(a) Preconstruction meeting. Prior to the construction of any project involving the City Engineer, a preconstruction meeting shall be held between the subdivider and the City Engineer. At this time, the project shall be discussed in regard to procedure, materials and inspection.
(b) Inspections.
(1) Responsible official. The City Engineer or his or her representative shall be responsible for the inspection of all street improvements, including storm sewers. The County Sanitary Engineer or his or her representative, the City Health Commissioner, the County Health Department, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, whoever or whichever has jurisdiction, shall be responsible for home sewage disposal systems, sanitary sewers and water lines.
(2) Authority and duties of City Engineer.
A. The City Engineer or his or her representative shall be authorized to inspect the construction of all improvements and all materials furnished. Such inspection may extend to all or any part of the improvements and to the preparation, fabrication or manufacture of the materials to be used. The City Engineer, the City Health Commissioner and/or the County Sanitary Engineer shall designate an inspector and the inspector shall not be authorized to revoke, alter or waive any requirement of the improvement specifications or plans. He or she shall be authorized to call the attention of the contractor to any failure of the work or materials to conform to the improvement specifications and contract. He or she shall have the authority to reject materials which do not meet specification requirements or to suspend the portion of the work involved.
B. Periodic inspection during the installation of improvements shall be made by the City Engineer, the City Health Commissioner and/or the Sanitary Engineer, to ensure conformity with the approved plans and specifications as provided in the subdivider's construction agreement.
(3) Final inspection. Upon completion of all improvements, the subdivider shall request, in writing, a final inspection by the City Engineer, the City Health Commissioner and/or the Sanitary Engineer as required under R.C. § 711.091. The Engineer shall make a final inspection of all street, storm and sanitary sewer and water improvements.
(c) Responsibilities of subdivider and/or contractor.
(1) Cooperation of subdivider and/or contractor. The subdivider shall have available on the project, at all times, two copies of all approved improvement plans and specifications. He or she shall cooperate with the City Engineer and with other contractors in every way possible. The subdivider shall at all times have a competent superintendent acting as his or her agent on the project. The superintendent shall be capable of reading and thoroughly understanding the improvement plans and specifications, and he or she shall receive instructions from the inspector. The City Engineer's orders shall be executed without delay.
(2) Repair of damaged improvements. Any damage done to improvements by construction traffic or by any other means shall be repaired, or the damaged materials replaced, to the satisfaction of the City Engineer before the next item of construction is begun.
(3) Maintenance of improvements. The subdivider shall be responsible for the maintenance of the improvements installed and shall be responsible for providing the services necessary to guarantee access to all occupied lots, including plowing snow, until final acceptance by the city. The subdivider shall be given adequate notice by the City Engineer of the need for the maintenance or service. If the subdivider fails to perform such necessary maintenance or service within 30 days from the date the notice was issued by the City Engineer, the city may perform the service and bill the subdivider for the service. Payment shall be guaranteed by the performance bond.
(4) Maintenance of private streets.
A. The maintenance and repair of private streets shall not be the responsibility of the public. If private streets are a part of a plat, then the developer or persons seeking approval of the plat shall, prior to the approval, provide such protective covenants, easements and documents to be recorded providing for the ownership, maintenance, repair and financing of the same and establishing responsibility.
B. In the event the owner or owners established to own, maintain, repair and finance such private streets shall, at any time after the establishment of the same, fail to maintain the same in reasonable order and condition in accordance with the plan, or permit it to deteriorate so as to constitute a public nuisance, then the governmental unit having jurisdiction over the same may serve written notice upon the owner or owners setting forth the manner in which the failure has occurred. The notice shall include a demand that the deficiencies be corrected within 30 days thereof and shall state the place and date of the hearing thereon before the governmental unit, to be held within 15 days after the notice. At the hearing, the governmental unit may modify the terms of the original notice as to deficiencies and may give an extension of time within which they may be corrected. If the deficiencies set forth in the original notice or in the modifications thereof are not corrected within those 30 days or any extension thereof, the governmental unit, in order to prevent further deterioration or to abate the public nuisance, may enter upon the street in question and maintain the same until the owner established for that purpose resumes his or her responsibility. The entry, maintenance and abatement shall not vest in the governmental unit any rights to the streets or roadways for any purpose, nor shall the entity constitute a dedication. To provide for the cost of the maintenance and abatement by the governmental unit, the developer or the owner established to own the streets shall, simultaneously with the execution of the plat, grant to the governmental unit a conservation easement vesting in the governmental unit all of the rights necessary to carry out the terms of this section, as well as all of the rights of the developer or the owner to collect dues or assessments from property owners within the development, which dues and assessments, or a reasonable substitution therefor, for the maintenance and repair of the streets, shall be an obligation upon the property owners by virtue of the conservation easement or recorded protective covenants, as well as any articles of incorporation or bylaws of any homeowners' association formed to hold title to the streets.
(d) Approval of completion of improvements guarantee.
(1) Assurance of completion of improvements.
A. No lot, proposed lot or parcel of land which is subject to these Regulations shall be sold or leased, nor shall a building permit be issued for the construction of a building on the lot or parcel of land, until the improvements required by these Regulations, or assurance of their completion, have been completed. The assurance of completion of improvements shall be satisfied by the furnishing of a performance bond or surety bond or other guarantee or security approved by the City Law Director.
B. When the performance bond or other guarantee and assurance of completion of improvements have been satisfied, the city, if requested by the subdivider, shall provide a written document accepting the improvements for ownership and for future maintenance.
(2) Reduction of bond.
A. The developer shall give written notice to the City Engineer when improvements covered by bond or other guarantee have been completed. The City Engineer or designee shall then make any and all inspections essential to the determination that the improvements conform to all standards of these Regulations, and he or she shall, within 14 days of receiving the heretofore described written notice, convey a written report to the Mayor and the developer, stating his or her approval or disapproval, as the case may be. In the event the City Engineer or designee disapproves, he or she shall state his or her reasons for doing so in a written report to both parties.
B. Upon approval of the improvements, the performance bond or surety bond shall be replaced by a maintenance bond equal to 10% of the performance bond or other agreement for a duration of one year. The bond will be released after final inspection and acceptance.
(3) Liability and property damage insurance. The subdivider shall furnish evidence of liability insurance in the amount of $500,000 for bodily injury for any one person; $1,000,000 for bodily injury in the aggregate for any one occurrence; and $500,000 for property damage for any one occurrence; provided that if a single limit policy is offered, the amount of insurance shall be $1,000,000, which shall indemnify and save harmless the city from any and all liability arising by reason of the condition of the streets of the subdivision or out of the construction or installation of all such improvements. A copy of the insurance policy shall remain at all times with the City Law Director and a certificate of insurance with the City Finance Director.
(Ord. 17-83, passed 6-6-1983; Ord. 1-2004, passed 2-2-2004)