[Adopted 5-26-1953 by Ord. No. 182 (Ch. 83, Art. I, of the 1973 Borough
Code)]
In and on any public street, highway, avenue or alley in the
Borough of Mount Ephraim, the grade of which has been lawfully established
or which may hereafter be established, curbs and sidewalks shall be
set or reset, laid or relaid, altered, repaired, constructed and maintained
at the expense of the abutting property owner as provided by law.
All curbs and sidewalks hereafter set, reset, laid, relaid,
altered, repaired or constructed shall be done in compliance with
the regulations of the Department of Public Works, Parks and Public
Property of the Borough of Mount Ephraim and under the supervision
of such officer or employee as the Commissioner of that Department
may designate.
Whenever any curb and/or sidewalk is required to be set, reset,
laid, relaid, repaired or constructed in the Borough of Mount Ephraim,
application by the owner of the abutting lands or his contractor for
a permit shall first be made to the Commissioner of Public Works,
Parks and Public Property, specifying grade, dimensions, mix materials
and the method of construction or repair to be used. The Commissioner
of Public Works, Parks and Public Property, or such officer or agent
as he shall designate, shall examine said specifications and register
his approval or disapproval thereof; upon approval thereof, a permit
shall be issued to the applicant for such construction and/or repairs.
The owners of lots, tracts and parcels of land fronting or abutting
on any public street, highway, avenue or alley in the Borough of Mount
Ephraim shall, at his, her or their own cost and expense, set, reset,
lay, relay, alter, repair, construct and maintain curbs and sidewalks
in front of or adjoining the same when notified so to do by the Commissioner
of Public Works, Parks and Public Property pursuant to a resolution
adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Borough of Mount Ephraim.
Whenever the Board of Commissioners of the Borough of Mount
Ephraim shall deem necessary the construction, repair, alteration
or relaying of any curb or sidewalk in the Borough of Mount Ephraim,
it shall, by resolution, specify the improvements to be made. Upon
the adoption of such resolution by the Board of Commissioners, the
Commissioner of Public Works, Parks and Public Property shall cause
a notice, in writing, to be served upon the owners or occupiers of
the lands so designated, requiring the necessary specified work to
said sidewalks and/or curbs to be done by the owners or occupiers
within a period of not less than 30 nor more than 90 days from the
date of service of such notice.
A. Service of such notice upon owners or occupiers of said lands shall
be made as follows:
(1) If residents in the Borough of Mount Ephraim, either personally or
by leaving the same at their usual place of residence with a member
of their family above the age of 14 years, or by leaving the same
at their usual place of business with a member of their business staff
above the age of 14 years.
(2) If such lands are occupied, a copy of such notice shall be attached
to the improvements thereon in a conspicuous place.
(3) If such lands are unoccupied and the owners are not residents of
the Borough of Mount Ephraim, said notice shall be mailed, postage
prepaid, to his, her or their last known post-office address.
(4) If the owners are nonresidents of the Borough of Mount Ephraim and
his, her or their post-office address cannot be ascertained with reasonable
certainty, then said notice shall be published in a newspaper circulating
in the Borough of Mount Ephraim, at least twice and not less than
40 days before the improvements and/or repairs are made by the Borough.
B. Each such notice shall contain a description of the property affected
thereby, sufficiently definite to identify the same; the plate, block
and lot by which said property is designated on the Official Tax Map
of the Borough; the name or names of the owner and/or owners as recorded
in the tax records of the Borough; and a brief description of the
required improvement and/or repairs.
C. Proof of service of any such notice shall be filed within 10 days
thereafter with the Director of Revenue and Finance of the Borough
of Mount Ephraim and with the Collector of Taxes of said Borough.
If the owners or occupants of such lands shall not comply with
the requirements of such notice, it shall be lawful for the Commissioner
of Public Works, Parks and Public Property to cause the required work
to be done by direction of himself and under his jurisdiction; upon
its completion the cost thereof shall be certified by him under oath
to the Borough Clerk. The Borough Clerk shall submit the same to the
Board of Commissioners at its next regular meeting; said Board of
Commissioners shall examine such report and the proof of service of
the notice requiring said work to be done; if satisfied of the correctness
thereof, said Board of Commissioners shall approve and confirm such
report and direct that it be filed with the Director of Revenue and
Finance and/or the Collector of Taxes of the Borough, who shall record
the amount of such costs as a sidewalk and/or curb assessment in the
book in which other assessments of the Borough of Mount Ephraim are
recorded. Said costs shall thereupon be and become a lien upon the
abutting lands adjacent to which said work was done, to the extent
that assessments for such improvements are liens, and shall bear interest
from the date of such certification and confirmation at the same rate
which other unpaid liens held by the Borough of Mount Ephraim bear.
The cost of any such improvement, if it becomes a lien as set
forth herein, shall be collected in the manner provided by law for
the collection of other assessments or liens; in addition thereto,
the Borough of Mount Ephraim, at its option, may maintain an action
to recover the amount thereof against the owner of said lands in any
court of competent jurisdiction.
The Board of Commissioners may each year include in its annual
budget or tax ordinance an appropriation for curb and/or sidewalk
repairs in addition to any existing maintenance fund, out of which
appropriation all costs of construction and/or repairs of curbs and
sidewalks during the year may be charged when it becomes necessary
for the Commissioner of Public Works, Parks and Public Property to
make such repairs and/or construction pursuant hereto. All moneys
recovered or paid to the Borough under the provisions of this article
(other than penalties as hereinafter set forth) shall be credited
to the account out of which such work was paid.
A. The failure of any applicant, owner, his contractor, servant or agent
to construct or repair such curbs and/or sidewalks in accordance with
the specifications filed by him for the purpose of securing a permit
under the terms of this article shall be and constitute a violation
hereof.
B. Any person violating the terms of this article or refusing or neglecting to comply with any of the provisions hereof shall, upon conviction therefor, be the penalty provisions contained in Chapter
305, Penalties.
[Amended 1-2-1973]
C. Each day's persistence in the things or acts prohibited by this
article shall be and constitute a separate and distinct offense, subject
to any and all of the penalties prescribed in this article.