No person shall place any bridging over any gutter or any pipe or other obstruction in any gutter without first obtaining permission, in writing, from the Superintendent of Public Works.
[Amended 9-15-1997 by Ord. No. 97-6]
A. 
No person shall discharge any water from any roof drain, basement drain or other drain onto any sidewalk or into any gutter unless the Borough Engineer shall approve such discharge of water. Such approval by the Borough Engineer shall be based upon a finding that the discharge of waters onto a sidewalk or into a street gutter will not create a nuisance or danger to the public.
B. 
The Borough Engineer's approval shall also be required before any drains may be connected directly to the municipality's storm drainage system.
No person shall cut through or lower the curb or change the grade of a sidewalk for the purpose of making a driveway without having obtained a permit from the Superintendent of Public Works. The fee for such a permit, the manner of obtaining it and the manner of conducting the work shall be the same as provided for the construction of sidewalks.
[Amended 11-4-2009 by Ord. No. 09-16]
The owner or owners, tenant or tenants of land abutting or bordering on sidewalks of public streets within the municipality shall remove all ice and snow from the sidewalks bordering such lands within 24 hours after the end of a snowstorm or the formation of such ice.[1] Ice which is so frozen as to make removal impractical shall either be treated with rock salt or other chemicals which will thaw it sufficiently to permit removal or be thoroughly covered with sand, ashes or cinders. No person shall throw or place snow or ice onto any public street.
[1]
Editor's Note: See also § 265-11G, Removal of snow and ice.
[Amended 9-14-2020 by Ord. No. 20-03]
A. 
Removal of dead trees and branches. Owners of property abutting on any street or public right-of-way and/or easement are required to trim or remove trees in the public right-of-way and/or easement contiguous to their property or on their property which encroaches into the public right-of-way and/or easement and which creates a dangerous condition. Trees with dead or overhanging branches are a potential hazard to people and/or motor vehicles and are required to be trimmed or removed. The municipality shall provide written notice to the property owner by posting notice on any tree that is to be trimmed or removed and shall be either sent to the property owner by certified mail, return receipt requested or personally served upon an occupant of the property of the age of 14 years or older. The notice shall give the property owner a period of time of at least 10 days or a shorter period of time if necessary, for public safety, to trim or remove the trees and/or branches. If the property owner does not trim or remove the trees or branches after a period of at least 10 days, or a shorter period of time if necessary, for public safety, the municipality shall do so at the property owner's expense. The cost of trimming or removing the trees shall become a lien on that property and shall be included in the next tax bill rendered to the property owner. Same shall be collected in the same manner as other taxes against that property.
B. 
For any road maintained by the Borough of Woodcliff Lake that is lined with trees, plantings or has any other object within its right-of-way and/or easement, said trees, plantings or any other object, regardless of the installer and absent of an agreement and resolution to assume responsibility, shall be maintained by the fronting property owner.
[Added 12-6-2021 by Ord. No. 21-17]
A. 
Intent; rationale. It is the intent of this section to establish uniform procedures to reimburse residents for damage to mailboxes due to snow removal operations. The Borough of Woodcliff Lake's primary obligation is to ensure that its roadways are as clear as possible of snow and ice. It is also understood that most mailboxes are located within the public right-of-way and, therefore, while fulfilling the primary objective, mailboxes may be unintentionally and unavoidably damaged. This policy assumes there is a shared responsibility between the Borough of Woodcliff Lake and the homeowner when mailboxes located in the public right-of-way are damaged during snow removal operations.
B. 
Resident responsibility. Snowplow operators make every effort to remove snow as close to the curbline as practical and to provide access to mailboxes for the Postal Service. However, it is not possible to provide perfect conditions and minimize the damage to mailboxes with the size and type of equipment the Borough operates. Therefore, the final cleaning adjacent to mailboxes is the responsibility of each resident.
C. 
Landscaping; hardscape. Property owners should assume all risk of damage for landscaping/hardscape, including nursery and inanimate materials that are installed or encroach on the Borough right-of-way. The Borough assumes no responsibility for damage incurred to these nonpermitted elements as a result of snowplowing and ice control activities, with the exception that lawns that are scraped or gouged by Borough equipment will be repaired by top dressing and seeding the following spring. In addition, inanimate materials such as boulders, timbers, etc., are a hazard and can cause damage to plow equipment.
D. 
Reimbursement policy. While there is no legal requirement, it is the policy of the Borough of Woodcliff Lake to reimburse residents up to $150 for eligible mailbox damage caused by direct plow contact or thrown snow coming off the plow on the part of the Borough's Department of Public Works or Borough private contractors. Residents seeking reimbursement greater than $150 for mailbox damage caused by Borough operators may file a tort claim under Title 59 of the New Jersey Statutes Annotated. Nothing in this article shall be construed to entitle any resident to reimbursement prior to an investigation and determination by the Director of Public Works or designee that the claimed damage is eligible for reimbursement pursuant to this section.
E. 
Eligibility; procedure; investigation. For the purpose of this article, boxes used for receipt of United States mail and placed outside of residences and established for such purposes shall be referred to herein as "mailboxes." All mailboxes must be installed in accord with the United States Postal Service mailbox guidelines.
(1) 
Eligibility; mailbox damage claim. The reimbursement provisions shall only apply to those homeowners who satisfy the following criteria:
(a) 
The mailbox is securely fastened to a sturdy post which is sufficiently anchored in the ground to resist the impact of plowed snow.
(b) 
The damaged mailbox and/or post must meet the requirements of the United States Postal Service mailbox guidelines, as well as all other requirements in regard to construction and location. Mailboxes that do not meet the requirements of the United States Postal Service and/or any other applicable regulations are not eligible for reimbursement.
(c) 
The damage must have been caused by direct contact with or thrown snow from Borough Department of Public Works or Borough private contractor plows or snow removal equipment.
(d) 
The homeowner must notify the Borough within 14 days of the date the damage occurred. Damage reported outside of this time frame will not be eligible for reimbursement.
(e) 
The homeowner must sign a general release discharging the Borough from all debts, claims, demands, damages, actions or further tort claims under Title 59.
F. 
Claim procedure.
(1) 
Within the time period above, a homeowner making a claim for reimbursement shall contact the Department of Public Works and file a mailbox damage claim.
(2) 
The mailbox damage claim shall be accompanied with the following:
(a) 
Name, address, phone number and email address of claimant.
(b) 
Date and time of damage.
(c) 
Exact location of damage.
(d) 
Explanation of what happened/description of damage.
(e) 
Photographs of damage.
(f) 
Itemized receipt for the cost of the new mailbox and/or post.
(3) 
After submission of the claim, the Director of Public Works or designee shall investigate the alleged damage to determine if the damage was caused by the plow blade, vehicle and/or thrown snow coming off the plow. A written response on the findings of the investigation will be mailed to the resident.
(4) 
If it is determined that the mailbox was damaged by the plow blade, vehicle and/or thrown snow coming off the plow, the homeowner will be reimbursed for the cost of the mailbox and/or post in an amount not to exceed $150 upon the submission of an itemized receipt of the cost of the new mailbox and/or post. If it is determined that the damage was not caused by the plow blade vehicle and/or thrown snow coming off the plow, no reimbursement will be given. All actual repairs and/or replacements shall be the responsibility of the homeowner.