(a) Persons interested in having sidewalks constructed shall obtain from the Clerk of Council a petition form to be completed as follows.
(1) Said petitions must be signed by all owners of lots and lands exceeding 60 percent of the front feet to be assessed or 75 percent of all owners of lots bounding and abutting regardless of the amount of the affected footage contained therein.
(2) All owners listed on the deed or other applicable real property record for a parcel must sign the petition for that property to be included on the petition.
(3) A corner lot shall be counted as part of the total number of lots affected and the linear feet of sidewalk proposed to be installed shall be included in the footage to be assessed and shall be assessed as provided herein on whose lot sidewalks are installed.
(4) Petitions for sidewalks shall include an entire city block. A city block includes that area comprising lots and land between intersecting streets. For this purpose, a T intersection shall be extended by the City Engineer through the intersecting street to the land abutting the street on the opposite side, thereby creating a fictional block. Any lot, or portion thereof, included in the Engineer's extension of a T intersection shall be included in the calculation for the required number of signatures.
(5) Petitions may be submitted for one or both sides of a city block.
(6) The Circulator of the petition shall sign a certificate before a notary public attesting to having witnessed the signatures of the persons signing the petition.
(7) The Circulator shall submit the completed petition to the Clerk of Council.
(8) If a city block for which a petition is filed includes both lots that are zoned R-1, R-2, R-3, or R-6, and lots that are not so zoned, owners in the R-1, R-2, R-3, and R-6 zoned areas shall be eligible for the reduced assessment. The owners of lots not in R-1, R-2, R-3. Or R-6 zoning districts shall not be eligible for the reduced assessment.
(b) The Clerk of Council upon receiving a signed sidewalk petition shall:
(1) Time stamp the petition.
(2) Check the accuracy of the petition submitted, with the assistance of the City Engineer as needed, to verify the following:
A. That for each parcel for which there is a signature on the petition that all owners listed on the deed or other applicable real property record have signed the petition.
B. That the Circulator signed the certificate and that signature was duly notarized.
C. The affected area is appropriately defined in the petition.
D. The petition meets the requirements of Fairlawn Codified Ordinance Section 1020.06(a).
(3) The Clerk shall notify Circulator of any deficiencies in the petition. The Circulator shall have the opportunity to correct any deficiencies.
(4) Upon verification of the above requirements, the Clerk shall promptly submit the petition to the Law Director and notify City Council at the next regular Council meeting of her receipt of said petition.
(5) The Law Director shall draft a resolution directing the City Engineer to perform the items listed in Section 1020.08(c), which must be sponsored by the Mayor or a City Councilperson for submission at the next regular Council meeting (subject to the deadlines contained in Chapter 220 for submitting requests for legislation).
(c) If City Council determines that the petition meets the requirements set forth in this Chapter, Council shall act upon a resolution directing the City Engineer to promptly do the following:
(1) Conduct a field investigation of the area covered in the petition to determine appropriate sidewalk configuration, location, and width in accordance with City zoning and land development plans and requirements.
(2) Survey the affected area and place stakes in the ground outlining the proposed route of the sidewalk, if possible.
(3) Establish at least two meeting dates and times when the Engineer will be available to meet with residents in the affected area.
A. Notice of the meetings must be given by the Engineer via regular mail to the affected property owners.
B. Notice of the meetings must be given by the Engineer to the Clerk of Council.
C. Notice of the meetings must be posted by the Clerk of Council on the City website.
D. Said meetings shall be scheduled within a reasonable time.
E. If the meetings have not been held within three months following the enactment of the authorizing resolution, the Engineer shall report to City Council regarding the status of the project and the efforts made to that point.
F. If the meetings have not been held within three months of the initial status report, the Engineer shall again report to City Council regarding the status of the project and the efforts made to that point.
(4) At each meeting with the residents the City Engineer shall explain to the residents the following:
A. The location and length of the proposed sidewalk.
B. Any necessary removal of trees, shrubs, or structures.
C. Any necessary grade adjustments.
D. Any necessary installation of retaining walls.
E. Preliminary estimated costs of the proposed sidewalk project.
(5) The City Engineer shall submit a report to the Clerk of Council regarding the items set forth in the preceding section and the attendance at the meetings within 14 days of completing the meetings. Such report shall include information on the items set forth in the preceding section.
(d) Upon receipt of the report from the City Engineer, the Clerk of Council shall notify all residents in the affected area via regular mail, and by posting on the City website, at least one week prior to the City Council meeting at which the Engineer's report will be presented to City Council. The Law Director shall prepare a resolution for Council to accept the Engineer's report, which must be sponsored by the Mayor or a City Councilperson for submission at the next regular Council meeting (if the report is received at least ten days before the next regular council meeting, otherwise it will be introduced at the next subsequent meeting of Council).
(1) Residents in the affected area who have not signed a petition requesting sidewalks but desire to do so may sign a subsequent petition and submit the same to the Clerk of Council no later than 10 days after the meeting where the Engineer's report is accepted by City Council.
(2) Residents who originally signed the petition to install sidewalks may withdraw their signature by delivering a signed, notarized letter to the Clerk of Council requesting the withdrawal no later than 10 days after the meeting where the Engineer's report is accepted by City Council.
(3) Once the 10-day deadline has passed, and no later than the second following regular Council meeting, the Clerk of Council shall review all the petition signatures and all withdrawals with the assistance of the City Engineer as needed, to determine whether there are sufficient signatures at that time to meet the criteria set forth above.
(4) If the signatures do not meet the requirements set forth above, the Clerk shall so report to City Council no later than the second following regular Council meeting.
(5) If the Clerk finds that the signatures do meet the requirements, the Clerk shall promptly notify the Law Director. The Law Director shall draft an ordinance accepting the petitions for submission to City Council no later than the second following regular Council meeting (subject to the deadlines contained in Chapter 220 for submitting requests for legislation). Said ordinance must be sponsored by the Mayor or a City Councilperson.
(6) Said ordinance shall contain a finding that the petition signatures met the requirements set forth in this Chapter, direct the City Engineer to prepare plans, specifications, and cost estimates for the sidewalks, and direct the Finance Director to levy associated special assessments at the appropriate time.
(7) Petitions accepted by City Council by June 30 shall be included in the following year's budget.
(8) Once the project is budgeted by Council, the project shall be put out to bid.
(9) Council shall have the discretion to approve all or only a portion of the proposed sidewalk project for which the petition was filed. Council shall also have the discretion to remove a proposed sidewalk project from any given year's budget even after accepting the petition. However, a sidewalk petition that is accepted maintains its priority over any subsequently accepted petitions.
(Ord. 2022-011AA. Passed 6-6-22.)