Sidewalks within the City shall be constructed,
reconstructed, repaired, altered, relaid and maintained at the expense
of the abutting landowners.
[Amended 5-27-1986 by Ord. No. 25-1986]
Upon advice by the Director of Public Works
that there is need for sidewalks to be constructed, reconstructed,
repaired, altered, relaid or maintained by the abutting landowners
responsible therefor, the City Council may, by resolution, designate
the sidewalk to be constructed, reconstructed, repaired, altered,
relaid or maintained and shall, in each such resolution, direct the
Director of Public Works to serve notice upon the owner or owners
of all real estate affected thereby. The notice shall contain a description
of the property affected, sufficient to identify it, a description
of the work to be done and a statement that unless the owners complete
the same within 30 days after service thereof, the City will do the
work at the expense of the owners.
A.
The notice provided for in the preceding section shall
be served upon all owners residing in the City personally or by leaving
the same at their usual place of residence with a member of the family
above the age of 14 years. In the case of infants and those who are
wards, such notice shall be served upon their guardians; when any
real estate is held in trust, upon the trustee; when held by joint
tenants, tenants in common or tenants by the entirety, upon any one
such tenant. If the owner of any such real estate is a nonresident
of the City, the notice may be served upon him personally or upon
his agent in charge of the property or upon the occupant thereof or
mailed to the nonresident owner at his last known post office address.[1]
B.
If the owner is unknown or if for any reason service
cannot be made as hereinbefore directed, the notice shall be published
in a newspaper circulating in the City at least once and not less
than 30 days before the work is done by the City. Notices to the owner
or owners of several distinct parcels of real estate may be inserted
in the same publication.
C.
Proof by affidavit of service of such notices shall
be filed within 10 days thereafter with the Collector of Taxes, but
failure to file such proofs shall not invalidate the proceedings if
service has been made as hereinbefore provided.
[Amended 5-27-1986 by Ord. No. 25-1986]
In case the owners of subject real estate shall not comply with the requirements of the notice provided for by § 238-48, the Director of Public Works, upon filing due proof of service or publication of such notice with the City Clerk, shall cause the required work to be done and paid for out of money of the City available for that purpose.
[Amended 5-27-1986 by Ord. No. 25-1986]
The Director of Public Works shall keep an accurate account of the cost of all work done under §§ 238-47 through 238-54 and shall assess such cost upon such properties and file a report thereof under oath with the City Clerk. The City Council shall examine such report and, if properly made, confirm and file it with the Collector of Taxes, who shall record such sidewalk assessments in the book in which other assessments of the City are recorded. Before confirming the report, the City Council shall give notice to the owners named therein of the time and place fixed for examination of the report. The notice shall be served in the same manner as required for service of notices before consideration by a governing body of a municipality of assessments for benefits for local improvements, but failure to give any such notice shall not invalidate the proceedings.
Sidewalk assessments shall bear interest from
the time of confirmation at the same rate and with the same penalties
for nonpayment as assessments for local improvements in the City,
and from the confirmation thereof shall be a first and paramount lien
upon the real estate assessed to the same extent and be collected
and enforced in the same manner as assessments for local improvements.
No such assessments shall be invalid by reason of error in the statement
or omission of the name of any owner of real estate assessed or for
any other informality where such real estate has been actually improved.
Nothing in this article shall be construed to
relieve any property owner from the obligation to inspect any sidewalk
abutting his property, nor shall any provision contained in this article
be construed as an assumption by the City of the obligation to inspect
sidewalks.
The City Council may provide for curbing or
recurbing, guttering or reguttering of a sidewalk in, upon or along
a street, alley or other public highway or portion thereof, at public
expense, pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:56-1 et seq. or
N.J.S.A. 40:65-1 et seq., anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding.
A.
All sidewalks hereafter laid, unless otherwise permitted
by resolution of the City Council for good cause shown, shall be of
the best quality bluestone flagging or of concrete.
B.
The flagstones of every sidewalk of such construction
shall be not less than four feet by 2 1/2 feet in size and not
less than two inches thick, the four feet to be measured in the direction
of the width of the walk. The joints between the stones shall not
be more than 3/8 of an inch in width. The flags shall be laid on a
bed not less than two inches in depth of clean sharp sand and the
joints filled with a mortar composed of one part portland cement and
two parts clean sharp sand.
[Amended 5-27-1986 by Ord. No. 25-1986[1]]
The ingredients of the concrete of every sidewalk
shall be only portland cement, clean sharp sand and clean broken stone
or gravel. No cinders or ashes shall be used in concrete. No concrete
shall be used that does not contain at least one part portland cement,
two parts dry sand, three parts dry stone, 1/2 part water. The parts
are in terms of weight – not volume. Any sand used shall be
mortar or brick, sand washed and filtered, and all stone shall be
washed. All materials utilized shall be free of organic materials.
