[Adopted 11-23-1998 by Ord. No. 98-28]
Whenever any sidewalk or curb shall be in need
of repair, the Administrator, pursuant to a resolution of the Township
Committee, may notify, in writing, the owner or owners of said lands,
requiring the necessary specified work to said curbs or sidewalks
to be done by said owner or owners within a period of not less than
30 days from the date of service of said notice, either personally
or by leaving the same at his, her or their usual place of residence
with a member of their family above the age of 14 years, if such owner
or owners are residents in the township. In case any such owner or
owners shall not reside in the township, such notice may be served
upon him personally or mailed to his, her or their last known post
office address, certified mail, return receipt requested, or it may
be served upon the occupant of the property or upon the agent of the
owner thereof. In case such owner is a nonresident of the municipality
or his or her post office address cannot be ascertained, then the
notice may be inserted for four weeks, once a week, in some newspaper
of some municipality, or if none is published therein, then in some
newspaper published in the state and circulating in said municipality.
Such notice above mentioned shall contain a
description of the lands, sufficiently definite in terms to identify
the same, as well as the description of the required repairing, and
also a notice that said repairs shall be completed within 30 days
after the service thereof. It is the intention of the township to
make such repairs or cause the same to be done and paid for out of
the municipal funds available for that purpose, that the cost of such
work shall be certified by the Township Engineer to the Tax Collector
within the township; that upon filing said certificate, the amount
of the cost of such work shall be and become a lien upon said abutting
lands in front of which said work was performed to the same extent
that assessment for local improvements are liens in the Township of
Woolwich and shall be collected in the manner provided by law for
the collection of such other assessments and shall bear interest at
the same rate; and that, in addition thereto, the township may have
an action to recover said amount against the owner of said lands in
any court having competent jurisdiction thereof.
Whenever any curb or sidewalk shall be repaired
by the township, a true and accurate account of the cost and expense
thereof shall be kept, and a true statement of such cost, under oath
or affirmation, shall be forthwith filed with the Clerk of the township,
and the Township Committee shall examine the same and, if the same
is properly made, shall confirm the same and file such report with
the Tax Collector of the township, and he shall record the same in
the same book as other assessments, which costs and expenses of repairing
such sidewalks and curbs, when so recorded, shall be collected in
the same manner and bear interest at the same rate as taxes. In addition
thereto, the township may have an action to recover said amount against
the owner of said lands in any court having competent jurisdiction
thereof. A certified copy of the aforesaid certificate shall in such
action be prima facie evidence of the existence of a debt due from
said owner to the township.
A.
The owner or owners, occupant or occupants, tenant
or tenants of premises abutting or bordering upon any street in the
Township of Woolwich shall remove all snow and ice from the abutting
sidewalks of such streets or, in the case of ice which may be so frozen
as to make removal impractical, shall cause the same to be thoroughly
covered with sand, salt or cinders within 24 hours after the same
shall fall or be formed thereon.
B.
In case the building is occupied by more than one
family or business unit, then the tenant or occupant of the first
floor or story thereof is hereby required to remove all snow and ice
from such portion of the sidewalk or, in the case of ice which is
impractical to remove, cover the same with sand, salt or cinders within
24 hours after the same shall be formed or fall thereon. The sidewalk
shall be cleared from snow and ice, creating a clear open path not
less than 24 inches in width.
C.
No person, firm or corporation, owner, tenant or occupant
of any premises abutting on any street shall throw, place or deposit
any snow or ice into or upon any street in said township, it being
the intent and purpose of this provision to prohibit all persons from
throwing, casting, placing or depositing snow and ice, which accumulated
within the private property belonging to said person, upon the sidewalks
or streets of the Township of Woolwich.
Any person or persons or corporation or corporations
neglecting to comply with the provisions of this article shall, upon
conviction, be punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000, imprisonment
for a period not exceeding 90 days or a period of community service
not exceeding 90 days, or any combination thereof, for every such
neglect.
