[Adopted 6-25-1984 by Ord. No. 84-23 (Sec.
3-6 of the Revised General Ordinances); amended
in its entirety 4-23-2018 by Ord.
No. 2018-14]
The owner, occupant or tenant of the premises abutting or bordering
upon any street in the Township shall remove all snow and ice from
the abutting sidewalks of such streets or, in the event of ice which
may be so frozen as to make removal impracticable, shall cause the
same to be thoroughly covered with sand, ashes or rock salt within
24 hours after the same shall cease to fall or be formed thereon.
No person, owner, tenant or occupant of any premises abutting
on any street or sidewalk shall throw, place or deposit any snow or
ice accumulated on private property into or upon any such street or
sidewalk in the Township.
A.
Duties of owners/occupants. The owner, occupant or tenant of the
premises abutting or bordering upon any street in the Township shall
repair and maintain the abutting sidewalks and retaining walls of
such streets in accordance with the standard construction details
for sidewalks and retaining walls on file in the office of the Township
Engineer. This standard does not apply to those types of large retaining
walls typically constructed as part of grade separated roadway intersection
improvements projects.
B.
Notice to repair. Whenever an owner, occupant or tenant of such property
shall fail to maintain and repair the sidewalks and retaining walls
abutting said owner's, occupant's or tenant's property or shall permit
them to deteriorate into such condition that the safety of the public
is impaired, written notice shall be given to the owner and occupant
or tenant, if any, directing said owner, occupant or tenant to perform
such maintenance or repairs within 30 days after the giving of the
notice.
C.
Contents of notice; service. The notice shall contain a description
of the property sufficient to identify it, but need not contain a
legal description. Notice may be given in the same manner as provided
for the service of judicial process in any of the courts of the State
of New Jersey or by sending it registered mail, return receipt requested,
addressed to the owner and occupant or tenant, if any, at his or her
last known post office address.
D.
Noncompliance procedure. If the owner and occupant or tenant, if
any, of such lands to whom such notice shall have been given as aforesaid
shall refuse or neglect to perform such repairs or maintenance within
the thirty-day period, then the work may be performed by the Township.
The cost of said work, when certified to the Township Engineer and
found by it to be correct, shall be charged against the property affected,
as provided for in N.J.S.A. 40:65-14 et seq. The amount so charged
shall forthwith become a lien upon such lands and shall be added to
the taxes next to be assessed and levied upon such lands, bearing
interest at the same rate as taxes and collected and enforced in the
same manner as taxes.
E.
Nothing herein contained shall be construed to relieve any property
owner from the obligation of inspecting and maintaining any sidewalks
or retaining walls located in the public right-of-way abutting their
property, nor be construed as an assumption by the Township of any
responsibility to inspect sidewalks.
A.
Feasibility. A retaining wall in the public right-of-way is permitted
only where it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Township
Engineer that there is no feasible, reasonable alternative to either
construct the retaining wall outside of the public right-of-way, or
to perform an alternative slope treatment to solve the grade differential
problem. No wall is permitted where it may present a danger or hazard
to public welfare. No wall is permitted where it may violate clear
sight triangle requirements at street corners.
B.
Permits. No sidewalk or retaining wall located in the public right-of-way
shall be constructed, altered, repaired or replaced except pursuant
to a permit issued by the Township Engineer on application and payment
of an application fee in accordance with the requirements of this
chapter. Repairs of a minor nature shall be exempt from the requirement
for the filing of a plan and from the fee requirement.
C.
Standards. All sidewalks and retaining walls in the public right-of-way
shall be constructed, repaired or altered in accordance with the standard
construction details for sidewalks and retaining walls on file in
the office of the Township Engineer.
D.
Specifications and grades for sidewalks. All new sidewalks shall
be constructed of Portland cement air-entrained concrete, having a
standard compressive strength of 4,500 pounds per square inch, of
natural color, to lines and grades approved by the Township Engineer,
and in the manner and under the conditions hereinafter specified in
this chapter. All repairs, replacements or alterations to existing
sidewalks may be constructed of the same material used in the existing
sidewalk.
E.
Specifications and grades for retaining walls. Upon the approval
of the Township Engineer, retaining walls may be constructed of steel-reinforced
Portland cement concrete, a commercial modular concrete block retaining
wall system, brick or stone, or a combination of the above, to lines
and grades approved by the Township Engineer, and in the manner and
under the conditions hereinafter specified in this chapter. Design
requirements for walls are subject to proposed height, surcharge loads
from adjacent structures and/or driveways, and site soil conditions.
In instances where the slope on the upper side of the retaining wall
exceeds 3:1 and/or wall height exceeds 47 inches, a guard rail or
other restraining device must be provided at the top of the retaining
wall.
