[Adopted 10-16-1995 by Ord. No. 95-16 (Ch. 218, Art. II, of
the 1986 Code)]
The lines and grades of all sidewalks must conform to the lines
and grades as shown on the map of such street, as prepared and/or
approved by the Borough Engineer.
The width of all sidewalks shall be four feet.
The specifications for laying and construction of concrete sidewalks
in the Borough of Wood-Ridge shall be as follows:
A.
Grading. The sidewalks are to be graded from the curbline to the
property line to the proper grade of 1/4 inch to one-foot rise. Such
portions as are above grade shall be excavated, and such as are below
grade shall be filled in. Where the fill is more than six inches,
it must be placed in layers and thoroughly compacted. All fill shall
be compacted where tree roots are encountered; the Borough Engineer
and Shade Tree Commission shall determine the need to install a deep-root-control-barrier
system to prevent roots from growing beneath the sidewalk.
B.
Foundation.
(1)
The concrete slabs shall be four feet in width, accurately laid to
the proper line and grades approved by the Borough Engineer.
(2)
The walks shall be excavated four inches below the finished grade
of the sidewalk for at least the full width of the concrete slab.
If unsuitable subgrade soil is present, clean, granular material approved
by the Borough Engineer shall be placed and compacted to the level
of four inches below the finished walk grade.
C.
Concrete mix.
(1)
Concrete mix shall have a design compressive strength of 3,500 pounds
per square inch at 28 days.
(2)
The concrete, when placed in the forms, shall be well rammed and
tamped until the mortar flushes to the surface and shall be four inches
in depth finished in place. Bituminous-cellular-type and preformed-bituminous-type
expansion joint material shall be placed every 10 feet and shall extend
completely through the four-inch thickness. Score marks will be made
at the five-foot space between expansion joints.
D.
Finishing or wearing surface.
(1)
The mortar shall be leveled off to a proper grade with a straight
edge and, when sufficiently firm, shall be rubbed down to a true and
even surface with the proper tools in a uniform manner satisfactory
to the Borough Engineer, finished with a wooden float to an even,
continuous surface and lightly brushed with a dampened brush as a
final finish. The wearing surface shall be blocked off in sections
of five feet in length.
(2)
Retempering mortar or concrete, i.e., remixing with water after it
has partially set, shall not be permitted.
(3)
After the addition of water to the concrete mixture, it shall be
handled rapidly to the place of final deposit, and under no circumstances
shall concrete be used which has partially set before final placing.
(4)
When completed, all walks shall be kept moist and protected from
traffic and the elements for two or three days, according to the weather
conditions. The forms will be removed with great care, and upon their
removal the edges of the walk shall be protected in a suitable manner,
and the protection will be such as to prevent any damage or intrusion
on the work until it has hardened.
(5)
The forms used in constructing sidewalks may be approved iron sidewalk
forms or wood strips. If wood strips are used, they must be thoroughly
staked, etc., and be not less than two by four inches.
E.
Driveway apron. If concrete driveway aprons are required in sidewalks,
they shall be constructed of the same quality as the concrete sidewalks
already described, but the concrete shall be six inches thick. The
slope of the driveway apron shall extend in a continuous grade from
the top of the depressed curb to the profile line of the back edge
of the walk, as dictated by the cross slope of one-fourth-inch rise
for each horizontal foot of width as measured from the face of the
curb to the back edge of the walk. In the event that this grade is
in conflict with the level of a preexisting driveway surface and to
modify the driveway would entail extensive reconstruction, the grade
at the back of the walk to the grade required to match the driveway
shall be a minimum of five feet or as approved by the Borough Engineer.
Sidewalks, curbs and driveway openings located on a dedicated or accepted public right-of-way shall be considered as structures and shall be subject to all administrative requirements of the building code as regards permits and inspections. The sidewalks and curbs shall be installed in compliance with Chapter 530, Zoning, of this Code.
Whenever the Construction Code Official of the Borough of Wood-Ridge
certifies to the municipal governing body that any sidewalks and curbs
are in need of construction, repair, alteration, relaying or maintaining,
the expense of the same shall be borne by the landowners abutting
the improvement.
The Borough Council, upon receipt of the certification set forth in § 468-17 hereof, shall determine the necessity of said improvement, and if it deems that said improvement is necessary, it shall, by resolution, cause a notice, in writing, to be served upon said abutting owners or occupants of said lands, requiring said property owner to agree within 30 days that the necessary specified work to said curb and/or sidewalk shall be done by said owner or occupant within a period of not less than 30 days nor more than 90 days from the date of service of such notice.
Whenever said abutting lands are unoccupied and the owner cannot
be found within the municipality, the notice may be mailed, postage
prepaid, to his or her post office address, if the same can be ascertained.
In the event that 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
published in the state and circulating in said municipality.
In the event that the owner or occupant of such abutting lands
shall not comply with the requirements of said notice, it shall be
lawful for the Borough Administrator of the municipality, upon filing
due proof of the service or publication of the aforesaid notice in
the appropriate department of the municipality, to cause the work
required to be done and paid for out of municipal funds available
for that purpose. The cost of such work shall be certified by the
Borough Engineer to the department or person having charge of the
collection of assessments in such municipality. Upon filing said certificate
of costs, the amount of the cost of such work shall be and become
a lien upon said abutting land in front of which such work was done,
to the same extent that assessments for local improvements are liens
in the 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. In addition thereto, the municipality may
commence, in any court having competent jurisdiction thereof, an action
against the owner of said lands to recover said amount.
Sidewalk construction, repair, alteration, relaying or maintaining
shall be in conformance with the requirements of this article and
subject to supervision and approval of the Borough Engineer.
