[Adopted 10-25-1983 by Ord. No. 1983-17; amended in its entirety
at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I)]
A.
The owner of any premises in the Township of Eastampton abutting
a sidewalk or curb shall, at his own cost and expense, keep and maintain
said sidewalk and curb in good condition and state of repair and shall
not permit the same to fall into a state of disrepair or to become
unfit or unsafe to walk upon.
B.
In the event that any such sidewalk or curb or any part 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 facts may require, such sidewalk or
curb or that part thereof which requires reconstruction or repair.
All sidewalks to be reconstructed or repaired shall be constructed
in accordance with Township standards.
A.
Upon resolution of the Township Council, the Director of the Department
of Public Works shall serve upon the abutting owner a written notice
requiring the necessary specified work to said curb or sidewalk to
be done by the said owner or occupant within a period of not less
than 30 days from the date of service of such notice.
(1)
Whenever any lands are unoccupied and the owner cannot be found within
the municipality, the same may be mailed, postage prepaid, to his
or her post office address, if the same can be ascertained; 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 such municipality
or, if none be published therein, in some newspaper published in the
state and circulating in said municipality.
B.
In case the owner or occupant of such lands shall not comply with
the requirements of such notice, the Director of the Department of
Public Works, upon filing due proof of the service or publication
of the aforesaid notice with the Township Manager, and upon approval
of the Manager, shall cause the required work to be done and paid
for out of the municipal funds available for that purpose; the cost
of such work shall be certified by the Director of the Department
of Public Works.
C.
Council review; collection. The Township Council shall examine such
certification and, if found to be correct, the amount of the cost
of such work shall be and become a lien upon the said abutting lands
in front of which such work was done to the same extent that assessments
for local improvements are liens in such municipality 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.
D.
In addition thereto, the Township may have an action to recover the
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 the said owner to the municipality.
E.
No bar. The imposition and collection of a fine or fines imposed
by the provisions of this article shall not constitute any bar to
the right of the Township of Eastampton to collect the cost as certified
for the required work.
This article is adopted pursuant to the authority conferred
by N.J.S.A. 40:65-14.
