[Adopted as Ch. 94, Art. II, of the 1973 Code]
A.
In and on any public street, highway, avenue or alley in the Borough
of Somerdale, the grade of which has been lawfully established or
which may hereafter be established, curbs and sidewalks shall be set
or reset, laid or relaid, altered, repaired, constructed and maintained
at the expense of the abutting property owner as provided by law.
B.
It shall be a positive duty to the abutting property owner to maintain
and repair any adjoining curbs and sidewalks.
[Amended 9-12-1990 by Ord. No. 90:09]
All curbs and sidewalks hereafter set, reset, laid, relaid,
altered, repaired or constructed shall be done in compliance with
the regulations of the Chairman of the Public Works Committee of the
Borough Council and under the supervision of such employees of the
Borough as the Chairman of the Public Works Committee may designate.
Whenever any curb and/or sidewalk is required to be set, reset,
laid, relaid, repaired or constructed in the Borough of Somerdale,
application by the owner of the abutting lands or his contractor for
a permit shall first be made to the Chairman of the Public Works Committee
of the Borough Council, specifying grade, dimensions, mix materials
and the method of construction or repair to be used. The Chairman
of the Public Works Committee of the Borough Council or such officer
or agent as he shall designate shall examine such specifications and
register his approval or disapproval thereof. Upon approval thereof,
a permit shall be issued to the applicant for such construction and/or
repairs.
The owner of lots, tracts and parcels of land fronting or abutting
on any public street, highway, avenue or alley in the Borough of Somerdale
shall, at his, her or their own cost and expense, set, reset, lay,
relay, alter, repair, construct and maintain curbs and sidewalks in
front of or adjoining the same when notified so to do by the Chairman
of the Public Works Committee of the Borough Council of the Borough
of Somerdale.
A.
Whenever the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Somerdale shall
deem necessary the construction, repair, alteration or relaying of
any curb or sidewalk in the Borough of Somerdale, it shall, by resolution,
specify the improvements to be made.
B.
Upon the adoption of such resolution by the Mayor and Council, the
Chairman of the Public Works Committee of the Borough of Somerdale
shall cause a notice, in writing, to be served upon the owners or
occupiers of the lands so designated, requiring the necessary specified
work to said sidewalks and/or curbs to be done by the owners or occupiers
within a period of not less than 30 nor more than 90 days from the
date of service of such notice.
Service of such notice upon owners or occupiers of said lands
shall be made as follows:
A.
If residents in the Borough of Somerdale, either personally or by
leaving the same at their usual place of residence with a member of
the family above the age of 14 years.
B.
If such lands are occupied, a copy of such notice shall be attached
to the improvements thereon in a conspicuous place.
C.
If such lands are occupied and the owners are not residents of the
Borough of Somerdale, said notice shall not be mailed, postage prepaid,
to his, her or their last known post office address.
D.
If the owners are nonresidents of the Borough of Somerdale and his,
her or their post office address cannot be ascertained with reasonable
certainty, then said notice shall be published in a newspaper circulating
in the Borough of Somerdale, at least twice and not less than 40 days
before the improvements and/or repairs are made by the Borough.
E.
Each such notice shall contain a description of the property affected
thereby sufficiently definite to identify the same; the plate, block
and lot by which said property is designated on the Official Tax Map
of the Borough, the name or names of the owner and/or owners as recorded
in the tax records of the Borough; and a brief description of the
required improvements and/or repairs.
F.
Proof of service of any such notice shall be filed within 10 days
thereafter with the Collector of Taxes of the Borough of Somerdale.
A.
If the owners or occupants of such lands shall not comply with the
requirements of such notice, it shall be lawful for the Chairman of
the Public Works Committee of the Borough Council to cause the required
work to be done by direction of himself and under his jurisdiction.
Upon its completion, the cost thereof shall be certified by him under
oath to the Borough Clerk. The Borough Clerk shall submit the same
to the Mayor and Council at its next regular meeting. Said Mayor and
Council shall examine such report and the proof of service of the
notice requiring said work to be done. If satisfied with the correctness
thereof, said Mayor and Council shall approve and confirm such report
and direct that it be filed with the Collector of Taxes of the Borough,
who shall record the amount of such costs as a sidewalk and/or curb
assessment in the book in which other assessments of the Borough of
Somerdale are recorded. Said costs shall thereupon be and become a
lien upon the abutting lands adjacent to which said work was done
to the extent that assessments for such improvements are a lien and
shall bear interest from the date of such certification and confirmation
at the same rate which other unpaid liens held by the Borough of Somerdale
bear.
B.
The cost of any such improvement, if it becomes a lien as set forth
herein, shall be collected in the manner provided by law for the collection
of other assessments or liens. In addition thereto, the Borough of
Somerdale, at its option, may maintain an action to recover the amount
thereof against the owner of said lands in any court of competent
jurisdiction.
The Mayor and Council may each year include in its annual budget
or tax ordinance an appropriation for curb and/or sidewalk repairs
in addition to any existing maintenance fund, out of which appropriation
all cost of construction and/or repairs of curbs and sidewalks during
the year may be charged when it becomes necessary for the Chairman
of the Public Works Committee of the Borough Council to make such
repairs and/or construction pursuant hereto. All moneys recovered
or paid to the Borough under the provisions of this article, other
than penalties as hereinafter set forth, shall be credited to the
account out of which such work was paid.
A.
The failure of any applicant, owner, his contractor, servant or agent
to construct or repair such curbs and/or sidewalks in accordance with
the specifications filed by him for the purpose of securing a permit
under the terms of this article shall be and constitute a violation
hereof.
B.
Any person who violates any provision of this article shall, upon
conviction thereof, be subject to any combination of the following:
[Amended 9-12-1990 by Ord. No. 90:09]
C.
Each day's persistence in the things or acts prohibited by this
article shall be and constitute a separate and distinct offense, subject
to any and all of the penalties prescribed in this article.
