(a) Board may order. The Village Board may determine that sidewalks or curb and gutter may be constructed, laid, rebuilt, or repaired along or upon any public street, right-of-way, or highway within the village. The Village Board may determine or change the width or grade of any street or sidewalk.
(b) Apportionment of costs. Where required by the Village Board, it shall be the duty of the abutting owner to build, repair, construct, and perpetually maintain sidewalks along or upon any street, alley, or highway in the village and for the owner to pay 60% of the cost of repair or reconstruction and the village to pay 40%. Sidewalks in new subdivisions shall be installed pursuant to the village’s subdivision ordinance. Whenever the Village Board shall, by resolution, determine that a sidewalk be laid, rebuilt, repaired, lowered, or raised along or upon any public street, alley, or highway within the village, it shall proceed according to Wis. Stats. § 66.0907.
(c) Permit required. No person shall hereafter lay, remove, replace, or repair any public sidewalk within the village unless he or she is under contract with the village to do such work or has obtained a permit therefore from the Village Administrator, Clerk, or highest elected official, as appropriate, at least three days before work is proposed to be undertaken. No fee shall be charged for such permits.
(d) Standard specifications for sidewalk.
(1) General. Concrete sidewalk construction shall meet the specifications and provisions set forth in this section, and shall be constructed in locations and to line and grade as established by the village.
(2) Grading. Prior to construction, ground on which sidewalks are to be placed shall be brought to within three inches of subgrade by the contractor.
(3) Subgrade. Subgrade shall be three inches of sand fill, thoroughly and uniformly compacted and brought to correct grade placing of concrete, and thoroughly wet down immediately before concrete is placed. Soft and unsuitable subgrade material shall be removed and replaced with sand or other satisfactory material, and the subgrade shall be thoroughly and uniformly compacted and moistened immediately before the concrete is placed.
(4) Concrete. The minimum quantity of cement per cubic yard shall be six 94-pound sacks. Concrete shall be mixed for at least one minute. Gravel shall be of good quality and washed. Concrete shall test 2,000 pounds compression in 28 days.
(5) Jointing. Expansion joints one-half inch thick and four feet wide shall be placed at 50-foot maximum intervals. At all places where a walk intersects another walk or curb line, a one-half inch expansion joint shall be placed.
(6) Slope. To provide adequate drainage, the sidewalk shall slope toward the curb at a minimum rate of one-fourth inch per foot of width of sidewalk. All joints and edges shall be finished with a one-fourth inch radius edging tool. Sidewalks shall be constructed within the limits of the street, and unless otherwise specifically indicated, there shall be a six-inch strip of street property left between the property line and the edge of the sidewalk.
(7) Width and thickness. Residential walks shall be four feet in width and not less than four inches thick except within driveway approaches where the minimum thickness shall be six inches, provided, that walks in residential areas may be repaired or replaced to a width not less than the existing width on the effective date of this section. Sidewalks in front of commercial or industrial establishments shall have a width established by the Board and five inches in thickness, except within driveway approaches where the minimum thickness shall be seven inches. Where possible, sidewalks shall be located nine feet from the curb. One-half inch reinforcement rod shall be used when replacing or repairing sidewalks over alley entrances.
(8) Finishing. The concrete shall be struck off true to grade, finished smooth, and given a broom finish. All edges shall be rounded. No tool marks shall be left on exposed surfaces. In case of rain, the walk shall be covered to protect the surface from being damaged. Walks shall be kept free from all traffic at normal temperatures for 48 hours and in cold weather (below 50°F) for 96 hours. No concrete shall be poured when the temperature may be expected to fall below 35°F in any 72-hour period or upon frozen subgrade.
(9) Curing. Concrete shall be kept moist by sprinkling, covering, or a combination of both for a minimum of five days.
(10) Higher standards. Where deemed necessary by the village, higher sidewalk standards may be required by the Village Board.
(e) Repair or replacement of defective sidewalks. Pursuant to Wis. Stats. § 66.0907, the Village Board may order at any time property owners to repair or remove and replace any sidewalk which is unsafe, defective, or insufficient. If the property owner shall fail to so repair or remove and replace such sidewalk within 30 days after service or the notice provided in Wis. Stats. § 66.0907(3)(c), the Village Board shall repair or construct such sidewalk and the Village Administrator, Clerk, or highest elected official, as appropriate, shall enter the total cost thereof upon the tax roll as a special assessment against said lot or parcel of land. If a life-threatening situation exists which is caused by a sidewalk in need of repair, the Village Board, or its designee, shall direct the property owner to make repairs within seven days. If the property owner shall fail to repair such sidewalk within the required period, the Village Board shall make the necessary repairs and the Village Administrator, Clerk, or highest elected official, as appropriate, shall enter the total cost thereof on the tax roll as a special tax against said parcel.
(f) Illegal sidewalks. No sidewalk which shall be constructed contrary to the provisions of this section shall be considered a legal sidewalk, and the same may be ordered to be replaced with a legal sidewalk and with one that is in conformity with this section, the same as if no sidewalk whatever had been built or constructed in the place where any such sidewalk is located.
(Prior Code, § 6-2-2)
Statutory reference:
Similar provisions, see Wis. Stats. § 66.615