[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Jerusalem as indicated
in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 12-12-1966]
A.
No person, firm or corporation shall dig into or cause
to be dug into, through or against any street, road, alley or sidewalk or
public grounds any trench, ditch or other opening, except upon a written permit
granted by the Town Clerk and under the direction of the Town Highway Superintendent
or his assistant.
B.
Said applicant shall agree to assume all liabilities
in case of damages of any kind which may arise during the progress of the
work authorized by said permit or by reason thereof and on the conditions
set forth below.
[Amended 12-29-1992 by L.L. No. 3-1992]
A.
Prior to issuance of said permit, the applicant shall
pay to the Town Clerk a fee and a deposit for each opening and shall file
with the Town Clerk a certificate of general liability insurance with no exclusions.
B.
Fees, deposits and other forms of financial security
shall be as set forth by resolution of the Town Board.
C.
This section shall not apply to the New York State Electric
and Gas Corporation and the New York Telephone Company, insofar as the deposit
is concerned.
[Amended 12-29-1992 by L.L. No. 3-1992]
The deposit is to be applied to the cost of repairing or replacing the
street or road pavement when work is performed by the Town Highway Department.
If the cost is less than the required amount, the sum over and above the cost
will be returned. If the cost is more than the required amount, the applicant
will be required to pay for the additional costs. If the surface, street or
road pavement replacement is made by a firm or corporation other than the
Town Highway Department and the replacement meets with the approval of the
Town Highway Superintendent, the deposit is returned to the applicant. The
deposit for street opening is in addition to the deposit which may be required
by the New York State Highway Department on state-maintained streets or roads
within the Town.
All persons, firms or corporations making an opening shall remove the
dirt from said opening and haul it away and shall backfill the opening made
with a good run-of-bank gravel, machine tamping the same in successive horizontal
layers not over six inches deep. No backfill of any opening shall be made
prior to an inspection being made by the Town Superintendent or his assistant
and his approval given to make said backfill.
Any person, firm or corporation making an excavation through a fixed
type of pavement shall replace such pavement by putting back the adjoining
pavement, a distance of at least two feet on each side of said opening and
replacing the same in kind, except that brick pavements may be replaced by
adding concrete throughout its entire depth. All materials used in replacing
such pavements must be of such a source that bears the approval of the New
York State Department of Public Works. All concrete must contain at least
six bags of portland cement per cubic yard. Between November 1 and May 1,
a temporary fix or winter mix may be used to temporarily fill said opening,
said temporary fix or winter mix to be replaced before the first of July following
use of said fix or mix by the applicant and at his expense or by the Town
of Jerusalem at the expense of the applicant. All of the above work is to
be done under the direction of the Town Highway Superintendent or his assistant.
In the event that settlement occurs within one year from the time the opening
is closed, requiring additional work, the applicant agrees to make the necessary
repairs under the supervision of the Town Highway Superintendent or his assistant
or said repairs are to be made by the Town at the expense of the applicant
who is to be billed therefor. Any cost which the applicant may be responsible
for and which is not paid within the fiscal year will be added to the annual
tax statement of the property for which the excavation application is made.
In the event that the applicant does not, within 24 hours after written
notice has been given to him, comply with the requirements of this article,
the work shall be done by the Town and the expense thereof charged to said
person, firm or corporation.
Warning/danger lights, signs, barricades, railings and all other necessary
means of protection against accident shall be provided by the applicant.
[Amended 12-29-1992 by L.L. No. 3-1992]
Any person, firm or corporation violating any of the provisions of this
Article hereby enacted shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $250
or be imprisoned in the county jail for not more than 15 days, or be both
so fined and so imprisoned. Any violation of this article shall constitute
a violation and not a misdemeanor, and, further, this Article may be enforced
by injunction.
In the event of an emergency when the Town office is closed, the Town
Highway Superintendent may authorize the street or read excavation, and the
permit shall be applied for the first day the Town office is open.
[Added 7-8-1974]
All road openings will be done to the Highway Superintendent's
specifications and under his inspection, which will be five feet underground
and extend at least two feet past the ditch line and marked.
[Added 7-8-1974]
All driveways will be installed with the Highway Superintendent's
supervision and under his inspection.
