[Adopted by Ord. No. 1975-4 as Sec. 9-7 of the Revised General Ordinances]
It shall be the duty of the owner of any real
property in the borough abutting any public street or sidewalk to
construct, repair, alter, relay or maintain the curbs and public sidewalks
in front of the property whenever curbs or sidewalks are required
or, being already installed, shall be in such disrepair as to constitute
a hazard to the general public using the curbs and sidewalks, unless
they are repaired, altered, re-layed or maintained. In the case of
curbs, such work shall also be done when the repair is necessary for
efficient use of the curbs. It is the intent of this subsection to
comply with enabling legislation designated as N.J.S.A. 40:65-14;
Laws of 1970 Chapter 297 et seq.
A.
Sidewalks shall be deemed to be required whenever
the Council, by resolution and 30 days' notice to the abutting owners
of the proposed adoption of such resolution and an opportunity to
the owners of abutting lands to be heard, shall determine that public
necessity and convenience require the construction of such sidewalks
or curbs.
B.
Repairs, alterations, re-laying or maintenance of
any sidewalks or curbs shall be required whenever the Council, upon
30 days' notice to the owner or occupant of such abutting property
and an opportunity to such abutting owner or occupant to be heard,
shall, by resolution, determine that such repairs, alterations, relaying
or maintenance, at the expense of the abutting landowners, is reasonably
necessary for the safety of the public using such sidewalks or for
the efficient utilization of the curbs for the purpose for which curbs
are constructed.
Notice of the proposed adoption of the resolution
shall also specify the work to be done by the owner or occupant and
shall contain further notice that in the event the Council makes such
determination by resolution, the owner or occupant shall be required
to perform the work specified within a period of not less than 60
days from the date of service of the notice.
Whenever any such lands are unoccupied and the
owner cannot be found within the borough, the notice may be mailed,
postage prepaid, to his post office address if the same can be ascertained,
but in case the owner is a nonresident or his post office address
cannot be ascertained, then such notice shall be inserted for four
weeks, once a week, in the official newspaper of the borough.
A.
In case the owner or occupant of such lands shall
not comply with the requirements of the notice, it shall thereupon
be lawful for the Mayor, as the person in charge of the street department
of the borough (for the purpose of this chapter), upon filing due
proof of the service or publication of the aforesaid notice with the
Clerk, to cause the required work to be done and paid for out of the
borough funds available for that purpose; the cost of such work shall
thereupon be certified by the Mayor to the Borough Tax Collector and
upon filing the certificate, the amount of the cost of such work shall
be and become a lien upon the abutting lands in front of which the
work was done to the same extent that assessments for local improvements
are liens in the borough under general law and shall be collected
in the manner provided by law for collection of such other assessments
and shall bear interest at the same rate.
B.
In addition to the remedies specified above, the borough
may have an action to recover the amount against the owner of the
lands in any court having competent jurisdiction thereof and a certified
copy of the aforesaid certificate shall in such action be prima facie
evidence of the existence of the debt due from the owner to the borough.
All moneys recovered or paid to the borough
under the provisions of the foregoing sections shall be credited to
the account out of which the cost of such work was paid.
All such sidewalks or curbs shall be installed in accordance with the grades and specifications as to construction and materials prepared by the Borough Engineer and approved by the Council by resolution and no person shall install any such public sidewalk or curbs or repair, alter, re-lay or maintain the same except in accordance with such grades and specifications. In addition to the procedures and remedies provided above, any owner or occupant of any property failing to keep the sidewalk or curb in front of such property, whether occupied or unoccupied, in good repair, shall be subject to a penalty as stated in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article II, Penalties.
