[Adopted 1-17-1972 as Art. I of
Ch. 23 of the 1972 Code of Ordinances]
[Amended 3-16-1992 by L.L. No. 2-1992]
There shall be a Superintendent of Streets,
to be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the City Council,
and the Council shall fix his compensation.[1]
A.
It shall be unlawful for any owner, lessee or occupant
of any land or lot of land or any part thereof in the City to permit
or maintain in the street in front thereof any gas box, water box
or curb stop which shall be raised or protrude above the level of
the sidewalk or the ground surrounding the same.
B.
No water box or curb stop shall be installed in any
street, highway, square or public place in the City; and, where new
waterlines are installed to take the place of old lines or where repairs
are made to a waterline between the water main and the property line,
the water box or curb stop shall be installed within the property
line. For the purpose of this section, the sidewalks shall be considered
as outside the property line.
C.
It shall be the duty of the Administrator to serve
either personally or by mail, a written notice upon any such owner,
lessee or occupant who shall fail to comply with the foregoing provisions,
and such notice shall direct such owner, lessee or occupant to cause
such gas box, water box or curb stop to be made level with the sidewalk
or surrounding ground within 10 days after the service of such notice.
In case any such work shall not be done within the time specified
in such notice, and in case such owner, lessee or occupant shall fail
or neglect to do the work required by such notice, the Administrator
shall:
[Amended 3-16-1992 by L.L. No. 2-1992]
(1)
File a complaint in the City Court against such owner,
lessee or occupant for a violation of this section; or
(2)
Cause such work to be done and the expense thereof
to be charged against such premises, which charge shall become a lien
upon and shall be assessed against such premises. The Administrator
shall report such work, so far as possible, to the Council each month,
and the Council shall order the assessor to assess the same upon such
premises, and the assessor shall include the same in a quarterly assessment
roll entitled "Assessment Roll for Water, Sewer and Gas Connections,
Constructing and Repairing Sidewalks and Removing Street Obstructions,"
specifying the month and year and shall be arranged by streets alphabetically,
and any such work omitted from one monthly assessment roll shall be
included in a subsequent one; and the Administrator may, in his discretion,
instead of causing the cost of such work to be collected by assessment
as above set forth, sue for and recover the same in an action in the
City Court.
(3)
All moneys collected under this section, whether by
way of fines, assessments or judgments, shall be credited to the Department
of Finance.
[Amended 3-16-1992 by L.L. No. 2-1992]
The Superintendent of Streets shall be responsible
for the construction and maintenance of public streets.
[Amended 9-3-2013 by L.L. No. 15-2013]
A.
Definition of "sidewalk café." A sidewalk café, for
purposes of this section, is an outdoor dining area located on a public
sidewalk provided for the patrons of restaurants, delicatessens and
similar retail food establishments serving cooked and prepared foods
and beverages.
B.
Permit required. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision in Chapter 191, sidewalk cafes shall be permitted for the limited purpose of seating patrons of restaurants, delicatessens and similar retail food establishments, provided the owner and/or operator of such establishment obtains a sidewalk café permit from the Building Inspector.
C.
Posting of permit. A permit granted pursuant to this section shall
be prominently displayed in the permitted establishment next to any
other permits posted pursuant to state or local law.
D.
Application for permit. A sidewalk café permit may be issued
only to the owner or tenant of a building occupied and used as a restaurant,
delicatessen or similar retail food establishment and abutting a public
sidewalk. Any person or entity desiring a sidewalk café permit
shall submit an application to the Building Inspector on forms provided
by the Building Department. The Building Inspector shall grant an
application for a sidewalk café permit, provided the following
requirements are met:
(1)
Any sidewalk café shall be established with a minimum clear
distance in accordance with applicable accessibility standards as
determined by the Building Inspector, free of all obstructions, such
as trees, parking meters, utility poles, streetlights, benches, planters,
furniture and movable railings, to allow for adequate and safe pedestrian
movements. Sidewalk cafés shall be situated abutting the property
line of the permitted establishment erecting the sidewalk café.
