New York State Municipal Home Rule Law authorizes
a local government to adopt local laws relating to its property, affairs
or government, and New York State General Municipal Law permits that
notice of the defective, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed condition
of any street, highway, bridge, culvert, sidewalk or crosswalk, or
of the existence of snow or ice thereon, may be required by law as
a condition precedent to liability for damages or injury to person
or property alleged to have been caused by such condition, and the
failure to repair or remove the same after receipt of such notice.
It is the purpose and intent of the Town of Webster to provide that
it be given notice of certain defects and conditions as a condition
precedent to the maintaining civil actions against the Town of Webster.
No civil action shall be maintained against
the Town of Webster (hereinafter referred to as the "town") or the
Town Superintendent of Highways of the town, or against any improvement
district in the town for damages or injuries to person or property
sustained by reason of the defective, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed
condition of any street, highway, bridge, culvert, sidewalk or crosswalk,
or of the existence of snow or ice thereon, unless written notice
of such defective, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed condition of such
street, highway, bridge, culvert, sidewalk or crosswalk, or of the
existence of snow or ice thereon, was actually given to the Town Clerk
of the town or the Town Superintendent of Highways of the town, and
that there was a failure or neglect within a reasonable time after
the giving of such notice to repair or remove the defective, unsafe,
dangerous or obstructed condition.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
The Town Superintendent of Highways of the town shall transmit, in writing, to the Town Clerk of the town within 10 days after the receipt thereof, all written notices received by the Superintendent of Highways pursuant to this chapter, and he shall take any and all corrective action with respect thereto as soon as practicable. The Superintendent of Highways shall not be required to transmit notices received pursuant to §
213-4 of this chapter.
The Town Clerk of the town shall keep an index
record, in a separate book, of all written notices which the Town
Clerk shall receive of the existence of a defective, unsafe, dangerous
or obstructed condition in or upon or of an accumulation of ice and
snow upon any town street, highway, bridge, culvert, sidewalk or crosswalk,
or of the existence of snow or ice thereon, which record shall state
the date of the receipt of the notice, the nature and location of
the condition stated to exist, and the name and address of the person
from whom the notice is received. The record of such notice shall
be preserved for a period of five years from the date it is received.
The Town Clerk, upon receipt of such written notice, shall immediately
and in writing notify the Town Superintendent of Highways of the town
of the receipt of such notice.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be held
to repeal or modify or waive any existing requirement or statute of
limitations which is applicable to these causes of action but, on
the contrary, shall be held to be additional requirements to the rights
to maintain such action; nor shall anything herein contained be held
to modify any existing rule of law relative to the question of contributory
negligence, nor to impose upon the town, its officers and employees
and/or any of its improvement districts any greater duty or obligations
than that it shall keep its streets, sidewalks and public places in
a reasonably safe condition for public use and travel.
If any clause, sentence, phrase, paragraph or
any part of this chapter shall for any reason be adjudged finally
by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment
shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder of this chapter
but shall be confined in its operation and effect to the clause, sentence,
phrase, paragraph or part thereof directly involved in the controversy
or action in which such judgment shall have been rendered. It is hereby
declared to be the legislative intent that the remainder of this chapter
would have been adopted had any such provisions not been included.
This chapter shall take effect immediately upon
the filing with the Secretary of State.