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No person shall begin construction of, rebuild, repair or replace any sidewalk, curb or gutter without first obtaining a permit therefor from the Director of Public Service or from a person designated by the Director to issue such a permit. The fee for the permit shall be determined by the Director of Public Service based on a set amount per frontage. The front frontage shall be determined by referring to the footage as shown either in the applicant's deed or upon the current tax maps provided by the Tax Map Division of the County Engineer's office. In the case of a difference between the two, the County tax maps shall govern.
(Ord. 88-2004. Passed 7-12-04.)
(a) No person shall construct or redevelop a new residence, commercial, or industrial structure upon one or more parcels of land within the City without installing sidewalks within the right-of-way or other public ground abutting a public street on at least one side of each street. Such installation shall be in accordance to the provisions of this chapter. Residential parcels of land having more than 100 feet of frontage shall be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the Director of Public Service, who shall decide if the installation of sidewalks are required at that location of new construction.
(b) For new construction located on a local street, sidewalks shall be installed only if a minimum of seventy-five percent of the properties located on such local street have existing sidewalks. For new construction on corner or "I-shaped" lots, a sidewalk shall be installed along the side yard of the corner lot only if seventy-five percent of the properties located on such street where the side yard is located have existing sidewalks. This provision shall not apply to the requirement to construct sidewalks in new major subdivisions, which requirement shall be governed by Section 1236.09 of the Codified Ordinances of the City.
(Ord. 88-2004. Passed 7-12-04; Ord. 3-2024. Passed 2-5-24.)
(a) The property owner whose property abuts any public sidewalk shall be responsible for the repair and maintenance of such sidewalk.
(1) Any hole or defect that is capable of causing injury, inconvenience, annoyance or damage to sidewalk users shall be repaired by the abutting property owner within a reasonable period of time from the time at which the property owner should have known of the necessity of such repair through the exercise of due diligence, or after notification by the Director of Public Service at the time the repair work is determined to be necessary.
(2) The failure of a property owner to reasonably repair such defect in accordance with the applicable time frame shall be considered a negligent act as a matter of law, and the property owner shall be liable for any injury resulting from such defect.
(b) The owner of any lot or parcel of ground in the City shall cause the sidewalk, or any part thereof in front of or abutting upon such lot or parcel of ground, to be constructed, rebuilt or repaired whenever the Director of Public Service orders the same to be done. The owner shall thereafter keep the sidewalk in good order and repair.
(Ord. 88-2004. Passed 7-12-04.)
(a) Whenever the Director of Public Service determines that a public sidewalk is defective or dangerous to pedestrian traffic, the Director shall notify, in writing, the owner of the property abutting upon such sidewalk of such defective or dangerous conditions and order the owner to repair or replace such sidewalk within a period of time, not to exceed 60 days. Such notice shall be given in the same manner as service of summons in civil cases, or by certified mail addressed to such owner at his or her last known address or to the address to which tax bills are sent, or by a combination of the foregoing methods. The return of the person serving the notice or a certified copy thereof, or a returned receipt for notice forwarded by certified mail accepted by the addressee or anyone purporting to act for him, shall be prima facie evidence of the service of notice under this section.
(b) Such notice shall also set forth the place where the specifications governing the construction or repair of such sidewalks are on file; the time within which the owner of such lot or parcel of land may construct or repair such sidewalks; that in the event such owner does not construct or repair such sidewalks in accordance with such specifications and within such time, the City will construct or repair such sidewalks and assess the costs thereof against the lot or land of such owner; and unless, within ten days after receiving such notice, such owner of the property abutting upon such sidewalk delivers a response in writing to the Director of Public Service or presents himself or herself for a hearing before the Director.
(c) If the owner or the property responds or presents himself or herself before the Director of Public Service for a hearing, the Director shall consider any appropriate objections and rule thereof. The Director may permit such person additional time to repair or replace the sidewalk, order the repair or replacement of the sidewalk by the City or reverse or modify the earlier finding, as may be appropriate. The order of the Director shall be final.
(Ord. 88-2004. Passed 7-12-04.)
Whenever it appears in any such return described in Section 1024.05 that the owner is a nonresident of the County, or that neither such owner or agent nor his or her place of residence could be found, publication of a copy of the resolution in a newspaper of general circulation in the City one time shall be deemed sufficient notice to such owner. Publication of the notice shall not be necessary when the notice is served upon the owner or agent personally as provided in Section 1024.05.
(Ord. 88-2004. Passed 7-12-04.)
If such sidewalks are not constructed, rebuilt or repaired within 60 days from the service of notice or of the publication date, the Director of Public Service may construct, rebuild or repair the sidewalks or have such work done at the expense of the owner. All expenses, including cost of service of notice or publication, shall be assessed and collected for such work.
(Ord. 88-2004. Passed 7-12-04.)
Upon completion of such sidewalk improvement the property owner, or his or her agent, as can be found within the limits of the County, shall receive notice of the cost thereof from the Director of Public Service or the Director of Finance by registered or certified mail, or by personal service. Upon failure for 30 days from the construction of such improvement to pay the costs in cash, such failure to pay shall be reported to the Director of Public Service. The Director of Public Service shall make a written return to the County Auditor when sidewalk work is performed by the City, with a statement of the charges, the amount paid for performing such labor, the fees for the service of the notice and return and a proper parcel description of the premises. Such amounts shall be entered upon the tax duplicate for all of the property abounding and abutting the sidewalks thereon and shall be a lien upon such lands from the date of the entry and shall be collected as other taxes and returned to the General Fund. The remedy provided for herein is in addition to any other remedy or penalty provided by law.
(Ord. 88-2004. Passed 7-12-04.)
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