(A) Responsibility. Unless otherwise specified herein, all owners, occupants and persons having the care and custody of buildings and lots in the city shall be responsible for performing the duties set out herein and shall be separately and equally punishable by fine or other penalty for all violations of this section, provided that failure of civil authorities to charge any one of these responsible persons for violation of this section shall not preclude enforcement hereof against another such responsible person. Third parties causing damage to sidewalks shall likewise be responsible for repair and shall be punishable for failure to repair to the same extent as are owners, occupants and custodians.
(B) Enforcement. The Director of Public Works shall be responsible for making all inspections and issuing all notices required hereby.
(C) Removal of litter. It shall be the duty of the owner, occupant or any person having the care of any real estate abutting on any sidewalk to keep the sidewalk free of dirt, litter and trash at all times. Any such person who permits such conditions to continue after reasonable notice to clean the sidewalk from the Director of Public Works shall be deemed in violation of this section.
(D) Damage to sidewalk. It shall be unlawful for any person to dig, break, displace or damage in any manner any sidewalk or curb, except in making improvements to adjoining lots. Whoever shall so dig, break, displace or damage any sidewalk or curb while making adjoining improvements shall restore the sidewalk or curb to its proper condition within 48 hours after completion of such work or damage unless such time should be extended by the Director of Public Works. All repairs shall be in conformity with the requirements of the Director of Public Works. Persons causing sidewalk damage unrelated to adjoining improvements shall be jointly responsible with property owners, occupants and custodians for repair.
(E) Specifications of sidewalk construction. It shall be the duty of the Director of Public Works or other authorized person to supervise construction or repair of sidewalks within the city. He or she shall cause specifications to be prepared for the construction of the various types of pavement and shall transmit specifications to the legislative body for approval. Any homeowner or property owner installing new or repairing existing sidewalks pursuant to the provisions of this section shall obstruct the sidewalks to conform to the specifications prepared by the Director of Public Works.
(F) Notice and time for sidewalk repair.
(1) Whenever the Director of Public Works discovers in the city the existence of holes, cracks or other sidewalk defects causing depressions or uneven surfaces of more than three-fourths-inch, it shall be his or her duty to notify the owner of the abutting property in writing to repair the sidewalk at his or her own expense within a period of 30 days after delivery of such notice or be subject to fine. Such notice directed to the owner of the abutting property shall describe the property location and shall identify the area (in square feet) of the sidewalk to be repaired by reference to pavement markings or in such other manner as to make the defective pavement ascertainable. If such owner is a nonresident of the city, or cannot be found, the notice will be delivered to his or her agent having charge of the property, and if there is no such agent, it may be delivered to the occupant of the property.
(2) It shall be the duty of each owner of property in the city within 30 days after receipt of the above-required notice to repair, at his or her own expense, all holes, uneven surfaces, cracks, breaks, deterioration, and other defects in the sidewalk upon which the property abuts, as specified in the notice and in accordance with the provisions of this section; provided, however, that concrete sidewalks shall not be poured with the temperature is below 40°F though the 30 days may have expired, but shall be poured as soon as possible after that temperature has been reached.
(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to waive or affect the right of the city to order the reconstruction of any sidewalk at any time upon less than 30 days’ notice when determined by the Director of Public Works that an especially hazardous condition exists.
(4) Any owner or any agent of the owner or occupant of such property who shall fail to repair defective sidewalks as required in this section shall be personally liable in the civil action for any personal injury or property damage resulting therefrom.
(G) Maintenance by city. Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary, the city may, at its election, and without notice other than provided above, effect the cleaning or sidewalk repairs required herein and charge the responsible person for the actual cost of labor or materials, or for the contract price.
(Ord. 10-88C, passed 9-6-1988; Ord. 13-2015, passed 11-2-2015) Penalty, see § 91.999