[Adopted 1-11-1965 by Ord. No. 827]
[Amended 10-8-1990 by Ord. No. 1195]
Every owner of property in the Borough of Ephrata
shall, upon notice from the Borough Council, through the Borough Manager
or his or her designated employee, construct or reconstruct either
a sidewalk or curb, or both, as specified in the notice, which work
shall conform to all applicable requirements of this article or any
later ordinance, in front of or along side of such property within
the time period specified in the notice but not less than 60 days.
Every owner of property in the Borough of Ephrata
shall on 30 days' notice from the Borough Council, through the Borough
Manager or his or her designated employee, repair the sidewalk or
curbing, or both, in the manner stipulated in such notice, in front
of or along side of such property.
[Amended 10-8-1990 by Ord. No. 1195; 2-8-1999 by Ord. No. 1319; 10-11-2010 by Ord. No. 1465]
All sidewalks and curbing shall be constructed, reconstructed and repaired in accordance with the provisions of this Article I and the Borough of Ephrata Construction Standards and Specifications for Cement Concrete Curb and Sidewalk[1] as established and amended from time to time by resolution
of the Council of the Borough of Ephrata, except in those locations
where the standards and specifications of the Pennsylvania Department
of Transportation apply or in such special improvement project areas
designated by resolution of the Council of the Borough of Ephrata
where construction standards other than or in addition to those established
for cement concrete curb and sidewalk may be required.
A.
Specifications for new sidewalks.
(1)
New sidewalks constructed on streets of the Borough
of Ephrata shall be of one-course concrete construction, unless upon
request to the Borough Council for a special exception to construct
sidewalks in some other manner and/or with some other material not
to include, however, asphalt or a compound using asphaltic materials,
is granted. All construction must be in accordance with the Borough
of Ephrata Construction Standards and Specifications for Cement Concrete
Curb and Sidewalks.
(2)
Where the sidewalk and curb are constructed as a single
integral unit, there shall be a scored section indicating the top
of the curb being the width of the curb used.
(3)
All details of construction not mentioned in this
article shall be in accordance with the Borough of Ephrata Construction
Standards and Specifications for Cement Concrete Curb and Sidewalk.
(4)
Curb and sidewalk areas in the Borough shall provide
curb cut ramps for the physically handicapped at all street intersections
where planned pedestrian crossings exist and the immediate vicinity
of hospitals, schools, stadiums, public buildings, etc.
(5)
Ramps need not be placed at locations which, as determined
by the Borough Manager, create hazardous situations or unavoidable
permanent obstruction where a ramp cannot be built to acceptable standards.
(6)
All ramps shall be constructed in accordance with
the Borough of Ephrata Construction Standards and Specifications for
Cement Concrete Curb and Sidewalks.
B.
Repair of existing sidewalks.
(1)
Existing sidewalks lawfully constructed of brick,
stone, concrete or other materials may be continued to be maintained
and may be repaired and rebuilt with the material of which sidewalks
are now constructed.
(2)
Upon special approval of Council, as a temporary measure
only, an existing sidewalk may be repaired by the use of a premixed
asphalt surfacing product; however, such permission shall not be granted
for a period in excess of one year.
C.
Specifications for new curbs. All new curbing along
any street shall be built of concrete having the same specifications
required for sidewalks and shall meet the Borough of Ephrata Construction
Standards and Specifications for Cement Concrete Curb and Sidewalks.
(1)
At private driveways crossing any sidewalk, the curb
shall be depressed across the driveway by providing a sloping section
at either side with a slope of five inches per foot depressing the
curb five inches and carrying the approach slope to the uniform sidewalk
grade at a point not in excess of three feet six inches from the street
face of the curb. No driveway may exceed 30 feet measured along the
depressed portion, and any two driveways must be separated by 10 feet
of straight sidewalk. Returns are not permitted at private driveways.
Exception due to conditions may be granted by the Borough Council.
(2)
All excess excavation material shall be removed from
the site. Where curbs are placed on improved streets, excavation shall
be removed and backfill shall be made with 2A crushed stone, compacted
to a depth determined by the Borough.
(3)
All details of construction not mentioned in this
article shall be in accordance with the Borough of Ephrata Construction
Standards and Specifications for Cement Concrete Curb and Sidewalks.
All curbing shall be straight curbing unless otherwise approved by
the Borough Council prepared by the Borough of Ephrata Engineering
Department.
D.
Sidewalks and curbs within special improvement project
areas. New sidewalks and curbs constructed on streets of the Borough
of Ephrata located within a designated special improvement project
area shall be constructed of such material and in accordance with
such specifications as the Borough of Ephrata shall determine for
said project. The Borough may require that the installation, maintenance
and repair of sidewalks and curbs or portions thereof within a designated
special improvement project area be performed solely by the Borough
or its contractor.
E.