(2)
The area to be used for the sidewalk café may not extend beyond
the frontage of the permitted establishment. For retail food establishments
located on a corner lot, a sidewalk café may be placed on either
or both sides of the establishment, subject to the Building Inspector's
approval.
(3)
An unobstructed, unoccupied space must be provided, not less than
four feet in width, across all entrances of the permitted establishment
for which the sidewalk café permit is sought.
(4)
The applicant for a sidewalk café permit shall submit with his/her application a diagram or illustration, as near to scale as possible and drawn in compliance with the requirements set forth in Subsection D(1) through (4), above, depicting the dimensions of the proposed sidewalk café, the unoccupied spaces on the abutting public sidewalk(s) and the approximate location of all furniture to be situated therein. The Building Inspector must approve the diagram or illustration before a sidewalk café permit may be issued.
(5)
Insurance and indemnity.
(a)
The applicant for a sidewalk café permit shall further
submit with his/her application:
[1]
A certificate of general comprehensive liability insurance naming
the applicant and the City of Beacon, its officers, agents and employees
as named insureds, with limits of $1,000,000 for property damages
and $1,000,000 for personal injury, any such general comprehensive
liability insurance policy shall be kept in effect for the duration
of the permit.
[2]
A signed indemnity agreement, as provided by the Building Department,
agreeing to defend and indemnify the City of Beacon, its officers,
agents and employees for any damage or injury to person or property
arising out of the operation of the sidewalk café.
(b)
A sidewalk café permit shall expire immediately if the
permit-holder fails, at any time, to maintain the insurance coverage
mandated by this section.
(6)
Where the applicant intends to serve alcohol in the sidewalk café,
such applicant shall be required to obtain from the State Liquor Authority
a liquor permit or modification to his/her existing liquor permit
authorizing the outdoor consumption of alcohol. The applicant for
a sidewalk café permit shall also be in full compliance with
the licensing requirements of the State Liquor Authority, as the same
may exist, and shall comply with all other laws and regulations concerning
the sale of alcoholic beverages in the state. In the event a sidewalk
café is not in full compliance with State Liquor Authority
laws, rules and regulations concerning the sale of alcoholic beverages,
the serving of alcoholic beverages in the sidewalk café area
shall be prohibited.
(7)
Permits shall be issued annually and shall be effective from January
1 to December 31 each year.
E.
Operating restrictions.
(1)
Hours of operation. The permitted hours of operation for all sidewalk
cafes in the City of Beacon shall be 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. every
day of the week, including holidays and weekends.
(2)
Furniture and fixtures.
(a)
No permanent structures may be affixed to the sidewalk area
used for a sidewalk café or to the building abutting the area
where the sidewalk café is situated.
(b)
A sidewalk café may be composed only of the following
items: chairs, tables, benches and umbrellas. An applicant wishing
to incorporate movable railings, awnings or planters in his/her sidewalk
café must make a specific request in his/her application for
a sidewalk café permit, and it shall be in the sole discretion
of the Building Inspector whether to grant such request. In no event
shall outdoor space heaters be permitted, unless of a permanent nature
and approved by the Building Inspector.
(c)
No advertisements, logos, symbols, writing, designs, pictures
or patterns of any kind shall be permitted on chairs, tables, benches,
umbrellas or on any other furniture or fixtures used for sidewalk
cafes.
(d)
Umbrellas used for sidewalk cafes shall be a minimum height
of seven feet tall and shall be a solid color.
(3)
Furniture used for a sidewalk café must be removed from the
sidewalk each night and stored in a safe and secure location. A sidewalk
café operator may not store furniture on the sidewalk or any
other public right-of-way during periods of nonuse.
(4)
All alcoholic beverages served at sidewalk cafes shall be prepared
indoors at the permitted establishment and shall be served only to
patrons while seated at tables within the establishment's approved
sidewalk café. The drinking of alcoholic beverages by a member
of the public while a patron of the sidewalk café within the
confines of the sidewalk café area shall not be construed to
be a violation of any local law prohibiting the consumption of alcoholic
beverages in a public place or area.
