[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Dansville as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
[Adopted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
The purpose of this article is to promote the maintenance of
safe and adequate sidewalks for pedestrian use by regulating the manner
of construction, reconstruction, repair and maintenance of sidewalks
and the materials to be used in the grades and widths thereof in the
Village of Dansville, to prohibit any construction, reconstruction
or repair which does not comply with such regulations and to provide
guidelines for assuring the safety of such sidewalks and to delineate
the responsibility of the Village of Dansville and of the property
owner.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Anyone who holds title to the premises (commercial and/or
residential) in fee simple or by life estate or remainder, and also
any beneficial owner of the premises such as a contract vendee in
possession, who has the duty to pay the taxes on the premises.
Existing sidewalks, those presently under construction, if
any, and any future sidewalks constructed after the date of the adoption
of this article which abut public highways in fact used by the public.
The Village of Dansville, New York 14437.
A.
It shall in all cases, be the duty of the owner of every lot or piece
of land in the Village of Dansville to keep the sidewalks adjoining
the owner's lot or piece of land in good order and to remove
and clean away all snow and ice and other obstruction from such sidewalks,
except to the extent that such duty has been assumed by the Village,
a sidewalk snow removal contractor, a sidewalk repair contractor,
a sidewalk district and/or a sidewalk snow removal district. Failure
to do so will result in the costs of any repair done by the Village
of Dansville to be assessed against the landowner, and further said
landowner shall be liable in tort for any injuries to any person or
property as a result of the landowner's failure to comply with
this article.
B.
Said owner must not suffer or permit snow or ice to collect or remain
on such sidewalk later than 9:00 p.m. the following day. When the
snow is removed from sidewalks by contractors or Village employees
using plows, it shall be the duty of the owner to remove the snow
and ice remaining after such plows have gone through. The portion
of the sidewalk required to be kept free from snow and ice is the
portion thereof which is paved or concrete, if any, and if no portion
is paved or concrete, a space at least four feet in width shall be
kept free and clear across driveways connecting sidewalks as stated
above. The Superintendent of Public Works shall have the discretion
to remove snow or ice, without expense to the owner, if weather and
safety dictate. He shall immediately notify the Mayor of such discretionary
action.
C.
No person shall remove snow or ice from private property or structures
and deposit it on the sidewalk or roadway of any street or against
a fire hydrant, nor shall any person authorize or permit such removal
and depositing. No person shall remove snow or ice from the sidewalks
and deposit it on the roadway of any street, not shall any person
authorize or permit such removal and depositing. These prohibitions
shall apply to any means for removing and depositing snow or ice.
D.
The owners and occupants of real property and all other persons,
firms and corporations are hereby prohibited from placing, maintaining
or permitting any exhibit of goods, wares and merchandise or any obstruction
whatsoever upon the sidewalks of said streets or between the lines
of curbstones established and required to be maintained upon said
streets without a permit granted by the Board of Trustees after application
is made.
E.
All persons are hereby prohibited from marking, writing upon or defacing
any of the sidewalks with chalk, paint or other material, without
a permit granted by the Board of Trustees after application is made.
F.
Further, property owners in the Central Business District shall daily sweep their respective
portion of the sidewalk before the start of each business day. Debris
other than dirt (i.e., cigarettes, wrappers, cups, etc.) must not
be swept into the street but placed in a trash bin. Weeds growing
along and between sidewalk blocks and pavers shall be removed as well.
G.
All persons, firms, partnerships and corporations are hereby prohibited
from digging any ditch or drain or making any excavation or opening
of any kind whatever upon, along or through any public street or public
sidewalk within the Village without first obtaining the written permission
of the Superintendent of Public Works of said Village so to do and
without making a payment with the Village Clerk-Treasurer before the
commencement of such work of a sum set by the Village Board. Replacement
or repair must be made in a permanent fashion, according to the specifications
adopted by the Village. A temporary replacement or repair may by allowed
or ordered by the Superintendent of Public Works when conditions warrant,
but a permanent repair or replacement must be made as soon as conditions
allow.
A.
Quality of concrete, grade, thickness and width of sidewalks and
other standards of construction and installation shall be determined
by specifications adopted by the Village's Superintendent of
Public Works and available at the Village Clerk-Treasurer's office
upon request. Unusual circumstances which may affect installation
or cause a deviation from these specifications may be approved on
a case-by-case basis after investigation by the Superintendent of
Public Works or authorized representative.
