[HISTORY: Adopted by the Common Council of the City of Lodi as §§ 10.01, 10.02, 10.04, 10.05, 10.06 and 10.08 of the City Code. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Driveways — See Ch. 167.
Official Map — See Ch. 241.
Snowmobiles — See Ch. 284.
Subdivision of land — See Ch. 300.
Utilities — See Ch. 319.
Vehicles and traffic — See Ch. 325.
A. 
Establishment. The grade of all streets, alleys and sidewalks shall be established by ordinance and the same recorded by the Clerk in his office. Where no grade has been so established, the sidewalks shall be laid to the established grade of the street.
B. 
Alteration of grade prohibited. No person shall alter the grade of any street, alley, sidewalk, or public ground or any part thereof in the City by any means whatsoever unless authorized or instructed to do so by the Common Council. All such alterations of grade shall be recorded in the office of the Clerk by the Clerk.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 10.01(c), Penalty, which immediately followed this subsection, was deleted 10-10-2006 by Ord. No. A-361.
A. 
Owner to construct. It shall be the duty of the abutting owner to build, repair, construct and perpetually maintain sidewalks along or upon any street, alley or highway in the City and to pay the entire cost thereof. Whenever the Common Council shall by resolution determine that a sidewalk be laid, rebuilt, repaired, lowered or raised along or upon any public street, alley or highway within the City, it shall proceed according to § 66.0907, Wis. Stats.
B. 
Permit required. No person shall hereafter lay, remove, replace or repair any public sidewalk within the City unless he is under contract with the City to do such work or has obtained a permit therefor from the Director of Public Works[1] at least seven days before work is proposed to be undertaken. A fee as set by the Common Council by resolution shall be charged for each such permit.
[1]
Editor's Note: Throughout this chapter, references to the "Public Works Committee" were amended to "Director of Public Works" 10-10-2006 by Ord. No. A-361.
C. 
Specifications. All sidewalks within the City hereafter shall be repaired, rebuilt and constructed in accordance with specifications which shall be established by the Common Council by resolution and kept on file with the Clerk.
D. 
Minor repairs. When the cost of repairs of any sidewalk in front of any lot or parcel of land shall not exceed the sum of $100, the Director of Public Works may immediately cause the repair of such sidewalk, without notice or letting of work by contract, and charge the cost thereof to the owner of such lot or parcel of land, as provided in § 66.0907(3), Wis. Stats.
[Amended 10-10-2006 by Ord. No. A-361]
E. 
Cost. The Common Council may by resolution apportion the cost of any sidewalk work between the City and abutting property owners pursuant to § 66.0907(6), Wis. Stats.
A. 
Permit required. No person shall make or cause to be made any excavation or opening in any street, alley, highway, sidewalk or other public way within the City without first obtaining a permit therefor from the Director of Public Works.
B. 
Fee. The fee for a street excavation or opening permit shall be as set by the Common Council by resolution for each location.
C. 
Bond.
(1) 
Before a permit for excavation or opening any street or public way may be issued, the applicant must execute and deposit with the Clerk an indemnity bond approved by the Mayor, in a sum determined by the Director of Public Works, conditioned that he will indemnify and save harmless the City and its officers from all liability for accidents and damage caused by any of the work covered by his permit and that he will fill up and place in good and safe condition all excavations and openings made in the street and will replace and restore the pavement over any opening he may make as near as can be to the state and condition in which he found it and keep and maintain the same in such condition he found it, normal wear and tear excepted, to the satisfaction of the Director of Public Works for a period of one year and that he will pay all fines imposed upon him for any violation of any rule, regulation or ordinance governing street openings or drain laying adopted by the Common Council and will repair any damage done to existing improvements during the progress of the excavation in accordance with the ordinances, rules and regulations of the City. Such bond shall also guarantee that if the City shall elect to make the street repair, the person opening the street will pay all costs of making such repair and of maintaining the same for one year.
(2) 
Recovery on such bond for any accident, injury, violation of law, ordinance, rule or regulation shall not exhaust the bond but it shall cover any and all accidents, injuries or violations of law during the period of excavation for which it is given.
