No person shall construct, repair or replace a curb, sidewalk
or driveway entrance without first applying for and obtaining a permit
from the office of the Borough Construction Code Official. The permit
shall specify the street address where the work is to be done, the
name of the owner of the premises and the name and address of the
person by whom the work shall be done. The applicant shall be furnished
with, and shall acknowledge receipt of, a copy of the regulations
hereinafter set forth and shall assume responsibility for the erection
and maintenance of suitable barricades, lights and warning signals
protecting the construction area.
No person shall construct a curb, sidewalk for public use or
driveway apron except under the supervision of the Director of Public
Works. Upon failure to meet the requirements of the Borough, the permit
issued for the work may be canceled and the permittee shall be subject
to the penalty provisions of this action.
The Department of Public Works, Parks and Recreation shall be
given at least 24 hours' prior notice of the intention to begin construction
or replacement of a curb, sidewalk or driveway entrance. Once construction
has been started, the work shall be carried to completion. In the
event that work is delayed for a period in excess of five days, the
Department of Public Works, Parks and Recreation shall be given notice
of such delay and, in addition, shall be given at least 24 hours'
notice prior to resumption of work.
No person shall pour or cause, suffer or permit to have poured
the concrete for a curb, sidewalk or driveway apron until the forms
for the same have been inspected in place by the Director of Public
Works.
When specified by the Department of Public Works, Parks and
Recreation, the contractor or other person in charge of pouring concrete
shall notify the Department of Public Works, Parks and Recreation
while pouring so that a sample of concrete may be taken. The Department
of Public Works, Parks and Recreation may have a sample tested by
a reputable testing laboratory after 28 days, and, if the results
show a compressive strength of less than 3,500 pounds per square inch,
the owner shall be required to show cause before the Borough Construction
Code Official why this concrete should not be replaced. One such sample
may be taken for each installation of 100 feet or less of curb or
sidewalk.
A.
Every sidewalk in the Borough constructed, reconstructed or repaired
by an abutting owner shall be constructed, reconstructed or repaired
in a good and workmanlike manner at the abutting owner's own cost
and expense. All new sidewalks shall be not less than four feet in
width unless otherwise permitted by the Council.
B.
All new sidewalks constructed by an abutting owner shall be constructed
in accordance with the line and grade established by the Borough Engineer.
All old or existing sidewalks reconstructed or repaired by an abutting
owner shall be reconstructed or repaired in accordance with the existing
line and grade unless such line or grade is changed by the Borough
Engineer. It shall be the duty of the abutting owner in all cases
to make inquiry of the Borough Engineer respecting such line and grade.
Where the fill-in is more than one foot, it shall be done in layers
and thoroughly tamped and compacted.
C.
Every sidewalk in the Borough constructed of solid concrete interlocking
paving units shall only be reconstructed or repaired of the same material.
D.
Wherever a sidewalk has been installed in the Borough, it may not
be removed without being replaced.
E.
All curbs, where installed, shall be concrete with an eighteen-inch
depth, including all drop curbs. The curb reveal shall be four inches
above the road height unless otherwise approved by the Department
of Public Works Director or the Borough Engineer. Where a curb is
repaired, it shall be repaired to its full depth and not capped, as
the term is understood.
A.
Material. All concrete used shall be ready-mixed transmit concrete,
except when the requirements of the project are less than one cubic
yard.
B.
Methods. All sidewalks and driveway entrances shall be constructed
of concrete installed in one pouring and shall meet a compression
strength of 3,500 pounds per square inch after 28 days when tested
under standard conditions. All sidewalks and aprons shall be laid
on firm compacted soil, subject to inspection by the Director of Public
Works. In instances where the inspector requires that ground conditions
require a subbase, the contractor or property owner may be required
to add a gravel or sand subbase not exceeding four inches after compaction
before concrete is laid. In rejoining a curb for construction of a
driveway entrance or to replace a damaged section, the entire section
of the curb shall be removed and reconstructed.
C.
All sidewalks to be constructed, reconstructed or repaired with solid
concrete, interlocking paving units shall be constructed, reconstructed
or repaired in accord with the standard specification for solid concrete
interlocking paving units published by Grinnell Concrete Paving Stones,
Inc., or equivalent, as the same are amended from time to time and
are maintained on file in the office of the Construction Code Official.
A.
