(a) No person shall maintain any driveway over, across or upon any public sidewalk or public parkway if the property to which the driveway is connected has a permanent barrier, including, but not limited to, a fence, wall, building or landscaping which prevents the ingress and egress of vehicles to the property from the driveway. A use of public way permit issued for a driveway maintained in violation of this section may be revoked by the commissioner.
(b) (1) If a business served by a commercial driveway ceases operation and there is no business activity conducted at that location, the owner of the property to which the driveway is attached or the grantee of a public way permit for the driveway shall, at his own expense, erect, within ten days of cessation of the business, a barrier across the driveway to prevent access to the property. The design of the barrier shall be approved by the commissioner. If the cessation of the business activity continues for a period of 180 consecutive days, the owner or grantee shall, at his expense, remove the driveway and restore the sidewalk, parkway, curbs, gutters, and any trees and landscaping required by the provisions of this Code; provided that the commissioner may waive this requirement for the following reasons:
(A) the property to which the driveway is attached is either (I) under a contract for sale and the sale will be completed within a reasonable time period, or (ii) the property is for sale and is actively being marketed; and
(B) the owner of the property has erected a barrier across the driveway pursuant to the provisions of this subsection.
(2) The owner of the property or the grantee of a public way permit subject to the provisions of subsection (b)(1) of this section shall, at his own expense, erect, within ten days of cessation of the business, a barrier to prevent alley access notwithstanding any contrary provision of any other ordinance. The design of the barrier shall be approved by the commissioner.
(c) Whenever the commissioner determines that the property to which a driveway is attached has been physically rendered unusable as a driveway in violation of this section, the commissioner may order the driveway removed and the sidewalk and public parkway space where the driveway is located restored to its proper condition so that the portion of the sidewalk and public parkway space used for the driveway shall be safe for public travel and in the same condition as the remaining portion of the sidewalk and public parkway space. The provisions of this section shall not apply to driveways attached to residential dwellings of three units or less.
(d) Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be fined not less than $50.00 nor more than $500.00 for each offense. Each day a violation continues shall constitute a separate and distinct offense. If the owner of the property to which the driveway is attached or the grantee of a use of public way permit that was issued for the driveway at the time of the violation fails, neglects or refuses to remove the driveway, the city may proceed to remove the driveway and restore the sidewalk, parkway, curbs, gutters and any trees and landscaping. The owner of the property to which the driveway is attached and the grantee of a use of public way permit issued for the driveway at the time of the violation shall be jointly and severally liable for any fines, the cost of the erection of any barrier, and the cost of any removal and restoration.
(Added Coun. J. 6-9-99, p. 5453; Amend Coun. J. 12-4-02, p. 99026, § 6.1; Amend Coun. J. 6-30-10, p. 95412, § 1)