(5)
No cooking or food preparation shall be permitted outdoors.
(6)
Sidewalk cafes and the public property on which they are located
shall be kept neat and clean at all times and free from any substance
or items which might damage the sidewalk or cause injury to pedestrians.
(7)
Neither outdoor lighting nor live or mechanical music may be installed
or used for a sidewalk café, except that:
(a)
In such cases where streetlighting is insufficient to illuminate
the dining area such that a hazard may be created for those traveling
the sidewalk, the Building Inspector shall direct and the applicant
shall provide, at its sole cost and expense, such lighting for nighttime
hours as the Building Inspector shall require; and
(b)
The use of table-top lighting shall not be prohibited, provided
such lighting does not require running of extension cords, wires or
the like within the sidewalk café or on the unoccupied portions
of the public sidewalk.
(8)
Sidewalk café permits may not be sold, leased or transferred.
In the event a permit holder ceases doing business, or attempts to
sell, lease or otherwise transfer his/her permit in contravention
of this subsection, his/her permit shall be deemed revoked automatically
and shall have no further force or effect.
F.
Fee. The fee for a sidewalk cafe permit shall be as set forth in
the City fee schedule[1] and payable upon approval of a sidewalk café permit
application but prior to issuance of a sidewalk café permit.
There shall be no proration of the fee for permit-holders who acquire
sidewalk café permits for less than the full permit period.
[1]
Editor's Note: The fee schedule in on file in the City offices.
G.
City action upon failure to comply. In the event a permit-holder
should fail to remove all items placed upon the public sidewalk, upon
expiration of his/her sidewalk café permit by lapse of time,
or for violation of this section, the Building Inspector may have
such items removed and charge the permit-holder for the cost of such
removal, together with the cost for storage of such items until reclaimed
by the permit-holder from storage. In the event the permit-holder
should fail to pay the cost of storage and any cost of removal within
90 days after storage, the City may sell the items at public auction,
reimburse the City for all costs and, if any surplus monies remain,
shall pay them over to the permit holder.
H.
Penalties for offenses. A violation of any provision of this section shall be punished in accordance with § 1-3 of the City Code. Each day a violation occurs or continues shall be a separate offense.
I.
Severability. If any provision or portion of this section is held
to be unconstitutional, preempted by federal or state law or otherwise
invalidated by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions
of this section shall not be invalidated.
[Added 4-2-1990; amended 5-20-2002 by L.L. No. 19-2002]
No person shall place a construction dumpster
and/or water tanker on any street without first registering same with
the Building Inspector. The Building Inspector has the authority pursuant
to this section to determine the proper location of the construction
dumpster and/or water tanker in accordance with proper vehicle and
traffic safety laws. Any such construction dumpster and/or water tanker
shall have appropriate warning devices and/or signs and shall be permitted
to remain in a specified location for a limited period of time that
shall be determined by the Building Inspector. A violation of this
section shall constitute an offense and shall be punished by a fine
not exceeding $50. Each day that a violation of this section continues
shall constitute a separate offense.
No person or persons shall loiter, gather or
assemble or erect or maintain any obstruction upon any street, corner,
sidewalk, doorway or any public place with the City so as to impede
or delay passage along the same or obstruct the entrance to any building,
enclosure or public place.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Sec. 23, Meetings
and speeches, which immediately followed this section, was repealed
3-16-1992 by L.L. No. 2-1992.
No person or persons shall parade in the streets
or public places of the City without the written consent of the Mayor,
which consent shall be granted only if the public safety and welfare
will not thereby be adversely affected.
Acts or amusements, such as racing with bicycles,
motorcycles, automobiles, horses or other racing, the throwing of
snowballs or other missiles, the discharge of firearms or any act,
amusement or practice by which a person or property is endangered
in any street or public place in the City are hereby forbidden.
