(A) Any person required to make improvements by the provisions of this subchapter shall make and complete the same to the satisfaction of the City Engineer, or if the City Engineer shall determine that it is not practical to construct said improvements, the applicant shall file with the City Engineer a bond and undertaking, or other security, in a form approved by the City Attorney, in such amount as the City Engineer shall estimate and determine to be necessary to complete all of the improvements required. Said undertaking shall be in recordable form, approved by the City Attorney, shall be binding upon and shall run with the land, and shall provide that the applicant or his successors in interest shall commence the improvements within 60 days after written notice from the City Engineer to do so, and shall thereafter diligently and continuously prosecute such improvements to completion. The applicant shall provide to the City Engineer such engineering studies, plans, surveys and other data, at the expense of the applicant, as the City Engineer may require, in order to make the estimate and determination of the bond amount.
(B) Such bond may be either a cash bond, a bond executed by a company authorized to act as a surety in this state, or other security. The bond shall be payable to the city and be conditioned upon the faithful performance of any and all work required to be done, and that should such work not be done or completed within the time specified, the city may, at its election, cause the same to be done or completed, and the parties executing the bond shall be firmly bound under a continuing obligation for the payment of all necessary costs and expenses incurred in the construction thereof. The bond shall be executed by all record owners of the lot as principal, and if a surety bond, shall also be executed by a corporation authorized to act as a surety under the laws of the state.
(C) Whenever the owner elects to deposit a cash bond, the city is authorized, in the event of any default on his part, to use any or all of the deposit money to cause all of the required work to be done or completed, and for payment of all costs and expenses therefor. Any money remaining shall be refunded to the owner. Any deficiency shall be paid by the owner within 10 days after billing by the city is mailed to the owner.
(D) When a substantial portion of the required improvements has been completed to the satisfaction of the City Engineer and the completion of the remaining improvements is delayed due to conditions, determined by the City Engineer, to be beyond the owner's control, the City Engineer may accept the completed portion and consent to a proportionate reduction of the cash or surety bond in an amount estimated and determined by the City Engineer to be adequate to assure the completion of the required improvements remaining to be made.
(E) Whenever a surety bond has been filed in compliance with this section, the city is authorized, in the event of any default on the part of the principal, to enforce collection, under such bond, for any and all damages sustained by the city, including attorneys fees and court costs in an amount to be fixed by the court, by reason of any failure on the part of the principal faithfully and properly to do or complete the required improvements, and, in addition, may cause all of the required work to be done or completed, and the surety upon the bond shall be firmly bound for the payment of all necessary costs thereof.
(F) The term of the bond shall begin on the date of the acceptance by the City Engineer of the cash or his acceptance of the filing of the surety bond, and shall end upon the date of the completion to the satisfaction of the City Engineer of all improvements required to be made. The fact of such completion shall be endorsed by a statement thereof signed by the City Engineer, and the deposit shall be returned to the owner, or the surety bond may be exonerated, at any time thereafter.
(G) For purposes of this section, improvement shall be considered as satisfactorily assured when the City Engineer accepts the cash or surety bond provided for herein or the improvements required to be made have been completed to his satisfaction. When the City Engineer accepts the bond or the work has been completed to his satisfaction, he shall notify the Building Department.
(H) Where a cash or surety bond is accepted by the City Engineer, such cash deposit shall be returned, or the surety bond shall be exonerated, as the case may be, upon the written request of the applicant or his successor in interest, if the City Engineer does not give the notice to proceed in accordance with division (A) of this section within 10 years from the date of his acceptance of the cash or surety bond. In such event, the undertaking given by the applicant shall also be released and the applicant and his successors in interest shall have no further responsibility for compliance with the provisions of §§ 155.575 through 155.583.
('64 Code, § 57.09) (Ord. 337, passed 7-11-68)