(a) This Council hereby declares that any sidewalk existing within the public way that has fallen into a state of deterioration or disrepair so as to become dangerous constitutes a public nuisance and likewise any obstruction upon the public way shall constitute a nuisance. This Council hereby delegates upon the Chief Building Inspector the duty and obligation to determine when a sidewalk or any portion thereof shall become so deteriorated or obstructed as to constitute a public nuisance requiring the implementation of this section.
(b) Corrective action for repair of sidewalks will be necessary based on the following criteria:
(1) 3/4" or more vertical difference in any part of walk.
(2) ½" or wider gap between pieces or slabs. Hardened surface material for repairing anything wider. Soil and stone not acceptable.
(3) Unstable or moving sections or pieces of walk.
(4) Improperly sloped segments. Maximum slopes permitted: Cross slope 1:48, a slope in the direction of travel is 1:20, ramps as defined by ADA regulations shall not exceed 1:12.
(5) Standing water, mud, moss, etc., on a walk where it poses a slip hazard as determined by the Building Inspector.
(6) Insufficient width of sidewalks (3' minimum and not less than contiguous walk widths).
(c) Methods of Correction.
(1) When leveling large sections of concrete walk - proper fill is required providing lasting stability. Repaired areas must meet the minimum standards of the City and shall not contain deficiencies listed above.
(2) Raising large sections of concrete walk - proper fill is required to provide lasting stability. Repaired areas must meet the minimum standards of the City and shall not contain deficiencies listed above.
(3) Remove and pour new sections of concrete - as per Codified Ordinances. All sidewalks shall be minimum 4" thick concrete and shall have a textured slip resistant finish.
(4) Grind edge of walk - exposure of reinforcing materials during the grinding process requires complete replacement of damaged area. Grinding area shall not exceed the maximum slope permitted by Code.
(5) Replace or relay sections of sandstone walk - the smallest piece shall be no smaller than thirty-two square inches, except where approved by the Building Inspector. The relayed sidewalks must meet the corrective action criteria as established above.
(d) Sandstone pieces and slabs must be installed on a property compacted base to provide lasting stability and shall not contain deficiencies as listed above. A slab is considered a single piece of 4' x 3' minimum size.
At every intersection of a City street and public sidewalk, a wheelchair accessible ramp shall be constructed to comply with Federal Disability requirements. All ramps shall contain detectable warnings in accordance with the pertinent standards.
All ramps shall be constructed in accordance with the design standard as specified in Appendix A attached to Ordinance 2005-14 as reference.
(Ord. 2005-14. Passed 3-21-05.)
(e) No person, firm, business or other entity, being the owner of any land or land abutting or adjoining any public way, thoroughfare or street, shall refuse, fail or neglect to repair or keep in repair and free from nuisance, undue deterioration and obstruction, the sidewalk in front of such lot or land after due notice of such condition has first been sent to such person, firm, business or other entity by the Chief Building Inspector of this City ordering the repair of such sidewalk, the removal of such obstruction and/or the abatement of such nuisance.
(Ord. 02-30. Passed 6-3-02.)
(f) Notice shall be sent to the last known owner at their last known address. If the owner or person having charge of such land fails to comply with such written notice within sixty (60) days after receipt thereof or attempted delivery thereof at the address shown for such owner upon the records of the County Auditor, then the Chief Building Inspector shall cause a certified letter to be sent to such landowner. If repairs are not completed thirty (30) days after mail receipt of certified letter, the Building Inspector shall cause the sidewalk or portion thereof to be repaired at a rate not less than forty-five dollars ($45.00) per square foot. Upon completion of the work an invoice will be sent to the property owner. If the invoice isn’t paid within thirty (30) days the charges will be certified to the taxes for the parcel. (Ord. 2008-42. Passed 7-14-08.)
(g) In addition, the Chief Building Inspector may elect to pursue prosecution for the reason that whoever, being in charge of the land in question, neglects to repair such sidewalk after a period of ninety days has expired from the delivery or attempted delivery of the notice set forth herein, shall be guilty of a minor misdemeanor and shall be subject to the penalty provided in Section 1020.99. (Ord. 02-30. Passed 6-3-02.)
(h) At every intersection of a City street and public sidewalk, a wheelchair accessible ramp shall be constructed to comply with Federal Disability requirements. All ramps shall be constructed using engineered plastics/polymer composite cast-in-place detectable warning devices specified per the ODOT Approved Detectable Warning Products List. The detectable warning device shall be brick red or equivalent.
(Ord. 2010-50. Passed 9-20-10.)