The Borough
of Ephrata Construction Standards and Specifications for Cement Concrete
Curb and Sidewalk shall be available for inspection at the Borough’s
offices and may be purchased for the costs of reproduction.
F.
All construction
standards and specifications other than or in addition to those established
for cement concrete curb and sidewalk within a designated special
improvement project area shall be available for inspection at the
Borough’s offices and may be purchased for the costs of reproduction.
G.
The specific standards and specifications of the Curb and Sidewalk Construction Specifications set forth in Chapter A333 herein shall remain in effect until such time or times as they may be amended, replaced, modified or repealed in whole or in part by resolution of the Council of the Borough of Ephrata.
All sidewalks and curbing shall be constructed, reconstructed and repaired and the grading therefor done upon the line and grade obtained by the property owner from the Borough Manager and not otherwise. Upon notice as provided in § 277-1 or § 277-2 of this article, as the case may be, such work of construction, reconstruction or repair shall be done by the owner or owners of such property.
A.
The property owner and/or contractor shall be responsible
for the protection of and the preserving of all stakes. The cost of
resetting of stakes will be billed on a time basis.
B.
It shall be the responsibility of the property owner
and/or his or her agent, the contractor, to construct a curb and/or
sidewalk to proper line and grade. Any deviation of line or grade
found by the contractor as given by the Engineer shall be reported
to him or her prior to the setting of forms and/or the pouring of
concrete. To discharge this responsibility, the contractor may request
an inspection of the forms prior to pouring concrete.
C.
The contractor shall at all times secure the approval
of the Borough Engineer for curb elevations between the tangents of
return prior to the setting of forms.
D.
The property owner and/or contractor shall be responsible
for securing the necessary permit and paying for all associated fees
for any and all curb and sidewalk repair, reconstruction or construction
work.
[Added 10-8-1990 by Ord. No. 1195]
The Borough Manager or his or her designated
employee may, at any time during the course of work of construction,
reconstruction or repair of any sidewalks or curbing, visit the site
of such work to ascertain whether or not such work is being done according
to the requirements of this article of the Code of the Borough of
Ephrata and shall visit any such site for such purpose whenever requested
by the property owner. Within five days after the completion of the
work of construction, reconstruction or repair of any sidewalk or
curbing, it shall be the duty of the owner of the property where such
work was done to notify the Borough Manager of the fact so that he
or she may cause the same to be inspected to determine whether the
grade thereof has been observed and followed.
[Amended 2-8-1999 by Ord. No. 1319]
Except as provided within designated special
improvement project areas, any property owner, upon his or her own
initiative and without notice from any Borough authority, may construct,
reconstruct or repair a sidewalk or curb in front of or alongside
his or her property, provided that such owner shall first make application
to the Borough Manager and shall conform to the requirements of this
article and shall not violate any ordinance of the Borough as to line
and grade and as to materials used, and that he or she shall notify
the Borough Manager within five days after completion of the work.
[Amended 4-8-1996 by Ord. No. 1279; 12-14-2009 by Ord. No. 1457]
Each contractor desiring to do business within the Borough of
Ephrata in the construction of curbs and/or sidewalks shall, prior
to the commencement of such work, comply with the provisions of the
Pennsylvania Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, Act 132 of
2008 (HICA),[1] as the same shall be amended from time to time.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 73 P.S. § 517.1 et seq.
[Amended 2-9-1976 by Ord. No. 1012; 2-8-1999 by Ord. No. 1319]
Upon the failure of any owner of property in
the Borough of Ephrata to construct, reconstruct or repair any sidewalk
or curbing after notices have been given in accordance with this article,
the Borough may cause the necessary construction, reconstruction or
repair thereof to be done at the expense of said owner, either by
employees of the Borough of Ephrata or by contract between the Borough
of Ephrata and paving and curbing contractors, lawfully entered into,
and may collect the cost thereof and all additional charges, expenses
and penalties as authorized in Section 1805 of the Borough Code, as
amended. All inferior work or work constructed contrary to line or
grade shall be removed and corrected at the expense of the property
owner. The provisions of this section shall apply to designated special
improvement project areas, provided that no costs assessed to a property
owner to construct, reconstruct or repair any sidewalk or curb within
a designated special improvement project area shall exceed the costs
otherwise applicable to cement concrete sidewalk and curb construction,
reconstruction or repair for the same construction, reconstruction
or repair project.
Upon the failure of any contractor to conform to the requirements of this article and particularly § 277-8 hereof, the contractor's license may be revoked for the remainder of the current year and work in progress stopped.
[Added 4-8-1996 by Ord. No. 1279]
Any person, firm or corporation who or which
shall violate any provision of this article shall, upon conviction
thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $600, plus costs
of prosecution, and in default of payment thereof shall be imprisoned
for a term not to exceed 30 days. Every day that a violation of this
article continues shall constitute a separate offense.
