(a) No owner of any lot or land abutting upon any street shall refuse, fail or neglect to repair or keep in repair and free from nuisance the sidewalk in front of such lot or land after due notice by the Director of Inspections or the Director of Engineering ordering the repair of such sidewalk, the removal or the abatement of such nuisance. If the owner or person having charge of such land fails to comply with such notice, the City shall cause the sidewalks to be repaired under the procedure adopted by Council in Section 905.08 of the Codified Ordinances under the direction of the Director of Engineering. In the event the order relates to other than the repair of the sidewalk, the Director of Inspections or his designee may take appropriate enforcement action, including citation, as established by this section of the Codified Ordinances. For the purposes of this section, defects which require repair of the sidewalks by the property owner shall be determined by the following conditions:
(1) A vertical difference in elevation between portions of a slab or adjacent slabs of more than one inch;
(2) A horizontal gap or reparation in a slab or adjacent slabs of more than one inch;
(3) A vertical deviation (either buckling or settling) across a slab or between adjacent slabs of more than one inch or vertical slopes in excess of accepted criteria;
(4) Deterioration, pitting, spalling or scaling of the slab or slab surface causing a potential hazard to pedestrians;
(5) Structurally damaged, cracked or disintegrated slabs;
(6) Instability of a slab or slabs causing movement and potential hazards to pedestrians.
(b) No owner, his agent, the operator or manager of a parcel of real estate in the City abutting upon any sidewalk in a public right of way shall fail to keep such sidewalk abutting his premises free and clear of snow and ice to a minimum width of eighteen inches and to remove therefrom all snow and ice accumulated thereon within a reasonable time, which will ordinarily not exceed twenty-four hours after the abatement of any storm during which such snow and ice may have accumulated, or at least one time each day, whichever is more often.
(c) No person removing snow or causing snow to be removed from any driveway, sidewalk or private property within the City, shall deposit or cause or allow to be deposited such snow on the pavement or sidewalk of any public street or on the tree lawn in any public street, except the tree lawn immediately in front of and contiguous to the premises from such the snow is removed.
(d) The Property Maintenance Officer or other City employee designated by the Director of Inspections may notify by delivery of a written notice to any owner or person having charge of a parcel of real estate who is determined to be failing to comply with the terms of this section regarding snow removal. Such notice shall provide information concerning the requirements of this section, the information regarding the City’s fee for complying with this section and information relating to programs for senior citizens concerning abatement of compliance costs. After receipt of such notice and the expiration of a twenty-four (24) hour period without compliance, the City by the use of direct or contract labor may clear such sidewalk. All expenses and labor costs incurred shall be billed to such individual pursuant to a schedule established by Council herein or by resolution annually. The owners or persons having charge of such real estate shall be billed the total of all such costs including the cost of service of notice upon such property. Upon the failure of such person to make payment based on such invoice within thirty (30) days after billing by the City, the Director of Inspections shall report such failure to the Director of Finance along with the supporting documentation of the cost thereof with respect to each parcel of land, including the amount paid for the performance of such labor, the fees of employees who made service of notice and return and the cost of publication of notice, if any, together with a proper description of the premises. Upon receipt of such report, the Director of Finance, on behalf of the City, shall make a filing in writing with the Auditor of Cuyahoga County of such charges which shall be entered upon the tax duplicate of such property and collected as all other taxes, all in accordance with Ohio R.C. 731.54. By enactment of this section, Council hereby approves all such assessments established by the Director of Finance upon report by the responsible Director of Inspections in accordance with the provisions of this section without the necessity of formal Council approval by ordinance or resolution of each and every assessment resulting from the compliance actions under this section. Such amounts when certified to the County Auditor shall be entered upon the tax duplicate and be a lien upon such lands from and after the date of such entry and shall be collected as other taxes and returned to the City with its General Fund.
(e) The amount to be charged to the property owner shall include all costs as set forth in subsection (d) hereof including expenses and labor or, in the alternative contract labor is used, amounts as follows:
(1) For all areas zoned for single family residential or similar low density zonings, the amount of $25.00 per 50 lineal feet;
(2) For all commercially or high residential areas, an amount of $50.00 per 50 lineal feet.
Council may increase or decrease such amount based upon recommendations from the Administration annually or otherwise as appropriate by ordinance or resolution.
(f) The Director of the Department of Community Services is hereby authorized to establish a program whereby the residents of the City of Westlake meeting age, disability and means and income tests as established by the Director shall be exempted from the charges herein for snow removal at their primary residence within the City occasioned as a consequence of the actions under this section. Notices given for the compliance with this section hereunder shall contain information to the property owners of residential properties concerning the availability of such abatement program.
(Ord. 2003-45. Passed 10-7-04.)