B.
Installation of new sidewalks and removal and replacement of old/unsafe
sidewalks shall be effected, when time permits, by the Village Department
of Public Works by the following preferences.
(1)
Public safety. Shall receive preference of funding allocated in the
current year's budget which is designated for sidewalk improvement.
(2)
Property owner's request. May receive funding in the current year's
budget which is designated for sidewalk improvement. The property
owner shall participate at a fee rate per linear foot established
by the Board of Trustees from time to time.
(3)
Property owners may elect to have a commercial installation, also
at their expense. Said installation must be approved beforehand by
the Superintendent of Public Works.
Sidewalks shall be considered to be unsafe if, by determination
of the Superintendent of Public Works, they are so broken, cracked,
lifted, spilled, scaled, absent or otherwise deficient as to cause
a clear and present danger to pedestrians. Upon such determination,
the owner of the property where such sidewalk is located will be notified,
in writing, by standard form the need to repair or replace the sidewalk
in question. Such notice shall specify the sidewalk or portions thereof
which require repair, replacement or installation and contain a brief
summary of the reasons for the notice. Such notice shall be served
upon such owner by personal service or by certified mail, return receipt
requested, addressed to the last known address as shown on the latest
completed assessment roll of the Village of Dansville. If delivery
of the certified mail is returned or unclaimed, then service shall
be made by regular mail and shall be deemed complete five days after
the date of mailing. The cost of such repair, replacement or installation
will be borne by the property owner with the property owner's
consent, at a participation rate as stated above or by the Village,
at Village expense, if determined necessary for public safety
The Village of Dansville shall dispose of the rubble from the
replacement of sidewalks within the right-of-way, provided that the
rubble is placed at the curb or road edge.
The Village of Dansville will be responsible for damage to sidewalks
in the form of cracked or lifted blocks caused by tree roots or for
any root damage if the tree is in the right-of-way area. The Department
of Public Works, or a private contractor arranged by the Village,
will cut out the roots of the tree(s) within the right-of-way under
the sidewalk and replace the damaged sidewalk blocks. If removal of
the roots will not provide a long-term solution to the sidewalk problem,
the Superintendent of Public works may authorize the removal of the
tree at the Village's expense. Damage caused by tree roots from
a tree on the owner's property is the responsibility of the property
owner.
No blacktop or blacktop sealer of any kind shall be permitted
along the path of a sidewalk where it crosses a driveway or parking
area. Exceptions to this provision will be allowed only in the case
of such conditions preexisting this article, unless deemed hazardous.
Whenever such preexisting blacktop should deteriorate or be replaced
or when the blacktop driveway abutting such a blacktop area shall
be replaced, the blacktopped sidewalk area must be replaced with concrete.
In the case where an occupied lot is situated at the end of
a dead-end street, sidewalk otherwise required along the frontage
of the property shall be permitted to terminate at the driveway on
such property rather than be installed to the end of the right-of-way.
In the event that sidewalks are replaced at intersecting streets,
corner lots or at other locations that would require the curb and
sidewalk to be reconstructed, then the Village of Dansville shall
assume the responsibility and pay for the cost of resetting the curb
and sidewalk for the handicap access from the curb to the first intersecting
block of the main sidewalk. Work associated with these conditions
shall be conducted in accordance with the Village's minimum specifications
for dedication regarding curbing and sidewalks.
Owners of premises in the Village of Dansville, subject to this
article, must comply therewith and with any regulations, specifications
and any order passed by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Dansville.
In the event that any owner or occupant, as the case may be, fails
to comply with this article, any regulations passed by the Village
Board of Trustees or the specifications or any orders of the Village
Board of Trustees pursuant thereto, the Village may cause the construction,
reconstruction, repair or removal of obstructions to be accomplished
and audit and pay the expense of doing the same. If the owner or occupant
in question does not reimburse the Village, the cost shall be levied
against the property owner's property taxes.
This article shall be applicable to all outstanding notices
requiring the repair and/or reconstruction of sidewalks on the effective
date of this article, and those outstanding notices shall be automatically
extended for a period of one year from the date that the prior notice
to repair was received by the property owner.
Should any section, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of
this article be declared unconstitutional or invalid for any reason,
the remainder of said article shall not be affected thereby.