All concrete shall be air entrained. Air-entrainment shall be obtained
by the use of an approved air-entraining agent, added in the proper
proportions so that the percentage of air in the resultant concrete
shall be not less than 3% nor more than 6%. The percentage of air
will be measured by the Director of Public Works with an approved
air meter. The minimum fc of the laid mat shall
be 3,000 psi.
Sidewalks shall be laid in sections containing
not more than 25 square feet, with open joints to provide against
damage from expansion or contraction. A one-half-inch expansion joint
filler with nonextruding joint material conforming to the American
Society of Testing Materials specifications in preformed expansion
joint fillers in concrete shall be provided between all new sidewalks
and adjoining backs of curbs and adjoining old sidewalks and between
all new sidewalks and adjoining driveways and every 20 feet along
the length of all new sidewalks. New sidewalks in business districts
shall be separated from abutting buildings by a similar joint.
A.
All concrete walks shall be at least four feet wide
and four inches in thickness, except that portion of a sidewalk used
as a driveway and the driveway itself within the sidewalk area, which
shall be at least six inches in thickness. All concrete walks shall
have a rough surface finish, and each section thereof shall be laid
complete before any part of it has set.
B.
Every sidewalk shall have a slope toward the middle
of the street not exceeding 1/2 inch to one foot horizontal.
[Added 9-12-1983 by Ord. No. 32-1983; amended 5-27-1986 by Ord. No. 25-1986; 2-22-1999 by Ord. No. 4-1999]
No person shall construct or reset sidewalks or driveways in any way for any purpose whatsoever without first obtaining from the Director of Public Works a permit therefor. (See § 238-76 for violation and penalty hereof.)
[Amended 5-27-1986 by Ord. No. 25-1986]
Any person desiring a permit required by § 238-58.1 shall file with the Director of Public Works of the City an application therefor, signed by the owner of the premises affected, upon which will be stated the name and address of the owner, a description of the premises sufficient to identify the same, and specifications of plans showing, as nearly as possible, the exact point where it is desired that the sidewalk or driveway shall be constructed or reset.
[Added 9-12-1983 by Ord. No. 32-1983; amended 5-27-1986 by Ord. No. 25-1986]
All permits under this article shall be issued
by the Director of Public Works, who is hereby authorized to charge
a nonrefundable permit fee of $0.25 for each square foot of sidewalk
or driveway to be constructed or reset for the issuance of the same.
[Added 9-12-1983 by Ord. No. 32-1983; amended 5-27-1986 by Ord. No. 25-1986]
The construction or resetting of sidewalks or
driveways shall be performed in accordance with regulations to be
presented by the Director of Public Works.
[Added 9-12-1983 by Ord. No. 32-1983]
Upon the filing of any application for a permit
under this article, the applicant shall deposit with the Collector
of Taxes the sum of $1 for each square foot of sidewalk or driveway
to be constructed or reset, provided that no permit shall be issued
upon a deposit of less than $20.
[Added 9-12-1983 by Ord. No. 32-1983; amended 5-27-1986 by Ord. No. 25-1986]
Upon the certificate of the Director of Public
Works that the work of constructing or resetting the sidewalk or driveway
as aforesaid has been performed in a satisfactory manner and in accordance
with the regulations adopted by the Director of Public Works and this
chapter and other ordinances of the City, the Collector of Taxes shall
return the amount of the deposit to the applicant upon demand. In
case the party to whom the permit has been granted fails to perform
the work in the manner as stated above, the Director of Public Works
may perform or cause to be performed such work as may be necessary
to make the same satisfactory and in accordance with the regulation
as aforesaid, and the cost thereof shall be charged against the deposit,
and the balance, if any, shall be returned to the applicant upon demand.
[Added 9-12-1983 by Ord. No. 32-1983; amended 5-27-1986 by Ord. No. 25-1986]
The Director of Public Works may accept from
an applicant for a permit under this chapter, in lieu of the deposit
required by this chapter, a bond in amount and with surety satisfactory
to the Director of Public Works, conditioned for the payment by the
applicant to the City, upon the written demand of the Director of
Public Works, of a sum sufficient to cover the cost and expense to
the City of supplying the necessary material and labor or of otherwise
providing for constructing or resetting or otherwise restoring, as
aforesaid, such sidewalk or driveway and of the cost of repairing
any future subsidence thereof in the event of such work being caused
to be done, in whole or in part, by the Director of Public Works.
In the case of persons who, in the ordinary course of their business,
require permits from time to time during a stated period, the Director
of Public Works may accept, in lieu of the deposit or bond required
by this chapter for such permit, a general bond in amount and with
surety satisfactory to the Director of Public Works, covering the
work, in whole or in part, to be done under any and all permits issued
during such stated period and conditioned as aforesaid.
[Added 9-12-1983 by Ord. No. 32-1983]
All sidewalks shall be properly guarded or caused
to be so guarded by the permittee under this chapter and shall be
provided with safety lights at night from the time when the work shall
be commenced until the work is completed.