No person shall use any sled or vehicle without
a horse for the amusement of sleighing or riding downhill or coasting,
in and upon any street or sidewalk in the City, without permission
from the Mayor.
No person or persons shall build a fire, throw
or deposit paper, handbills, ashes, refuse, sweepings, garbage, offal,
burnt paper, slop water, brine or water off fish, clams or oysters,
oil or gasoline or their derivatives upon the sidewalks or streets
or crosswalks or public places of the City nor deposit or permit to
be deposited any oil, gasoline, kerosene or derivatives thereof in
any sewer or drain or connection thereof.[1]
No person shall break, mar, injure, remove or
deface any building, fence, awning, sign, tree or ornamental things
in the City nor remove from or pile up before any door or on any sidewalk
or street any boxes, casks, barrels or other things nor tear down
or mutilate any public notice or handbill lawfully posted in the City.
No person shall tie any horse or other animal
to any ornamental lighting post belonging to the City nor place anything
against any such post or cause any vehicle or the contents of any
vehicle to collide with any such post nor in any manner cause any
injury to any such post or lamp thereon.
[Amended 3-16-1992 by L.L. No. 2-1992; 11-7-1994; 1-3-2000 by L.L. No. 1-2000; 4-2-2001 by L.L. No. 3-2001; 12-16-2013 by L.L. No. 20-2013]
A.
Every owner, lessee, tenant, occupant or other person having charge
of any building or lot of ground in the City with frontage on any
street, avenue or public place, including a municipal parking lot,
shall, within 24 hours after the cessation of every fall of snow or
the formation of any ice on any sidewalk within a public right-of-way
running along any front, side or rear yard of said premises, remove
or cause the snow or ice to be removed or cleaned entirely from that
sidewalk.
B.
In the event that snow or ice on any public sidewalk is frozen so hard that it cannot be removed without injury to the pavement, the owner, lessee, tenant, occupant or other person or persons having charge of said sidewalk, pursuant to Subsection A herein, shall within the time specified cover or cause the sidewalk to be covered and strewn with sand or some similar material, except sawdust, and shall, as soon thereafter as the weather permits, thoroughly clean such sidewalk and remove the ice and snow therefrom.
C.
Any person violating any provision hereof shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a penalty as prescribed in § 1-3.
D.
In the event a person fails to clear or clean snow and ice from a public sidewalk or fails to otherwise cover a public sidewalk in accordance with Subsections A and B herein, the Highway Superintendent may proceed to so clean or cover the affected sidewalk and the cost or expense of doing so shall be ascertained by the Highway Superintendent and reported to the City Administrator.
E.
The cost of such work described in Subsection D, including materials furnished, shall be on file in the office of the City Clerk. This amount shall be collected from the owner of any real property as described in Subsection A, together with any administrative fees and/or penalties assessed by the City Administrator for late payment and costs incurred by the City to collect this sum. The total amount due shall become a lien against the property and may be assessed against the same on the City tax roll, if not paid in full by October 1 of each year.
F.
Every owner, lessee, tenant, occupant or other person having charge
of any building or lot of ground in the City, with frontage on any
street, avenue or public place, including a municipal parking lot,
where a fire hydrant is situated, shall, where such building or lot
of ground is within the established limits of the City, as they now
exist or hereafter may exist, within 24 hours after the cessation
of every fall of snow or the formation of any ice on said fire hydrant,
remove or cause the snow or ice to be removed or cleaned entirely
from the fire hydrant where such fire hydrant is situated in a public
right-of-way on the front, side or rear of said building or lot.
G.
For purposes of snow and ice removal only, and for no other purpose,
the City shall have the responsibility to remove snow and ice on sidewalks
identified in the list in Resolution No. 110, adopted by the City
Council on October 5, 2015, which is maintained on file with the City
Clerk and Superintendent of Highways, and which such list may be amended
from time to time as determined by the City Administrator upon consultation
with the Highway Superintendent.
[Added 10-5-2015 by L.L.
