board of Public Works and Safety approval.
(1) Board of Public Works and Safety Approval is required for, but not limited to, the following:
a. Request for additional curb cut access to serve a residential property;
c. Proposed modifications of existing commercial or residential driveways and drive aprons within the right-of-way.
d. Proposed open cuts into existing pavement or curbs, or into any portion thereof, or to excavate therein, or to excavate beneath the surface thereof for any reason.
e. Closure of any lanes of travel of the public street necessary for completion of the work.
f. Removal of existing driveways.
g. Temporary construction entrances or other type of temporary access if not located at the existing driveway, curb cut or main property access point, if said entrance or other type of temporary access is proposed from a roadway bearing a designation on the City of Carmel 20-year Thoroughfare Plan.
(e) Private drainage systems.
(1) Proposed private drainage systems and modifications to existing private drainage systems shall be constructed as a legal connection or a legal discharge and in accordance with § 6-220(b)(7) of this code.
(2) All proposed private drainage systems or modifications to existing private drainage systems are subject to review by the City. The owner or responsible party shall submit a plan and other requested documentation for review and approval by the City. If review and approval authority lies with another federal, state or local government agency, the City shall direct the owner or responsible party to file the information with the appropriate agency.
(3) All premises shall be graded so as to prevent the accumulation of stagnant water thereon, within any structure located thereon, or on other premises. Stagnant water shall be determined as any accumulation that has not dispersed within seven days of the last recorded local rainfall, with the exception of stormwater detention or stormwater quality facilities approved and or permitted by the City.
(4) It shall be prohibited to install improvements into or within any watercourse or within the limits of the easements in which the watercourses are located.
(5) Connections to the public drainage system shall only be performed by contractors bonded with the City. In accordance with subsection (b)(1) of this section, this work is subject to inspection by the City.
(f) Stormwater Quality Best Management Practices. If maintenance activity necessitates the reconstruction of the Stormwater Quality Best Management Practices, or portions thereof, the work shall be approved, permitted, bonded and reconstructed in accordance with the approved Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan, City codes and other federal, state or local government agency standards governing the installation and maintenance of Stormwater Quality Best Management Practices and in accordance with § 6-220(b)(7) of this code.
(g) Erosion control, sediment control and stormwater quality during the work.
(1) No soil runoff shall be permitted from the premises during and after installation of any improvement or maintenance thereof.
(2) Erosion control, sediment control and stormwater quality measures shall be installed and shall be maintained for the duration of the work and are subject to inspection by the City. Installation of erosion control, sediment control and stormwater quality measures shall conform to § 6-220(b)(7) of this code.
(3) The City reserves the right to install erosion control, sediment control and stormwater quality measures or to maintain and/or repair existing erosion control, sediment control and stormwater quality measures due to lack of installation or maintenance of installed measures for Improvement projects by the owner or responsible party at the owner's or responsible party's expense if lack of maintenance or state of disrepair is determined, at the sole discretion of the City, to cause, create or result in or represent the potential to cause, create or result in a detriment.
(h) Driveways.
(1) The City shall allow one curb cut access to each premises served by City streets and roadways unless otherwise approved by The Board of Public Works and Safety. The City shall determine the type of access provided to each curb cut that is in the best interest of public safety.
(2) Temporary construction entrances or other type of temporary access that are not located at the existing driveway, curb cut or main property access point shall be approved by the Board of Public Works and Safety pursuant to subsection (d)(1) of this section or approved by the Department of Engineering if Board of Public Works and Safety approval is not required.
(3) Temporary construction entrances or other type of temporary access that are not located at the existing driveway, curb cut or main property access point shall be installed or the access provided at the approved location. Temporary construction entrances shall be constructed in strict accordance with current City standards and shall be in accordance with all provisions of this subsection. At the time stipulated by the Board of Public Works approval, the temporary construction entrance (if constructed) shall be completely removed in accordance with subsection (10) below and the right-of-way at the point of access, and in the vicinity of the point of access if affected by the work and vehicular or other traffic associated with the access, restored in accordance with subsection (a)(8) of this code.
(4) In all cases where an existing driveway, curb cut or main property access is utilized as a construction entrance or other type of temporary access, the existing improvements within the right-of-way shall be restored in accordance with subsection (a)(8) of this code when the work is complete.
(5) Pursuant to Carmel City Code §§ 8-62 and 8-65, Right-of-Way Permits, and proper posting of right-of-way bonds or performance bonds (at the discretion of the City) are required for all modifications to the portions of the existing drives that are located in the right-of-way, installation of new driveways within the right-of-way, temporary construction entrances or other type of temporary access, and use of an existing driveway, curb cut or main property access as a temporary construction entrance or other type of temporary access, whether or not the work requires approval by the Board of Public Works and Safety.
(6) The portions of proposed driveways within the right-of-way or modifications to the portion of existing driveways within the right-of-way shall be constructed of concrete, unless the restrictive covenants or other prevailing conditions warrant an asphalt drive. The portion of the driveway within the right-of-way shall be constructed or modified in strict accordance with the current City standards. If an asphalt drive is installed, the sidewalk across the driveway shall be concrete. Under no circumstances shall an asphalt driveway be constructed within the right-of-way where the existing roadway has concrete curb and gutter.
(7) All proposed driveway construction or modifications to existing driveways shall be from the back edge of the existing curb. The existing curb shall not be disturbed by the work unless the approved construction documents of the development anticipated the work. In this case, the existing curb shall be removed and replaced in accordance with the approved construction documents of the development or applicable City standards.
(8) Pursuant to Carmel City Code § 8-62, no person shall construct a new driveway across an existing sidewalk without approval by the Board of Public Works and Safety.
(9) In areas where the existing roadway is not curbed, new driveways shall be constructed such that the existing roadside drainage is maintained. This shall include, if required by the City, the installation of 12-inch minimum diameter pipes, installed so that the pipe inverts match the existing roadside ditch elevations.
(10) In the event that an existing driveway is proposed to be removed, removal work shall be in accordance with the following:
a. The existing driveway material and any underlying aggregate shall be completely removed within the limits of the right-of-way or as directed by the Board of Public Works and Safety.
b. The existing roadside drainage system shall be restored across the former driveway to match or improve upon the existing swale configurations upstream and downstream of the existing driveway.
c. The area of the removed driveway within the limits of the right-of-way shall be backfilled and topdressed with six inches minimum of topsoil such that the area is level with the undisturbed area.
d. Sod shall be installed within the area of the removed driveway within the limits of the right-of-way.
(i) Sidewalks & multi-use paths.
(1) If removal of the existing sidewalk or multi-use path is required to facilitate the installation of a new driveway or modifications to an existing driveway, such work being approved by the Board of Public Works and Safety, the sidewalk shall be reconstructed of concrete and a multi-use path of asphalt in accordance with the current City standards.
(2) New sidewalks or modifications to existing sidewalks shall be concrete and new multi-use paths or modifications to existing multi-use paths shall be asphalt and shall be constructed in accordance with the current City standards.
(3) Pursuant to Carmel City Code §§ 8-63 and 8-65, Right-of-Way Permits, and proper posting of right-of-way bonds or performance bonds (at the discretion of the City) are required for all modifications to the portions of the sidewalks or multi-use pathways within the right-of-way or installation of new sidewalks or multi-use pathways within the right-of-way, whether or not the work requires approval by the Board of Public Works and Safety.
(4) Sidewalks or multi-use paths constructed across premises as improvements are commenced on individual, unimproved building lots shall be constructed in accordance with the approved construction plans on file with the City and shall be constructed by the owner or responsible party.
(Ord. D-1803-06, as amended, 5-15-06)