(3) 
An annual bond may be given under this section covering all excavation work done by the principal for one year beginning January 1, which shall be conditioned as specified above and in the amount determined by the Common Council as necessary to adequately protect the public and the City.
D. 
Insurance. Prior to commencement of excavation work, a permittee must furnish the Director of Public Works satisfactory written evidence that he has in force and will maintain during the life of the permit and the period of excavation public liability insurance of not less than $100,000 for one person and $300,000 for one accident and property damage insurance of not less than $50,000.
E. 
Regulations governing street and sidewalk openings.
(1) 
Frozen ground. No opening in the streets or sidewalks for any purpose shall be permitted when the ground is frozen, except where necessary as determined by the Director of Public Works.
(2) 
Removal of paving. In opening any street or other public way, all paving or ballasting materials shall be removed with the least possible loss of or injury to surfacing material and together with the excavated material from trenches shall be placed so as to cause the least practicable inconvenience to the public and permit free flow of water along the gutters.
(3) 
Protection of public. Every person shall enclose with sufficient barriers each opening which he may make in the streets or public ways of the City. All machinery and equipment shall be locked or otherwise effectively safeguarded from unauthorized use when not being used by the permittee, his agents or employees. Lighted barricades sufficient in number and properly placed to give adequate warning shall be kept in place. Except by special permission by the Director of Public Works, no trench shall be excavated more than 100 feet in advance or pipe laying nor left unfilled more than 100 feet where pipe has been laid. All necessary precautions shall be taken to guard the public effectually from accidents or damage to persons or property through the periods of work. Each person making such opening shall be held liable for all damages. including costs incurred by the City in defending any action brought against it for damages as well as cost of any appeal, that may result from the neglect by such person or his employees of any necessary precaution against injury or damage to persons, vehicles or property of any kind.
[Amended 10-10-2006 by Ord. No. A-361]
(4) 
Replacing street surface and appurtenances.
(a) 
In opening any street or sidewalk, the paving material, sand, gravel and earth or other material moved or penetrated and all surface monuments or hubs must be removed and replaced as nearly as possible in their original condition or position and the same relation to the remainder as before. Property markers shall be carefully preserved and/or accurately replaced. Replacement by a registered land surveyor shall constitute accurate replacement. Any excavated material which in the opinion of the Director of Works is not suitable for refilling shall be replaced with approved sand, gravel, or crushed stone. All rubbish shall be immediately removed, leaving the street or sidewalk in perfect repair, the same to be so maintained for a period of one year. In refilling the opening, the earth must be puddled or laid in layers not more than six inches in depth and each layer mechanically compacted to prevent after-settling.
(b) 
The surfacing for permanent restoration of pavement shall be pavement of the same type or better than that removed or damaged. The top finished grade of permanent pavement replacement shall conform to the grade of the existing permanent pavement surfaces.
(c) 
Permanent surfacing for concrete or rigid pavements shall be placed to a thickness of six inches greater than the existing surfacing. Permanent surfacing for bituminous or flexible-type pavements shall be placed to a thickness of at least equal to the existing surfacing.
(d) 
Eight inches of compacted crushed stone shall be placed as a base under all permanent pavements or greater thickness to conform to the adjacent existing base. All permanent pavement restoration of existing bituminous surfaced pavements having a concrete subbase shall include, in addition to the crushed stone base, a concrete subbase equal in thickness to that of the existing concrete subbase.
(e) 
All permanent restoration of street curb and gutter shall be of the same type and thickness as the curb and gutter which abuts. The grade of the restored curb and gutter shall conform to the grade of the existing adjacent curb and gutter.
(f) 
All permanent restoration of driveways and sidewalks shall conform to the manner of construction as originally placed and to the lines and grades as given by the City Engineer. No patching of concrete driveway areas will be allowed between joints or dummy joints.
(g) 
Sidewalks shall be replaced the full width of the walk and minimum length shall be 60 inches. All replaced walk shall be four inches thick, except at driveways where it shall be six inches thick. The new walk shall slope to conform to existing construction across the width of the walk toward the street.
(h) 
When the sides of the trench will not stand perpendicular, sheathing and braces must be used to prevent caving. No timber, bracing, lagging, sheathing or other lumber shall be left in any trench.
