(a) Upon the enactment of this section, periodically thereafter, or when conditions
warrant immediate action, the Director of Public Service may require the owner of any property to repair and/or replace existing public sidewalks which meet or qualify under the following, and Council from time to time may provide for a program of assessment in accord with the following:
(1) Any block which has multiple cracks; or any block which has any single crack which is irregular, has raveled edges or is wider than one-half (½) inch (indicating movement), or has opened up so that part of the block has settled.
(2) Adjoining sections of block, or portion thereof, whose edges differ vertically by five-eights (5/8) inch or more.
(3) Blocks having depressions that impound water to a depth of one-half (½) inch or more.
(4) Any block with disintegrated, deteriorated, shattered or severely spalled areas or missing pieces or missing particles of aggregate.
(5) Blocks pushed up due to tree roots that cause an abrupt change in the longitudinal grade of the sidewalk.
(6) Any foreign material such as asphalt concrete covering that changes the contour of the existing sidewalk to be in need of replacement or repair as deemed necessary by the Service Director.
(7) Trees, bushes or shrubs that overhang the sidewalk. Tree limbs should be trimmed to at least ten feet above the sidewalk. Bushes or shrubs should be trimmed so as not to overhang the sidewalk even after a rain.
(8) Any block which the Director of Public Service determines to be in need of replacement or repair regardless of whether it has any of the characteristics set forth in subsections (a)(1) through (7).
(9) The above specifications are determined to be that point from which public sidewalks should remain in sufficiently good repair over a period of years, before the next repair or replacement is initiated, given usual deterioration over time. Such specifications are not an expression of standards for the determination of a public nuisance, and are not an expression of any assumed duty by the Village of Silver Lake.
(b) The following specifications shall apply to both existing sidewalks under subsection
(a) above and new construction:
(1) All sidewalks within the Village shall be laid on a grade rising one-half (½) inch to the foot from the established curb grade line to the street line, unless an exception is granted by the Service Director.
(2) The minimum width of all sidewalks constructed within the Village shall be four (4) feet. The Service Director may increase the minimum width of sidewalk construction at his discretion.
(3) All sidewalks shall be constructed or repaired with Portland cement concrete, unless an exception is granted by the Service Director.
(4) The above specifications are determined to be that point from which public sidewalks should remain in sufficiently good repair over a period of years, before the next repair or replacement is initiated, given usual deterioration over time. Such specifications are not an expression of standards for the determination of a public nuisance, and are not an expression of any assumed duty by the Village of Silver Lake.
(c) In the event any owner fails, within a reasonable time, to repair or replace the sidewalk as ordered by the Director of Public Service, then the Village may undertake the repair or replacement of the sidewalk and subsequently file a lien against the property for the cost thereof with the County Fiscal Office, i.e., the Recorder. In the event the required repair or replacement of a sidewalk was pursuant to a multi-premises program of assessment in the Village, the procedures of Chapter 727 and 729 of the Ohio Revised Code shall be utilized for the special assessments, in lieu of a lien procedure.
(Ord. 68-2021. Passed 12-6-21.)