[Adopted 12-5-1973 by Ord. No. 73:6 (Ch. 102, Art. III, of
the 1976 Code); amended in its entirety 10-26-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-7]
It shall be the responsibility of an abutting property owner,
at said owner's sole cost and expense, to set or reset, lay or relay,
repair, replace, construct and maintain all curbs, sidewalks and driveway
aprons in and on the right-of-way of any public street in the Township
of Berlin, the grade of which has been lawfully established or which
may hereafter be established, except as may be provided in approved
subdivisions wherein the developer is required to pay the cost thereof.
Determination of the need for any such work shall be made by the Township
Engineer and/or the Public Works Director in his or her sole discretion.
All curbs, sidewalks and driveway aprons hereafter set, reset,
laid, relaid, altered, repaired, replaced or constructed shall be
done in compliance with the regulations of the Township of Berlin
and under the supervision of the Public Works Director and/or Township
Engineer, and/or his or her designee.
Whenever any curb, sidewalk and/or driveway apron is to be set,
reset, laid, relaid, repaired, replaced or constructed in the Township
of Berlin, the property owner of the abutting lands or his contractor
shall first apply to the Township Clerk for a permit under this article.
The application shall specify the grade, dimensions, mix materials
and the method of construction, repair or replacement to be used.
The Township Clerk or such officer or agent as the governing body
may designate shall examine said specifications and register his or
her approval or disapproval thereof. Upon approval thereof, a permit
shall be issued to the applicant for such construction and/or repairs.
[Amended 4-29-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-3]
The fee(s) payable hereunder shall be as set forth in Chapter 156, Fees.
The owners of lots, tracts and parcels of land fronting or abutting
on any public street in the Township of Berlin shall, at said owners'
own cost and expense, set, reset, lay, relay, alter, repair, replace,
construct and maintain curbs, sidewalks and driveway aprons within
the public right-of-way when notified to do so by the Township Clerk,
Code Enforcement Officer, Director of Public Works or such other Township
personnel authorized to do so by the governing body pursuant to a
resolution adopted by the governing body.
A.
Whenever the governing body shall determine that the construction,
repair, alteration or replacement of any curb, sidewalk and/or driveway
apron is necessary, it shall, by resolution, specify the improvements
to be made. Upon adoption of such resolution by the governing body,
the Township Clerk 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 curb, sidewalk and/or driveway
apron to be done within a period of time not less than 30 days from
the date of service of such notice.
B.
No such resolution shall be adopted until after notice has been given
to the affected owner or occupier of said property and a public hearing
is held thereon. Said notice shall be given, by certified mail, at
least 10 days prior to the hearing. If the owners cannot be ascertained
with reasonable certainty, then said notice shall be published in
a newspaper with regular circulation within the Township once each
week for four consecutive weeks with the last publication appearing
at least 30 days before the hearing required by this section. Proof
of service of any such notice shall be filed within 10 days thereafter
with the Tax Collector of the Township of Berlin.
C.
Every notice provided pursuant to this section shall contain a description
of the property affected thereby sufficiently definite to identify
same, the official plat, block and lot of the property as shown on
the Tax Map, the name or names of the owner or owners as they appear
in the last municipal tax duplicate and a brief description of the
required improvements and/or repairs.
In the event that the owners or occupiers of such lands do not
comply with the requirements of such notice, it shall be lawful for
the Township of Berlin to cause the required work to be done. Said
work shall be paid for out of the municipal funds made available for
that purpose. The work as described in the notice may not be undertaken
by the municipality until proof of the service or publication of the
notice shall be filed with the Collector of Taxes. Upon completion
of said work, the cost thereof shall be certified by the Township
Clerk under oath to the governing body. The Township Clerk shall submit
the same to the governing body at its next regular meeting. Said governing
body shall examine such report and the proof of service of the notice
requiring said work to be done. If satisfied of the correctness thereof,
said governing body shall approve and confirm such report, and direct
that it be filed with the Collector of Taxes of the Township, who
shall record the amount of such costs as a curb assessment in the
book in which other assessments of the Township of Berlin 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 liens, and shall bear interest from the
date of such certification and confirmation at the same rate which
other unpaid liens held by the Township of Berlin bear.
A.
The owner of any real estate upon which any assessments for any improvement
shall have been made may pay such assessments in such equal yearly
installments, not exceeding five, with legal interest thereon, and
at such time in each year as the governing body shall determine, but
any person assessed may pay the whole of any assessment, or any balance
of installments, with accrued interest thereon, at one time. If any
such installment shall remain unpaid for 30 days after the time when
the same shall have become due, the whole assessment or balance due
thereon shall become and be immediately due, shall draw interest at
the rate imposed upon the arrearage of taxes in such municipality
and shall be collected in the same manner as is provided by law for
other past-due assessments.
B.
Whenever any owner shall be given the privilege of paying any assessment
in installments, such assessment shall remain a lien upon the land
described therein until the same, with all installments and accrued
interest thereon, shall be paid, and no proceedings to collect or
enforce the same need be taken until default shall be made in the
payment of any installment.
The costs 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 Township of Berlin, 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 governing body may each year include in its annual budget
an appropriation for curb, sidewalk, and/or driveway apron repairs
and/or replacement, in addition to any existing maintenance fund,
out of which appropriation all costs of construction and/or repairs
of curbs, sidewalks and/or driveway aprons during the year may be
charged when it becomes necessary for the governing body to make such
repairs and/or construction pursuant hereto. All moneys recovered
or paid to the Township 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.
The failure of any applicant or owner or his contractor, servant
or agent to construct or repair such curbs, sidewalks and/or driveway
aprons 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.
Any person violating or failing to comply with any of the provisions
of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punishable by a
fine of not more than $500 or by imprisonment in the county jail for
a term not to exceed 90 days, or both, in the discretion of the court.
The continuation of such violation for each successive day shall constitute
a separate offense, and the person or persons allowing or permitting
the continuation of the violation may be punished as provided above
for each separate offense.
