[Amended 7-26-1994]
Whenever the Board of Education, by vote of two-thirds of its members, shall find that the safety of pupils who are required to walk to and from any public school in Town shall so require, and shall so recommend to the Town Council, the Town Council may cause a suitable walkway to be constructed along such street or highway, and the costs of the construction and maintenance thereof, including the clearing of ice and snow, shall be paid entirely by the Town from general tax funds. For school access sidewalk authorized and constructed after September 1, 1994, the obligations and expenses of maintenance (including clearing of ice and snow) and repairs or replacement thereof shall be as provided in § 364-2.
[Amended 7-26-1994; 4-12-2004]
A.
Every owner of land in the Town in front of whose premises there
is a sidewalk shall keep the same in a safe condition and free from
any and all defects and keep the same free from all obstructions which
would impede public travel on such sidewalk. The costs of repair or
replacement of existing sidewalk shall be paid by such owner who,
upon presentation to the Town of proof of payment for such costs,
shall be entitled to reimbursements from the Town of 40% of the reasonable
cost thereof.
B.
Upon the default or negligence of the owner, tenant or occupant of
such adjoining premises to repair such sidewalk within 10 days after
notice to do so from the Town Council, the Town Council may repair
such sidewalk, and the expense of such repair shall be a lien upon
the premises adjoining such sidewalk, providing the Town Council shall
cause a certificate of lien to be recorded in the Town Clerk's office
within 60 days from the completion of such repair.
C.
Whenever any sidewalk adjoining and fronting any land or premises
shall be wholly or partially covered with snow, the owner, tenant
or occupant of such adjoining premises shall cause such sidewalk to
be made safe and convenient by removing such snow therefrom within
12 hours after the accumulation of the same thereon, and should ice
be accumulated on any sidewalk so that the same cannot be removed,
such ice shall be covered with sand or other substance within three
hours after the accumulation of such ice.
[Amended 10-9-2012]
D.
Municipal liability for ice and snow removal.
[Added 2-23-2015[1]]
(2)
Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 13a-149 of the Connecticut
General Statutes or any other general or special act, the municipality
shall not be liable to any person for injury to person or property
due to the presence of ice or snow on a public sidewalk unless the
municipality is the owner or person in possession and control of land
abutting such sidewalk, other than land used as a highway or street,
provided that the municipality shall be liable for its affirmative
acts with respect to any such sidewalk under its possession and control.
(3)
The owner or person in possession and control of land abutting a
public sidewalk shall have the same duty of care with respect to the
presence of ice or snow on such sidewalk toward the portion of the
sidewalk abutting his property as the municipality had prior to the
effective date of this chapter and shall be liable to persons injured
in person or property where a breach of said duty is the proximate
cause of said injury.
(4)
No action to recover damages for injury to person or property caused
by the presence of ice or snow on a public sidewalk against a person
who owns or is in possession and control of land abutting a public
sidewalk shall be brought but within two years from the date when
the injury is first sustained.
E.
Whenever any sidewalk adjoining and fronting any land or premises
located in the downtown Southington or downtown Plantsville area,
said area to be defined as an area adjoining Center Street from Main
Street to South Center Street and adjoining Main Street from Merrill
Avenue to Berlin Avenue for downtown Southington and adjoining Main
Street from Maple Street to South Main Street, adjoining West Main
Street from South Main to Summer Street and adjoining Main Street
to Hillside Avenue for downtown Plantsville, shall be wholly or partially
covered with dirt, sand or other debris, the owner, tenant or occupant
of such adjoining premises shall cause such sidewalk to be made safe
by removing the dirt, sand or other debris.
F.
The owner, tenant or occupant of any premises adjoining any sidewalk violating Subsections C and D of this section shall be fined, and a separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during or on which a violation occurs or continues, which shall be in addition to any expense or cost to the Town to remove ice or snow, dirt, sand or other debris, or cover ice, as provided for herein. Fines are listed in the Fine Schedule, § 37-2 of this Code, and posted on the Town of Southington website.
G.
The Town Council may, after a hearing as herein provided, make a
finding of fact that public necessity and convenience require a sidewalk
be constructed along any highway within the Town. Notice of the time
and place of such hearing, describing in general terms the proposed
location of the sidewalk, shall be given to each recorded owner of
the property adjacent to which such sidewalk is proposed to be constructed
by mail and by advertisement in a newspaper having circulation in
the Town at least 10 days before the date of such hearing. Should
the Town Council, after such hearing, make a finding of fact that
public necessity and convenience require a sidewalk to be constructed
along any highway, a copy of such finding shall, within 10 days after
such finding, be mailed to or placed in the hands of each owner of
the property adjacent to which such sidewalk is to be constructed.
H.
The owner of any such property adjacent to the proposed sidewalk
may appeal to the Superior Court for the Judicial District of New
Britain within 20 days from the receipt of a copy of such finding
of the Town Council.
I.
Upon completion of the construction of any sidewalk in accordance
with this section, the Town Council shall assess 50% of the cost of
such construction as benefits to the owners of the abutting property,
in proportion to the number of feet owned along the sidewalk; which
shall be a lien upon the adjoining premises, provided the Town Council
causes a certificate of lien to be recorded in the Town Clerk's office
within 60 days from the completion of such construction.
J.
All sidewalks which shall be constructed or reconstructed shall conform
with the specifications as determined by the Town Planning and Zoning
Commission, where applicable, and otherwise to such specifications,
dimensions, grades and lines as shall be determined by the Town Council.
K.
The Town Council may appoint a sidewalk inspector, who shall periodically
inspect all sidewalks in the Town and report to the Council any defects,
unsafe conditions or any violations of this article, whereupon notice
as provided for herein shall be given by the Council, to the owner,
tenant or occupant of the adjoining premises.
L.
Nothing contained in this article shall alter or affect any rules
or regulations duly and legally adopted by the Town Planning and Zoning
Commission, in accordance with the authority granted to it by law;
and provided, further, that this section shall not apply to school
access walks duly authorized prior to September 1, 1994.
[Added 8-23-1993]
A.
In addition to the amount set forth in § 364-2E of this article, the owner, tenant or occupant of a premises shall pay, in addition to the fine set forth, an additional charge per violation, representing the costs of enforcement of the Code as to snow and ice removal. Fines are listed in the Fine Schedule, § 37-2 of this Code, and posted in the Town of Southington website.
B.
No owner, tenant, occupant or other individual shall throw or cause to be blown by machine or other implement snow into the right-of-way or sidewalks in the Town of Southington. Any person or company found to be in violation hereof shall be fined per violation. Cul-de-sac residents shall be subject to consideration of the difficulties of snow removal in such areas by the agent who decides on the issuance of a violation. Fines are listed in the Fine Schedule, § 37-2 of this Code, and posted in the Town of Southington website.
C.
In the event an owner of premises is absent from the premises when
an accumulation of ice or snow occurs such as needs to be removed
from a sidewalk adjoining said premises, and the police are unable
to reach the owner by phone or in person, then in said event the Town
of Southington may cause the snow or ice to be removed and lien the
premises for the amount so expended in addition to any other remedy
or fines as allowed by law.