(i) 
The City may elect to have the City or a contractor working for the City make the pavement repair for any street or sidewalk opening, in which case the cost of making such repair and of maintaining such repair for one year shall be charged to the person making the street opening.
(j) 
If the person making or causing the street opening or excavation to be made shall make the repair and within one year of said repair the repaired street shall settle or the repair shall prove defective in any other respect, then the City may have the opening properly repaired and the cost of the time and materials shall be charged to the person making or causing such opening or excavation and shall be paid by such person. This shall not apply to work done by the City or its utility for sewer main and lateral repair or water main and lateral repair.
F. 
Excavation in new street limited. Whenever the City determines to provide for the permanent improvement or repaving of any street, such determination shall be made not less than 30 days before the work of improvement or repaving shall begin. Immediately after such determination by the Common Council, the Director of Public Works shall notify in writing each person, company, utility, City department or other agency owing or controlling any sewer, water main, conduit or other utility in or under said street or any real property abutting said street that all such excavation work in such street must be completed within 30 days. After such permanent improvement or repaving, no permit shall be issued to open, cut or excavate said street for a period of five years after the date of improvement or repaving unless in the opinion of the Director of Public Works an emergency exists which makes it absolutely essential that the permit be issued.
G. 
Emergency excavations authorized. In the event of an emergency any person owning or controlling any sewer or water main, conduit or utility in or under any street and his agents or employees may take immediate proper emergency measures to remedy dangerous conditions for the protection of property, life, health, or safety without obtaining an excavation permit, provided that such person shall apply for an excavation permit not later than the end of the next succeeding business day and shall not make any permanent repairs without first obtaining an excavation permit hereunder.
H. 
City work excluded. The provisions of this section shall not apply to excavation work under the direction of the Director of Public Works or the Municipal Light and Water Utility by City employees or contractors performing work under contract with the City necessitating openings or excavations in City streets.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original § 10.04(i), Penalty, which immediately followed this subsection, was deleted 10-10-2006 by Ord. No. A-361.
A. 
Obstructions and encroachments prohibited. No person shall encroach upon or in any way obstruct or encumber any street, alley, sidewalk, public grounds or land dedicated to public use, or any part thereof, or permit such encroachment or encumbrance to be placed or remain on any public way adjoining the premises of which he is the owner or of which he is the occupant, except as provided in other sections of this chapter and in Chapter 340, Zoning.
B. 
Street privilege permit.
[Amended 10-10-2006 by Ord. No. A-361]
(1) 
When required. Permits for the use of the streets, alleys, sidewalks or other public ways or places of the City may be granted to applicants by the Director of Public Works for purpose of encumbering the street, alley, sidewalk or way with materials necessary in and about the construction or demolition of any building or structure, provided that such applicant has compiled with the other requirements of this Subsection B and has obtained a building permit if required by § 127-13 of this Code.
(2) 
Bond. No street permit shall be issued until the applicant shall execute and file with the Clerk a bond in an amount determined by the Director of Public Works conditioned that the applicant will indemnify and save harmless the City from all liability for accidents or damage caused by reason of operations under said permit and will remove such encumbrance upon termination of the operations and will leave the vacated premises in a clean and sanitary condition and repair any and all damage to the streets, alleys, sidewalks or public property of the City resulting from such building operations.
(3) 
Fee. The fee for a street privilege permit shall be as set by the Common Council by resolution.
(4) 
Conditions of occupancy. The permission to occupy or obstruct the streets, alleys, sidewalks or public grounds is intended only for the use in connection with the actual erection, alteration, repair, or removal of buildings or structures and shall be given upon the following terms and conditions and subject to revocation without notice by the Director of Public Works for violation thereof:
(a) 
Such temporary obstruction shall cover not more than 1/3 of any street or alley.
(b) 
Obstructions shall be sufficiently lighted at night so as to be in full view of the public from all directions.
(c) 
Sidewalks traffic shall not be interrupted, but temporary sidewalks of not less than four feet in width guarded by a closed fence at least four feet high on both sides may be maintained during the period of occupancy.
