(a) Council may order the construction of permanent sidewalks upon any public street within the Village.
(b) Abutting property owners shall be required to install, maintain, replace, or repair, on a per linear foot basis, any sidewalk along any public street or highway abutting the property of such property owner.
(c) Any sidewalk or portion thereof which becomes cracked, deteriorated or unusable, misaligned and/or presents the potential of personal injury or property damage for those utilizing the sidewalk shall be replaced at the property owner’s expense.
(d) Except as provided in subsections (1) and (2) below, sidewalks constructed or reconstructed upon any public right-of-way in the Village shall be of Portland cement concrete mixed in the proportions and constructed in the manner as specified by the Village contract engineer. Each sidewalk will have a minimum width of four feet. The inner edge of each sidewalk (that edge away from the street) shall be placed at the property line and the sidewalk shall be of a minimum thickness of four inches, except at private street or alley crossings and driveways, where the thickness shall be increased to a minimum thickness of six inches for the width of the private driveway or alley plus at least one foot on both sides of the private alley or driveway.
(1) When the Village Planning Commission has recommended and the Village Council has approved a general design plan for a specific area or development within the Village, the provisions of subsection (d) hereof shall not apply to the extent such would interfere with the approved general plan. Furthermore, in such instances, the Village Administrator may, without further approval of the Village Council, authorize deviations from the standards set forth in subsection (d) hereof where an individual or unique field of circumstances exists so long as such deviation conforms to good engineering practices and the substance of the general design plan is adhered to. Further exception may be approved by the Village Administrator without Village Council approval to accommodate existing utilities, trees and other fixed objects, providing the resulting area extends at least three feet in width despite the intrusion of such fixed objects.
(2) When any portion of the public sidewalk which is constructed of something other than Portland cement is to be reconstructed or replaced, that portion shall be replaced with Portland cement, unless the Village Administrator determines an alternative material is appropriate and/or the resident agrees to pay any additional costs required to replace with an alternative material.
(e) Council shall review and consider all areas of the Village that are not properly served as a part of the sidewalk system. The Council shall determine whether the construction of a sidewalk would be appropriate under the circumstances in any such area. To the degree Village Council determines sidewalks to be appropriate, Council will direct the Village Administrator to require the installation, maintenance or replacement of sidewalks in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(f) Council shall have in its discretion the right to determine whether sidewalks would not be appropriate or fiscally responsible and the exercise of such discretion shall not prevent the Council from enforcing the other provision of this section requiring the installation, repair or replacement of sidewalks in other areas of the Village.
(g) In the event that any property owner has violated the provisions of this section, the Village Administrator shall give to the owner, at the address of the owner according to the records maintained by the Sandusky County Recorder, notice and demand that said owner install a sidewalk or eliminate the offending condition within 90 days of such notice. If such condition is not eliminated within the time required by said notice, the Village Administrator shall have the power to cause such sidewalks to be installed, repaired or replaced and address the total cost thereof against the lots or lands abutting thereon, notwithstanding the provisions of Ohio R.C. 727.03 and 727.05. (Ord. 21-2010. Passed 12-16-10.)