Residential zone. Concrete for sidewalks shall be not less than four
inches in thickness, laid in slabs four feet wide by five feet in
length longitudinal with the curbline, with a pitch of 1/4 inch per
foot, each 10 feet of length separated from adjoining slabs by a strip
of approved bituminous impregnated fiber 1/4 inch by four inches by
four feet extending to within 1/4 inch of the finished surface of
the sidewalk. Concrete in the sidewalk area of a driveway shall be
not less than six inches thick. Driveway entrance slabs or aprons
shall be not less than six inches in thickness and separated from
the sidewalk and curb by an approved bituminous impregnated strip.
A driveway apron at the sidewalk line shall not be less than 12 feet
wide and not more than 15 feet wide. At the curbline, the apron may
exceed the width of the sidewalk line by the distance between the
curb and the sidewalk. In addition, the width of the transition from
dropped curb to normal height curb at each side may not be more than
12 inches. No driveway entrance shall be constructed within 25 feet
of an adjacent street or a corner or existing driveway. No exception
shall be permitted without the written approval of the Director of
Public Works upon hardship or unusual circumstances being shown.
B.
Other than residential zones. Concrete in sidewalks shall be five
inches in thickness and conform to all other specifications indicated
above. Driveway aprons, in addition to the specifications above, shall
be reinforced with six-inch wire mesh 10-0 gauge wire placed four
inches below the top of the finished concrete. Dimensions and details
of driveways in such zones shall be subject to the approval of the
Director of Public Works.
C.
Driveway aprons, in all zones, shall be concrete where the same adjoins
a concrete sidewalk. Where a macadam driveway extends to the street
without passing over a concrete sidewalk, the same may be constructed
of macadam material.
All sidewalks hereafter constructed or reconstructed on public
or private property for public use within the Borough shall be constructed
in a manner that will facilitate use by physically handicapped persons
in accordance with applicable law or standard. At the points of intersection
of pedestrian and motorized lines of travel, and at other points where
necessary to avoid abrupt changes in grade, the sidewalk shall slope
gradually to street level so as to provide an uninterrupted line of
travel.
A.
Every abutting owner, at his own cost and expense, shall at all times
keep and maintain his sidewalk in good condition and state of repair
and shall not permit the same to fall into a state of disrepair or
to become unsafe or unfit to walk upon. In the event that any sidewalk
or any part thereof becomes broken or in need of repair or the condition
thereof becomes unsafe or hazardous to the public or unfit to walk
upon, the abutting owner at his own cost and expense shall, with all
expeditious speed, reconstruct or repair, as the case may require,
such sidewalk or that part thereof which needs reconstruction or repair.
Said improvement or work shall be done in accordance with the provisions
of this article. All sidewalks constructed of solid concrete interlocking
paving units shall be reconstructed or repaired only with solid concrete
interlocking paving units in accord with the provisions of this article.
In addition, all sidewalk areas intended for pedestrian passage shall
be kept free from obstructions that would prevent or inhibit safe
passage at all times.
B.
In addition to the foregoing, every property owner shall keep in
a good state of repair all area of land located between any sidewalk,
where installed, and the curb, where the same exists and the Property
Maintenance Code of the Borough of Hawthorne[1] shall apply to such area.
C.
Notwithstanding
the foregoing, in the event the Borough of Hawthorne plants a shade
tree in the area between the sidewalk and the curb or street from
and after June 1, 2023, and the shade tree is determined by the Borough
Engineer to be the sole cause of the sidewalk becoming unsafe or unfit
to walk upon, the Borough of Hawthorne shall undertake the repair
or replacement of such affected sidewalk area at its cost and expense.
The Borough of Hawthorne shall be under no obligation to make any
inspection to determine whether or not an unsafe condition exists
unless notice is received from the abutting owner that a suspected
unsafe condition exists. In such event, the Borough Engineer shall
inspect the sidewalk to determine whether or not there is an unsafe
condition and whether or not the cause of such condition solely relates
to growth of the planted shade tree. If the Engineer determines that
the sidewalk requires repair or replacement and the cause is not solely
related to growth of the shade tree, it shall remain the obligation
of the abutting owner to make such repair or replacement.
[Added 5-17-2023 by Ord. No. 2316-23]
In the event that the abutting owner fails to reconstruct or
repair his sidewalk or such part thereof as may require reconstruction
or repair as provided in this article, the Council may cause said
improvement or work to be made under the supervision of the Director
of Public Works or may award a contract therefor, the cost thereof
assessed upon the property of the abutting owner in accordance with
the law in such case made and provided.
