The owner or owners of any lot or lots fronting
upon any street, avenue or highway within the Borough of Kingston
shall, after notice as hereinafter provided, grade and pave the sidewalk
and construct curbs, or curbs and gutters, along the front thereof
within 30 days from the date of the giving of such notice.
The owner or owners of any lot or lots fronting
upon any street, avenue or highway within the Borough of Kingston
shall, after notice as hereinafter provided, repair or renew any sidewalk,
curb, or curb and gutter, in front thereof, within 10 days from the
date of the giving of such notice.
Upon the neglect of any property owner or owners
to comply with any of the requirements provided in the preceding sections
of this Article, the Borough may, after giving notice as called for
in the preceding sections, cause the grading, paving, repairing, curbing
or guttering to be done at the cost of such owner or owners and may
collect the cost thereof and 10% additional, together with all charges
and expenses, from such owner or owners and may file a municipal claim
therefor or collect the same by action of assumpsit.
All such notices shall be served upon the owner
or owners of the premises to which the notice refers, if such owner
is a resident of the borough. If the owner or owners are not residents,
then the notice may be served upon the agent or tenant of the owner
or owners, or upon the occupant of such premises, if the owner or
owners have no agent or tenant or there is no occupier of such premises,
then service shall be by notice posted upon the premises.
The owner or owners of any lot, lots or property
fronting or abutting on any public highway, street, lane or alley
in the Borough of Kingston, Pennsylvania, shall, after notice as hereinafter
provided, be and they are hereby required to construct sidewalks and
keep the same in good repair and condition and shall construct, replace
and repair the same in accordance with the provisions of this Article.
If any such owner or owners, subject to the provisions of this Article,
shall refuse or neglect to comply therewith for a period of more than
30 days after the passage of this Article, or after 30 days' notice
so to do by the Borough of Kingston, then the Borough of Kingston
shall have sidewalks constructed, repaired or replaced in accordance
with this Article and the cost and expense of the same, together with
a penalty of 10% additional cost, shall be collected from the person
or persons so refusing or neglecting, in the manner provided by law.
Upon the issuance of a building permit for a
new building, the owner through his contractor is obligated to install
sidewalks, if required, as a part of the building contract. Such installation
to be in accord with the regulations herein.
All sidewalks constructed or repaired in and
about the Borough of Kingston shall be constructed and/or repaired
to lines and grades as established and on file, or to be placed on
file in the Borough Engineer's office, and where feasible, they are
hereby fixed at a uniform width of not less than four feet on the
respective highways from the line of the highway towards the curb,
gutter or cartway on each side, the four-foot width may be increased
by waiver, dependent upon existing conditions and location, but in
no case shall said width be less than four feet. Said waiver shall
be in accordance with directions set forth by the Borough Engineer
upon written application by owner or owners to the Borough Engineer.
Sidewalks in and about the Borough of Kingston
may be constructed only of concrete or stone flagging and must be
constructed under the following regulations:
A. In replacement of old sidewalks, the new constructed
walks shall be of concrete and shall be the same width as the two
adjoining properties' sidewalks.
B. All driveways in the sidewalk area shall consist of
concrete and shall be constructed to borough specifications.
C. All new sidewalk elevations must be approved by the
Borough Engineer before forms are set or concrete is poured. Walks
and grades not approved by the Borough Engineer shall be removed at
the expense of the property owner.
D. Stone flagging on walks six feet wide or over must
consist of stone not less than four feet long by three feet wide and
two inches thick; four-foot walks must consist of stone not less than
three feet long by two feet wide by two inches thick. Said stones
must be laid evenly on a base of crushed stones, porous cinders or
sand not less than four inches in depth with joints not more than
1/2 inch in width.
E. Concrete shall be at least four inches thick, except
where driveways cross sidewalks, thickness shall be six inches; sidewalks
shall be constructed of not less than one part cement, to two parts
sand and four parts of crushed stone or gravel; concrete shall be
air-entrained and capable of testing to a 2,500 pounds per square
inch compression after 28 days, curing may be by natural means or
chemically sprayed. All sidewalks shall be sprayed with an antispalling
protective treatment after the twenty-eight-day period is fulfilled.
Concrete shall be placed on a base of crushed stone, porous cinders
or sand not less than four inches in depth, with one layer of six
by six (6 x 6) 10/10 welded wire mesh reinforcing placed halfway between
the top and bottom of the sidewalk slab. Finish shall be steel troweled,
with a light broomed or float finish.
F. Asphalt or asphalt mixture shall not be used for new
construction of sidewalks or driveways crossing sidewalks or for patching
of sidewalks.
When a cut is made by a contractor (plumber,
electrical, etc.) utility or utility contractor in any existing sidewalk,
the walk where damaged shall be reconstructed so that the entire width
of the existing walk is replaced with concrete as hereinbefore regulated
for a distance not less than eight inches beyond the initial cut opening
paralleling the street line. Where existing sidewalk is concrete,
and the cut is made with a saw in a straight and neat manner, only
the portion removed will need to be replaced subject to approval of
the Engineer.
A. Sidewalk must be replaced by contractor within 10
days after backfilling.
B. Trenches must be properly barricaded and lighted.
C. No trees shall be cut or removed without permission
of the Shade Tree Committee.
D. Tunneling will not be permitted without permission
of the Borough Engineer.
E. Sidewalks shall be level with the driveway grades
and in no case shall stepdowns be acceptable. When approved by Borough
Engineer, sidewalks may be sloped to driveways if excessive grades
prohibit a level installation.
A. The Sidewalk Inspector, as hereinto referred, shall
direct the owner or owners of properties fronting or abutting on any
public highway, street, lane or alley in the Borough of Kingston to
repair or replace any sidewalk which in his discretionary opinion
does not meet borough standards, such as:
(1)Â Sidewalks buckled by tree roots or frost upheaval,
presenting an uneven variation in elevation between units, in excess
of one to one and one-half (1/2) inches or more, which would be detrimental
and/or injurious to a person walking thereon.
(2)Â Sidewalks cracked by settling, heavy truck or other vehicular traffic which present the same characteristics as noted in Subsection
A(1).
(3)Â Sidewalks overly pitted or deteriorating to a point
where a serious condition is prevalent and the safety of the public
is endangered.
B. Driveway curb cuts shall be made only after approval
of the Borough Engineer. All cuts shall be 10 feet, 10 inches, in
length in residential districts, nor more than 35 feet, zero inches,
in length in commercial districts, and shall be elevated two inches
minimum above pavement in order to provide a proper gutter for storm
water drainage. New curb recesses in new curbing shall also comply
with the dimensions set forth herein.
[Amended 11-6-1995 by Ord. No. 1995-27]
Any willful violation of any section of this
Article shall constitute a summary offense and, upon conviction, the
defendant may be subject to costs, a fine of not more than $300 and,
in default of the payment thereof, be sentenced to the municipality's
correctional facility for a period not exceeding 10 days or to the
Luzerne County Correctional Facility for a period not exceeding 30
days.