[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Pound Ridge 7-14-1977
as L.L. No. 1-1977. Amendments noted where applicable.]
No civil action shall be maintained against the Town or the Town Superintendent
of Highways or against any improvement district in the Town for damages or
injuries to person or property sustained by reason of any highway, bridge,
culvert or any other property, either real or personal, of any type or description
owned by the Town or any property owned by any improvement district therein
being defective, out of repair, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed, unless written
notice of such defective, unsafe, dangerous or obstructed condition of such
highway, bridge, culvert or any other property owned by the Town or any property
owned by any improvement district was actually given to the Town Clerk or
the Town Superintendent of Highways and there was a failure or neglect, within
a reasonable time after the giving of such notice, to repair or remove the
defect, danger or obstruction complained of; and no such action shall be maintained
for damages or injuries to persons or property sustained solely in consequence
of the existence of snow or ice upon any highway, bridge, culvert or any other
property owned by the Town or any property owned by any improvement district
in the Town, unless written notice thereof, specifying the particular place,
was actually given to the Town Clerk or the Town Superintendent of Highways
and there was a failure or neglect to cause such snow or ice to be removed
or to make the place otherwise reasonably safe within a reasonable time after
receipt of such notice.
The Town Superintendent of Highways shall transmit, in writing, to the
Town Clerk, within five days after receipt thereof, all written notices received
pursuant to this chapter and shall take any and all required corrective action
with respect thereto as soon as possible. The Town Clerk shall transmit all
written notices received pursuant to this chapter to the Town Board either
within five days of the receipt thereof or at the next succeeding Town Board
meeting, whichever shall be sooner, and to the Town Superintendent of Highways
immediately unless such notice had been transmitted to the Town Clerk by the
Highway Superintendent.
The Town Clerk shall keep an index record, in a separate book, of all written notices which shall be received of the existence of any condition described in § 20-1 above on property owned by the Town or by any improvement district, which record shall state the date of the receipt of the notice, the nature and location of the condition stated to exist and the name and address of the person from whom the notice is received. The record of such notice shall be preserved for a period of five years from the date it is received.
Nothing contained in this chapter shall be held to repeal, modify or
waive any existing requirement or statute of limitations which is applicable
to these causes of actions, but, on the contrary, this chapter shall be held
to be additional requirements to the right to maintain such action; nor shall
anything herein contained be held to modify any existing rule of law relative
to the question of contributory negligence nor to impose upon the Town, its
officers and employees and any of its improvement districts any greater duty
or obligations than it shall keep its streets and sidewalks fit for public
use and travel.