(d) 
Upon termination of the work necessitating such obstruction, all parts of the streets, alleys, sidewalks or public grounds occupied under the permit shall be vacated, cleaned of all rubbish and obstructions and placed in a safe condition for public travel at the expense of the permittee.
(5) 
Termination. All street privilege permits shall automatically terminate at the end of three months from the date of issuance unless an earlier termination date is specified thereon at the direction of the Director of Public Works.
C. 
Removal by City. In addition to any other penalty imposed, if the owner or occupant of the premises adjoining any unlawfully obstructed sidewalk or street right-of-way shall refuse or neglect to remove such obstruction within 24 hours after notice from the Director of Public Works to do so, the Director of Public Works may cause the removal of such obstruction and make return of the cost and expense thereof to the Clerk, who shall enter such cost on the next annual tax roll as a special charge against the property abutting such obstruction of sidewalk, and such sum shall be levied and collected the same as other special taxes against real estate.
[Amended 10-10-2006 by Ord. No. A-361[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also deleted original § 10.05(d), Penalty, which immediately followed this subsection.
D. 
Penalty. The penalty for violation of any of the provisions of this section shall be a penalty as provided in Chapter 1, § 1-3 of this Code.
[Amended 10-10-2006 by Ord. No. A-361; 1-5-2010 by Ord. No. A-409]
A. 
Responsibility of owner and occupant. The owner, occupant or person in charge of each and every building or structure or unoccupied lot in the City fronting or abutting any street shall clean or cause to be cleaned the full width of the sidewalk in front of or adjoining each such home, building or unoccupied lot, as the case may be, including that portion of the sidewalk bordering the crosswalk, including the curb ramp if any, regardless of the source of the snow accumulation of snow or ice to the width of such sidewalk by 11:00 a.m. of each day and shall cause the same to be kept clear of snow and ice, provided that when the ice has formed on any sidewalk so that it cannot be immediately removed, the persons herein referred to shall keep the same sprinkled with sand, salt or other suitable substances, in such a manner as to prevent the ice from becoming dangerous, until such time that it can be removed, and then it shall be promptly removed. In case snow shall continue to fall during and after 11:00 a.m., then it shall be removed within three hours of daylight the day after is shall cease to fall. Each day any violation of this section continues shall constitute a separate offense.
B. 
Notice, removal and expense. If the owner, occupant or person in charge of each and every building or structure or unoccupied lot in the City fronting or abutting any street fails to keep said sidewalk and ramp clear of ice and snow as set forth in Subsection A, the Director of Public Works may take the following actions:
[Amended 5-18-2010 by Ord. No. A-413]
(1) 
Hazardous conditions. If the Director of Public Works determines that the failure to remove the snow and ice from the sidewalk creates an immediate danger to the public health and/or safety, the Director of Public Works may cause the issuance of a written notice to the owner, occupant, or person in charge of any parcel or lot directing that the snow and/or ice be removed within two hours from the delivery of the notice. In the event the property owner, occupant or person in charge of said parcel or lot is unavailable to receive a written notice, the Director of Public Works may immediately cause the removal of the snow and/or ice. The Director of Public Works may send a written notice to the last known address of the property owner notifying him that a hazardous condition existed which required immediate abatement.
(2) 
Expense. An account of the expenses incurred by the City to abate the hazardous snow and ice conditions shall be kept, and such expenses shall be charged to and paid by the parcel or lot owner. Notice of the bill for the removal of snow and/or ice shall be mailed to the last known address of the owner of the parcel or lot and shall be payable within 10 calendar days from receipt thereof. Within 60 days after such costs and expenses are incurred and remain unpaid, the City Clerk may enter those charges onto the tax role as a special charge for current services pursuant to § 66.0627, Wis. Stats., or special tax pursuant to § 66.0907(5) and (3)(f), Wis. Stats.
(3) 
Such costs and expenses are in addition to the penalty for failure to keep sidewalks clear of snow or ice.
C. 