No. 7-2015]
[Added 12-20-2004 by L.L. No. 41-2004; amended 12-16-2013 by L.L. No. 20-2013; 11-17-2014 by L.L. No. 13-2014]
When the Building Department discovers or is put on notice of
a defect or damage in an existing sidewalk in a public right-of-way
running along the front, side or rear yard of any privately owned
real property, it shall provide written notice to the property owner
and shall direct that the defect be repaired. It shall be the obligation
of the property owner to repair or replace the sidewalk and to restore
it to good and safe condition even where the sidewalk is also bounded
by any street, avenue or public place, including a municipal parking
lot. All repairs and replacements of sidewalks so undertaken shall
be in-kind, such that the sidewalk shall be restored to the same dimensions
and using the same materials as existed previously. Where the owner
of such property shall fail or neglect to repair or replace such sidewalk
for 30 days after notice to do so has been served upon the owner,
either personally or by mailing the same to the name of the last known
owner thereof as the same appears on the assessment roll of the City
of Beacon for the last calendar year, the Highway Department shall
repair or replace such sidewalk, and statement for 100% of the cost
incurred thereby shall be served upon the owner, either personally
or by mailing the same to the name of the last known owner thereof
as the same appears on said assessment roll. If the owner of the property
shall fail to pay the same within 15 days after demand, the City shall,
in the preparation of the next assessment roll, assess such amount
upon such property, and the same shall be levied, collected and enforced
in the same manner as taxes upon said property for City purposes are
levied, collected and enforced. In addition, in the event a property
owner does not make the repairs required herein and a pedestrian or
user is injured as a result of a defective condition of the sidewalk,
the property owner shall be liable for the injuries suffered by the
pedestrian or user of the sidewalk after service of the notice of
defect herein has been made upon the property owner as set forth in
this section.
[Added 12-20-2004 by L.L. No. 41-2004; amended 12-16-2013 by L.L. No. 20-2013; 11-17-2014 by L.L. No. 13-2014[1]]
Where the City has determined that a City street, avenue or
public place, including a municipal parking lot shall be repaved,
modified or repaired such that adjoining curbs or public sidewalks
will also be installed or replaced along said street, avenue or public
place, the City shall bear the cost of such installation or replacement
at no expense to the owners of privately-owned real property adjoining
the project area. The City Council shall allocate sufficient funds
to finance the replacement of these curbs and sidewalks in its annual
budget.
[1]
Editor’s Note: This local law also stated that it would
apply retroactively to all public works projects awarded by the City
on and after June 1, 2013.
[Added 5-15-2006 by L.L. No. 9-2006;
amended 12-16-2013 by L.L. No. 20-2013]
Where the Highway Superintendent has determined that an existing
City street, avenue or public place, including a municipal parking
lot, in a public right-of-way running along the front, side or rear
yard of any privately owned real property shall be repaved, modified
or repaired such that curbs and/or public sidewalks shall be installed,
the owner of said real property shall be responsible for a portion
of the cost. Fifty percent of the cost of installing the curbing and/or
public sidewalk shall be paid by the property owner. The City shall
be responsible for paying the balance of this cost. The City Council
shall, in its annual budget, allocate sufficient funds to finance
the installation of these curbs and/or sidewalks, which shall be repaid
by the property owner, with interest, over a ten-year period. This
loan shall become a lien against the property and shall be repaid
in full in the event the property is sold or transferred.
[Added 12-16-2013 by L.L. No. 20-2013]
Any person who receives a compliance order issued in connection with the enforcement of any provisions of this chapter or of any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto may request and shall be granted a hearing in accordance with with Chapter 34 of the City Code, provided that such person shall file with the City Administrator, within 10 days of receipt of the compliance order, a written request demanding such hearing. A demand for hearing shall be on a form provided by the City Administrator and shall set forth a brief statement of the grounds for the hearing, designate the name and address of the person upon whom an order may be served, and set forth the reasons why such compliance order should be modified or withdrawn. If this request is filed within such ten-day period, compliance with the compliance order shall not be required while the hearing is pending.