[Adopted 11-14-2007 by L.L. No. 5-2007]
It shall be the duty of the owner of every lot or piece of land in the
Town of Jerusalem to keep the sidewalks adjoining the lot or piece of land
in good repair and to remove and clean away all snow and ice and other obstruction
from such sidewalks. The term "owner" shall mean the person shown on the most
recent tax roll of the Town to be the owner.
No owner, occupant or lessee of any premises abutting on any street, road, highway or sidewalk shall place, permit or suffer to be placed on any sidewalk in front of, adjoining or adjacent to such premises any snow, ice, display signs, goods, wares, vehicles, merchandise, boxes, barrels, junk, debris or other articles or material; nor shall they in any manner obstruct or interfere with the use of any such sidewalk. As an exception to the forgoing, a person may place goods, wares, household furniture or merchandise on the sidewalk for not more than one hour while loading or unloading the same. Written notice of violation of this section shall be served upon the owner, occupant or lessee by the Sheriff, Highway Superintendent or other Town officer as may be designated by the Town Board, describing the violation and requiring the immediate removal of the obstruction. Failure to comply with such notice shall subject the owner, occupant, or lessee to the penalties prescribed in § 140-15 below.
A.
A sidewalk shall be considered to be unsafe when the
Town Superintendent of Highways shall determine that it is so broken, cracked,
lifted, spilled, scaled or otherwise defective as to cause a clear and present
danger to pedestrians.
B.
Upon the determination by the Town Superintendent of
Highways that a certain sidewalk is unsafe, the Town Board shall notify the
owner of the land in front of whose premises the same may be to repair the
same within 30 days from the date of such notice (with extensions where necessary
as determined by the Town Board).
C.
Such notice shall specify the sidewalk or portions thereof
which require repair or replacement and contain a brief summary of the reasons
therefor. Such notice shall be served upon the owner in person or by certified
mail, return receipt requested, addressed to the last known address as shown
on the latest completed assessment roll of the Town of Jerusalem. If delivery
of the certified mail is returned or unclaimed, then service shall be made
by regular mail and shall be deemed complete five days after the date of mailing.
D.
If the owner shall neglect or refuse to put such sidewalk
in repair within such time, then the Town Board may cause the same to be done
at the expense of the property owner. If said expense, as determined by the
Town, is not paid within 30 days after billing to the property owner, the
charge shall be a lien upon the property where the sidewalk is located until
paid and shall be added to the property owner's next tax bill as an assessment.
E.
Any property owner aggrieved by a determination to repair
the sidewalk or any portion thereof as contained in the written notice of
the same shall have a right to appeal such determination to the Town Board
by delivering a written request for review of the determination to the Town
Clerk within 10 days of delivery of said notice, which the Town Clerk shall
thereupon transmit to the Town Board. Upon receipt of a timely request for
review, the Town Board shall refer the matter to a person whom it shall designate
for the purpose of hearing all evidence and arguments both for and against
such determination. For this purpose, the person so designated by the Town
Board shall schedule a time and place for such a hearing and shall give or
cause to be given adequate notice thereof to the property owner and the Town
Superintendent of Highways. On such hearing, the formal rules of evidence
shall not apply. Upon conclusion of such hearing, the person designated shall
prepare and transmit to the Town Board a recommended decision, based on the
evidence and arguments presented, either annulling, modifying or affirming
the determination of the Town Superintendent of Highways, together with a
summary of the reasons therefor. Upon receipt of such recommended decision,
the Town Board shall take the matter up at the next regularly scheduled Town
Board meeting and shall adopt, reject or modify the recommended decision.
The determination of the Town Board so made shall be deemed final and binding
upon the property owner and the Town Superintendent of Highways.
A.
Any person, partnership, association or corporation who
violates any provision of this article shall be guilty of an offense and subject
to a fine of not more than $250 and 15 days in jail, for each such offense.
Each day of continued violation after notice thereof shall constitute a separate
and distinct violation.
B.
In addition to the above-provided penalties, the Town
Board may also maintain an action or proceeding in the name of the Town in
a court of competent jurisdiction to compel compliance with or to restrain
by injunction the violation of any portion of this article.
