[Adopted 4-2-1984 as Arts. 2, 3 and 4 of Ord. No. 371; amended in its entirety 12-6-1999 by Ord. No. 99-14]
[Amended 9-11-2006 by Ord. No. 2006-14; 9-8-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-9; 12-1-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-11]
No individual shall remove an existing sidewalk
within the Borough except as provided herein. No person shall install,
repair or maintain a driveway or sidewalk within the public right-of-way
in the Borough except in compliance with the following:
A.
All repair and maintenance of sidewalks and driveways
shall be the responsibility of the adjacent property owner. All installation,
repair and maintenance of sidewalks and driveways in the public right-of-way,
other than minor repairs as herein defined, shall require a permit
from the Borough. Permits shall be obtained by application to the
Borough. When permit is required, no work shall commence until the
permit has been issued and notice given to the Borough Engineer.
B.
Minor repairs not requiring a permit shall be limited
to the filling of small holes or cracks which do not affect the gutter
line or drainage along the municipal street and do not materially
affect the appearance of the sidewalk or the driveway area within
the public right-of-way.
C.
All installation, repair and maintenance of sidewalks
and driveways within the public right-of-way shall comply with specifications
and requirements established by the Borough and kept on file in the
office of the Borough Clerk. All such work shall be subject to the
inspection and approval of the Borough Engineer as further provided
below.
D.
Prior to the issuance of any permit for the installation,
repair or maintenance of any driveway or sidewalk within the Borough
right-of-way, the applicant shall file with the Borough Clerk proof
of insurance establishing that there is in full force and effect liability
and property damage insurance for the protection of the applicant
from any and all claims relating to the work, including personal injury
and property damage, in minimum amounts of $100,000 per claim and
$300,000 per occurence.
[Amended 10-5-2009 by Ord. No. 2009-10]
E.
All installations, repairs and maintenance of driveways
or sidewalks shall be made under the supervision of the Borough Engineer
or Borough authorized agent and shall be subject to such periodic
inspection as the Engineer may deem necessary. Except as further provided
herein, each applicant for a permit shall pay a fee of $50 provided
the work covered by the permit is proposed to affect not more than
three square yards of driveway or sidewalk in the public right-of-way,
and a fee of $100 for work which will affect a larger area. The applicable
fee shall cover the issuance of the permit, examination of drawings,
supervision and inspection of work. However, no fees shall be required
for any permit lawfully applied for during the one-year period beginning
September 19, 2008.
F.
The pavement adjacent to the work shall be neatly
saw cut.
G.
If repair or replacement of the driveway or sidewalk
is necessitated in whole or in part by changes in the roots or root
systems of one or more trees in the public right-of-way, the Borough
alone shall be authorized to prune or otherwise modify the involved
roots or root systems. However, the permittee in these instances shall
be responsible for removing the affected area of driveway or sidewalk
to permit the Borough to do its work and shall reconstruct the affected
area of driveway or sidewalk after the Borough has completed its work.
H.
Every person installing, repairing or maintaining
driveways and sidewalks shall be required to place and maintain suitable
warning devices, caution notices and barriers pursuant to the requirements
of the Borough Engineer. All work shall be conducted in such manner
as to minimize the obstruction of traffic, preserve the safety of
pedestrians and limit inconvenience to the public and occupants of
adjoining property.
I.
Every permittee, as a condition of accepting any permit
issued hereunder, shall save and hold harmless the Borough of Pennington
and indemnify the Borough, its officers, agents, servants and employees
from and against any and all loss, damage, claim, expense or demand
whatsoever arising out of or relating in any way to the installation,
repair or maintenance of any driveway or sidewalk and the issuance
of any permit therefor as provided in this section.
J.
Any person violating any provision of this section
shall, upon conviction thereof, be subject to a fine not exceeding
$1,000. Such person also shall be required to correct the work as
necessary to bring it into compliance with applicable specifications
and requirements.
Whenever the borough requires any improvement in accordance with § 177-24 above to be made, the Mayor and Council shall cause a notice thereof to be given to the owners of land affected thereby. Such notice shall contain a description of the property affected sufficient to identify it, a description of the improvement and notice that, unless such improvement is completed within 30 days after the service of the notice, the borough will make the improvement at the expense of the owner. Such notice shall be served and proof of service filed in the manner provided for by law. If such improvements are not completed by such owner within the time and in the manner directed in such notice, the Superintendent of Public Works shall make or cause such improvement to be made under his direction.
Whenever any improvement in accordance with § 177-24 above shall be made by the borough, the Superintendent of Public Works shall keep an accurate account of the cost thereof and shall assess such cost upon the property abutting on the improvement in proportion to its respective frontage thereon, and shall thereafter file a report thereof, under oath, with the Borough Clerk. The Borough Council shall examine such report, and, if properly made, confirm and file it with the officer charged with the collection of assessments. Before confirming the report, the Mayor and Council shall give notice to the owners named therein of the time and place fixed for examination of the report, which notice shall be served in the manner provided for by law. Such assessments shall bear interest from the time of confirmation, at the same rate as real estate taxes, and shall be a first and paramount lien upon the real estate assessed to the same extent and be collected and enforced in the same manner as assessments for local improvements.