Snow and ice not to encroach. No person shall push, plow, blow, scoop, pile or in any way deposit any snow or ice onto any public street, alley, sidewalk or public lands dedicated to public use which are used for vehicular or pedestrian traffic. Parcels or lots located in areas of the City in which a street terrace does not exist may push snow from the sidewalk into the street prior to City removal of snow from street. "Street terrace" is defined as the area between the sidewalk and curb, or street in the absence of a curb. Snow removal shall be done in a manner to avoid negatively impacting other properties. The Public Works Department may remove any snow placed in the street, or other public lands in violation of this subsection and may include the expense of doing so on the statement required by § 66.0907(5) and (3)(f), Wis. Stats., and in the statement to the Clerk and in the special tax to be levied as therein provided, or by special charge for current services pursuant to § 66.0627, Wis. Stats.
D. 
Enforcement. All sworn police officers or the Director of Public Works, or his designee, are hereby authorized and directed to enforce the provisions of this section. In the event of emergency weather conditions, enforcement may be delayed by the Director of Public Works.
E. 
Violations and penalties. The penalty for violation of any provision of this section shall be a penalty as provided in Chapter 1, § 1-3 of this Code.
At any place in this chapter where an item of expense is made chargeable to a particular parcel of land, said charge shall be levied as a special assessment against the parcel and collected in the same manner as other special assessments. No assessment shall be approved without notice to the taxpayer and opportunity to be heard.
[Added 1-15-2008 by Ord. No. A-387; amended 3-5-2019 by Ord. No. A-530; 1-21-2025 by Ord. No. A-569]
A. 
Purpose. The streets of the City are primarily for the use of the public in the ordinary way. However, under appropriate circumstances, the Common Council may grant a permit for either public or private street use, subject to reasonable municipal regulation and control. Therefore, this section is enacted to regulate and control the use of City street to the end that the health, safety and general welfare of the public and the good order of the City can be protected and maintained.
B. 
Applications.
(1) 
Street use permit (public use). A written application for a public street use permit by persons or groups shall be made on an application in accordance with Chapter 292, Special Events.
(2) 
Street use permit (private use). A written application for a private street use permit shall be made with the City Clerk within 45 days of the event.
(a) 
Application review. Completed applications for a private street use permit will be processed in the order of their receipt. When a complete application has been received by the City Clerk, or designee, the City Clerk will send copies of the application to the following departments for their review and comment: Police, Utilities, Public Works, and Parks. The departments will make recommendations to the City Clerk regarding approval or denial of permit. Such recommendations shall be made to the City Clerk as soon as reasonably practicable.
(b) 
Mandatory denial of permit.
[1] 
An application for a permit shall be denied if:
[a] 
The proposed event would violate any federal or state law or any ordinance of the City.
[b] 
The proposed event will substantially hinder the movement of police, fire or emergency vehicles, constituting an unnecessary risk to persons or property.
[c] 
The application does not contain the information required.
[2] 
The Common Council may deny a permit for any other reason or reasons if it concludes that the health, safety and general welfare of the public cannot adequately be protected and maintained if the permit is granted.
(c) 
Permit fee. Each application for a permit shall be accompanied by a fee as set forth by resolution on the City Fee Schedule.
(d) 
Insurance or bond. The applicant for a private street use permit may be required to indemnify, defend and hold the City and its employees and agents harmless against all claims, liability, loss, damage or expense incurred by the City on account of any injury to or death of any person or any damage to property caused by or resulting from the activities for which the permit is granted. As evidence of the applicant's ability to perform the conditions of the permit, the applicant may be required to furnish a certificate of comprehensive general liability insurance with the City of Lodi. The applicants may be required to furnish a performance bond prior to being granted the permit. The amount of the insurance coverage or bond shall be set by the City Council at the time of issuance of the permit.
(e) 
Termination of a permit. A permit in progress may be terminated by the Police Department if the health, safety and welfare of the public appear to be endangered by activities generated as a result of the event or the event is in violation of any of the conditions of the permits or ordinances of the City of Lodi. The Police Department has the authority to revoke a permit, or terminate an event in progress, if the event organizers fail to comply with any of the regulations in the policy or conditions stated in the permit.
(f) 
Notification. The City Clerk shall send a copy of the issued permit to the Lodi area EMS and Lodi area Fire Department in advance of the effective date of the event.