[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee
of the Township of Independence 12-27-1994 by Ord. No. 94-14 (Ch.
133 of the 1984 Code); amended in its entirety at time of adoption
of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I). Subsequent amendments
noted where applicable.
The owner, occupant or tenant of any premises
abutting or bordering upon any street in the Township shall remove
all snow and ice from the abutting sidewalks of such streets and from
any fire hydrant located on the property or, in the case of ice which
may be so frozen as to make removal impracticable, shall cause the
same to be thoroughly covered with sand or ashes, within 24 hours
of daylight after the same falls or forms thereon.
In case a building is not owner occupied and
is occupied by more than one family or business unit, the tenant or
occupant of the first floor or story thereof is hereby required to
remove all snow and ice from the abutting sidewalk and from any fire
hydrant located on the property or, in the case of ice which it is
impracticable to remove, cover the same with sand or ashes, within
24 hours of daylight after the same forms or falls thereon.
No person, owner, tenant or occupant of any
premises abutting on any street shall throw, place or deposit any
snow or ice into or upon any street in the Township, it being the
intent and purpose of this provision to prohibit all persons from
throwing, casting, placing or depositing snow and ice which accumulated
within the private property belonging to such person upon the sidewalks
or streets or fire hydrants of the Township.
In case such snow or ice is not removed from the sidewalks or fire hydrants or shall be cast, deposited or placed thereon by the owner, tenant or occupant of any premises as provided in §§ 329-1, 329-2 and 329-3 above, the same shall be removed forthwith and the cost of such removal, as nearly as can be ascertained, shall be certified by the officer or employee of the Township in charge of removal to the Council. The Council shall examine such certification and, if found to be correct, shall cause the cost to be charged against the real estate so abutting or bordering upon the sidewalks and fire hydrants, and the amount charged shall become a lien and a tax upon the real estate or land and be added to, recorded and collected in the same way and manner as the taxes next to be levied and assessed upon such premises and shall bear interest and be enforced and collected by the same officers and in the same manner as other taxes. The imposition and collection of a fine or fines imposed by the provisions of this chapter shall not constitute any bar to the right of the Township to collect the cost as certified for the removal of the snow or ice in the manner herein authorized.
In the event of snowfall or a series of snowfalls
resulting in snow accumulation of one inch or more in depth, the owner
or manager of any garden apartment complex and commercial complex
in the Township shall remove the snow from the streets, roadways and
parking areas of such garden complex and commercial complex within
24 hours of daylight after the same shall fall or be formed thereon.
The owner or manager of any garden apartment
complex and commercial complex in the Township shall remove all snow
and ice from all sidewalks within the complex and, in the case of
ice which cannot be removed, cause the same to be thoroughly covered
with sand, rock salt or ashes, within 24 hours of daylight after the
same shall fall or be formed thereon.
Upon the failure of the owner or manager to
remove or provide for the removal of such snow and ice, the Township
may remove same and the cost thereof shall be charged against the
lands of such garden apartment complex or commercial complex from
which the snow and ice is removed as follows:
A.
The officer or employee of the Township in charge
of the removal shall certify the cost thereof to the Township Council.
B.
The Township Council shall examine the certificate
and, if found to be correct, shall cause such cost to be charged against
the real estate of the garden apartment complex.
C.
The amount so charged shall thereupon become a lien
and tax upon the real estate and be added to and be part of the taxes
next to be levied and assessed thereon, and shall be enforced and
collected with interest by the same officer and in the same manner
as any other taxes.
[Amended 2-11-2014 by Ord. No. 2014-02]
For any offense, a person shall, upon conviction
for any such offense, be subject to a fine of not less than $50 nor
more than $500.
