[Ord. No. 49, 9/7/1973]
The construction of any new sidewalks or curbs and the repairing of any existing sidewalks or curbs in the Township of Amity, Berks County, Pennsylvania, shall be done in conformance with the specifications, regulations, and/or provisions contained in this Part.
[Ord. No. 49, 9/7/1973]
The grade to which every curb, gutter or sidewalk shall be hereafter laid, constructed or repaired, other than that established in an approved subdivision plan, shall be that fixed and designated by the Township Engineer representing the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Amity, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
[Ord. No. 49, 9/7/1973; as amended by Ord. No. 304, 2/21/2018]
The space between the street side of the curb to the street side of the paved edge of the sidewalk shall be four feet six inches, and the sidewalk paved width shall be four feet and no inches in all new developments or street construction. In existing developed sections of the Township, and where sidewalks have been constructed prior to the date of this amendment, existing conditions shall be taken into consideration by the Township of Amity in applying the width and location regulations.
[Ord. No. 49, 9/7/1973]
Finished sidewalks and curbs shall have a grade from the inner edge of the sidewalk to the outer edge of the curbs of 1/4 inch to the foot.
[Ord. No. 49, 9/7/1973]
All work done under this Part shall be inspected by the Township Engineer representing the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Amity, Berks County, Pennsylvania.
[Ord. No. 49, 9/7/1973]
It shall be the duty of the owners of the land abutting upon any curbs and/or sidewalks to keep them in such repair and condition that they may not be or become dangerous to the welfare and safety of the traveling public. The Board of Supervisors of the Township of Amity, Berks County, Pennsylvania is hereby empowered to notify property owners when sidewalks and curbs are in need of repair or renewal and the repair or renewal thereof shall be made by the property owners within 30 days after said written notice is given to said property owners. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to place the responsibility of determining when sidewalks may become dangerous to the welfare and safety of the traveling public upon the Township. At all times such responsibility shall be solely upon the property owner whose land abuts the curb or sidewalk.
[Ord. No. 49, 9/7/1993]
It shall hereafter be unlawful to plant and maintain any trees between the curb and a corresponding sidewalk. This shall not apply to any trees presently so growing. All new trees shall be planted on the residence side of the sidewalk at a distance which will not interfere with the sidewalk at any time in the future.
[Ord. No. 49, 9/7/1973]
No open gutters for conducting rain water or drainage of any kind shall be permitted to run over top of the sidewalk or curbs. All underground rain conductors shall be of pipe material such as cast iron, wrought iron, asbestos cement, clay or approved plastics, constructed under the sidewalk and through the curb to the gutter.
[Ord. No. 49, 9/7/1973]
No person or persons, firm or corporation shall construct or repair any sidewalk, curb or gutter without first applying for and obtaining from the Building Inspector of the Township of Amity, Berks County, Pennsylvania a permit for the same. The application for such permit shall set forth:
(a) 
The full name and address of the owners of the land affected;
(b) 
The name and address of the contractor or the person to perform the work;
(c) 
The precise location of the property upon which the work is to be done;
(d) 
The length of the proposed project; and
(e) 
Such other pertinent information as may be considered necessary.
[Ord. No. 49, 9/7/1973; as amended by Ord. No. 211, 2/15/2005]
The cost of obtaining a permit to repair existing curbs, gutters and sidewalks shall be in accordance with the Fee Schedule of the Township of Amity.
[Ord. No. 49, 9/7/1973; as amended by Ord. No. 211, 2/15/2005]
(a) 
All curbs, gutters and sidewalks as well as all driveways over sidewalks shall be constructed of monolithic concrete. Said concrete shall have a low slump with a maximum slump of four inches, a compressive strength of 4,000 pounds per square inch (psi) in 28 days, a low water-cement ratio of 0.45 or less, entrained air of 5% to 8% total air content and a minimum cementitious materials content of 564 pounds per cubic yard (pounds/cubic yard) of concrete. Certification for the concrete mix shall be furnished if required by the Board of Supervisors or the Township of Amity.
(b) 
Proper finishing practices shall be used. No finishing operation shall be performed while there is excess moisture or bleeding water on the concrete surface. No subsequent finishing operation after bull floating shall be done until the concrete will sustain foot pressure with only about 1/4 inch indentation. The final finishing operation shall be to make a light broom finish.
