[Adopted 5-12-1980 as Ch. 95, § 95-1,
of the 1980 Code; amended in its entirety 3-12-2018 by L.L. No. 1-2018]
The provisions of this article shall apply to all existing premises
and constitute minimum requirements and standards for safe maintenance
of public sidewalks within the limits of this City with regards to
snow, slush, and/or ice.
This article is intended to provide standards to safeguard public
safety and general welfare insofar as they are affected by the maintenance
of public sidewalks within the limits of this City.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
An employee of the City of Oswego with the authority to enforce
state and local ordinances and codes, including but not limited to
the Police, Fire and Code Enforcement Departments of the City.
Any real property owned by an individual, corporation, or other
entity is, when reported to or observed by Code Enforcement Officials,
subject to inspection by Code Enforcement Officials of the City of
Oswego, New York.
A.
It is the duty of every owner and of every owner, tenant and occupant
of property within the limits of this City where public sidewalks
exist adjacent to said property, and of every owner of property within
the limits of this City where public sidewalks and crosswalks exist
adjacent to said property, when unoccupied, to cause said sidewalks
and crosswalks to be cleared of snow, slush or ice at or before 7:00
a.m. of every day that any snow, slush or ice may be upon the same.
All public sidewalks shall be cleaned to a path of at least 30 inches
in width, or the width of any existing sidewalk which is less than
30 inches. In the case of crosswalks, the sidewalk shall be cleaned
to a path of at least 30 inches in width, or the width of any existing
crosswalk which is less than 30 inches, and shall be cleaned to the
beginning of the public street. In case the snow or ice cannot be
removed, then the same shall be sprinkled with sand or salt before
the hour mentioned. Sawdust shall not be used.
A.
Upon notification of a violation of any sections of this article,
the Code Enforcement Official will notify the owner, tenant and occupant
of his/her findings and explain, in detail, the steps the owner, tenant
and occupant must take to bring the premises into compliance. This
may be done by any of the following methods:
B.
The Code Enforcement Official will also set a day by which time the
work must be completed.
C.
If the work is not completed as required in the notification sent to the owner pursuant to Subsection A herein, the City may go upon the premises in violation and may take or cause to take appropriate measures to alleviate the conditions complained of. In the event that the City does take action as herein described, the City shall ascertain the costs of such remedial measures and place said amount upon tax rolls for said property, plus an administrative surcharge in the amount listed below:
|
Value of Work
|
Surcharge
|
|---|---|
|
$1 to $99
|
$100
|
|
$100 to $199
|
$150
|
|
$200 to $299
|
$200
|
|
$300 or greater
|
$250
|
D.
If an unlawful condition or use is found not to have been properly
remedied or made to comply with the provisions of this article, the
Director of Code Enforcement is empowered to immediately institute
any appropriate action, charge or proceedings in the proper legal
court to enforce the provisions of this article and for the prosecution
of any owner, occupant or offender.
E.
In the event that one notice of violation of this article has been previously sent to the owner, tenant or occupant of a residential home within a six-month period, the requirement of a notification pursuant to Subsection A shall be waived, and the Director of Code Enforcement, or his/her designee, is empowered to immediately institute any appropriate action pursuant to Subsection D.
A.
A violation of any provision of this article shall be punishable
by a fine based on the previous number of violations related to the
premises by the current owner. Such fine amounts shall be based on
the below:
|
Number of Previous Violations
|
Fine Amount
|
|---|---|
|
0
|
$75
|
|
1
|
$150
|
|
2
|
$300
|
|
3 and above
|
$500
|
B.
Each day of continued violation shall constitute a separate additional
violation.
A.
Any person who willfully or recklessly violates any provision of
this article; willfully or recklessly violates or fails to comply
with any requirement of an order of the Department; or willfully makes
or causes any other person to make any false or misleading statement
on any notice or other document required to be filed pursuant to this
article or on any application or any accompanying document for the
granting of any permit or any other action by the Department pursuant
to this article shall be guilty of an offense punishable by a fine
of not less than $250 nor more than $500 for each violation or by
imprisonment for up to 15 days, or by both such fine and imprisonment,
or other penalties pursuant to the Penal Law of the State of New York.
B.
A person commits a willful violation when he/she intentionally acts,
or intentionally fails to act, to cause a desired result that violates
this article. A person commits a substantial risk that the act or
failure to act will result in a condition constituting a violation
of this article which will endanger the life, health, safety or general
welfare of another person.
C.
In a prosecution for a willful or reckless violation of a provision
of this article, evidence of prior service of civil process or of
prior judgments from the same violation and relating to the same premises
shall be admissible on the issue of the defendant's knowledge
of the existing violation.
D.
Evidence that the defendant had knowledge or notice of the violation
and failed to correct the same for more than one month or take reasonable
action to explain to the Department this failure shall be evidence
of the willfulness of the defendant's action.
E.
This subsection shall not be construed to prevent conviction for
a willful violation on other grounds.
This article shall take effect immediately upon filing with
the Secretary of State.