(c) 
The finished concrete shall be cured for at least seven days after placement. As soon as the concrete is hard it shall be cured by one or combination of:
(1) 
Moisten the concrete and cover it with waterproof paper or polyethylene film weighted down around the edges to prevent evaporation.
(2) 
The concrete shall be kept continuously wet with a sprinkler.
(3) 
The concrete shall be covered with burlap that is kept moist by occasionally spraying with water.
(4) 
Liquid membrane-forming curing compounds shall be sprayed onto the concrete surface prior to temperatures below 40° F. The curing compound shall be a type that leaves no permanent discoloration on the surface and does not interfere with the application of any subsequent surface treatment.
The concrete shall air dry for at least 30 days prior to application of deicer chemicals. If time does not permit this air drying, the concrete surface shall be sealed with an approved breathable surface treatment.
(d) 
Cold Weather Precautions. If concrete is places when the air temperature is or is expected to be less than 40° F., the following procedures shall be followed:
(1) 
Use heated concrete so that temperature does not fall below 50° F. during placing, finishing and curing.
(2) 
Keep the Concrete Warm When Freezing is Possible. Use insulating blankets or a thick layer of dry straw. To keep the straw dry and in place, cover it with canvas, waterproof paper or plastic sheeting.
(3) 
Protect slab edges and corners with extra care, they are most vulnerable to freezing.
During cold weather, high-early-strength concrete may be used to speed setting and strength development. This can reduce the curing period from seven days to three days, but the concrete shall be kept at or above 50° F. for these three days. The concrete shall then cool gradually to air temperature to prevent thermal shock. Calcium chloride admixture shall not be used.
(e) 
Hot Weather Precautions. If concrete is placed when the air temperature is or is expected to be above 85° F., the following procedures shall be followed:
(1) 
Use concrete that has been chilled during batching and mixing.
(2) 
Dampen the subgrade and forms.
(3) 
Have enough manpower and equipment on hand to finish the concrete quickly.
(4) 
Cover the concrete with wet burlap or plastic sheeting, and expose only a small area at a time just ahead of finishers, or use continuous wet curing methods.
(5) 
Start curing as soon as possible.
(6) 
Place and finish the concrete in the cooler early morning when possible.
(f) 
Curbs and gutters shall be made to the following specifications: The curbs shall have a depth of not less than 18 inches and shall be eight inches thick at the base and seven inches thick at the top. Curbs shall be constructed with an eight inch reveal.
(g) 
Sidewalks shall be not less than four inches in thickness and shall rest on a compacted bed of aggregate of a depth of four inches. For width and location of sidewalks, see § 26-402 of this Part.
(h) 
Sidewalks shall have clean cut joints every four linear feet and curbs every 10 feet. One-half inch pre-molded expansion joints shall be placed every 30 linear feet or less on curb and sidewalk.
(i) 
Driveways over sidewalks shall be at least six inches thick and shall rest on four inches of aggregate and be reinforced with one layer of six inches by six inches wire mesh.
(j) 
A depressed curb for driveway entrances is permitted rather than a horizontal radius. The curb shall be depressed by rounding the edge from the top of the curb to the gutter line. The bottom line of the curb shall be maintained. The sloped portion of the driveway on all new construction shall terminate at the closest edge of sidewalk and at the gutter line, and a lip at the gutter line 1 3/4 inches high shall be constructed. The depressed curb shall be reinforced with two parallel #5 steel rebar rods.
[Ord. No. 49, 9/7/1973]
Any person or persons, firm or corporation constructing or repairing sidewalks, curbs or gutters or planting trees in violation of any of the provisions of this Part shall, upon conviction thereof, before a District Justice, be subject to a penalty of not less than $10 nor more than $600 for each and every offense, and costs of prosecution; and upon default in the payment of said fine and costs, shall be imprisoned for a period not exceeding 30 days in the Berks County Prison.
[Ord. No. 49, 9/7/1973]
If any sentence, clause, section or part of this Part is for any reason found to be unconstitutional, illegal, or invalid, such unconstitutionality, illegality, or invalidity shall not affect or impair any of the remaining provisions, sentences, clauses, sections or parts of this Part. It is hereby declared as the intent of the Board of Supervisors of the Township of Amity, Berks County, Pennsylvania that this Part would have been adopted and such unconstitutional, illegal, or invalid sentence, clause, section or part thereof should not be included herein.