[1982 Code, Ch. VII, § 1]
No person shall move or assist in moving any building, over
any way which the City is obliged to keep in repair, without the written
permit of the City Manager being first obtained; nor, having obtained
such permit, without complying with the restrictions and provisions
thereof.
[1982 Code, Ch. VII, § 2]
(A)
No person shall place or cause to be placed upon any public way or
sidewalk, any lumber, iron, wood, coal, trunk, bale, box, crate, cask,
barrel, package or other thing, and allow the same to remain for more
than one hour, or more than 10 minutes after being notified by a police
officer; provided that the provisions of this section shall not apply
to the placing of ashes refuse or garbage in proper receptacles for
collection under public authority and provided further that all store
waste shall at all times be kept in suitable covered, metal containers
on the store premises and the same shall not be placed on the street
or sidewalk for collection until the day specified in each week by
the Manager or the Superintendent of Highways for the regular collection
of the same in the locality where the store is situated.
(B)
No person shall transport or cause to be transported into the City
for the purpose of dumping or depositing the same in any place in
the City any ashes, paper, dirt, waste, garbage, refuse, rubbish or
filth of any kind or any animal or vegetable substance or any abandoned
or discarded material of any name or nature without the written permission
of the Manager. Such permission shall not be granted by the Manager
until satisfied that such waste or material shall be carried in such
a manner and in such vehicles and shall be deposited in such a place
and in such a manner that the same shall not be likely to become littered
or scattered about the streets or in any private property to cause
a nuisance and such permission may be revoked at any time by the power
granting the same.
[1982 Code, Ch. VII, § 3]
Any person who intends to erect, repair, take down or do any
work on or in connection with any building or structure on land abutting
on any way which this City is obliged to keep in repair, and desires
to make use of any portion of said way for the purpose of placing
thereon building materials, equipment or rubbish shall give notice
thereof to the City Manager. And thereupon the City Manager may grant
a permit in writing to occupy such portion of said way to be used
for such purpose as in his judgment the necessity of the case demands
and the security of the public allows; such permit in no case to be
in force longer than 90 days, and to be on such conditions as the
Manager may require; and especially in every case, upon condition
that during the whole of every night, from twilight in the evening
until sunrise in the morning, lighted lanterns shall be placed as
effectually to secure all travelers from liability to come in contact
with such building materials or rubbish.
[1982 Code, Ch. VII, § 4]
No person shall use any portion of any way which the City is
obliged to keep in repair for the purposes named in this chapter without
the permit, in writing, of the City Manager as therein provided, nor
having obtained such permit, shall fail to comply with the conditions
thereof. In addition to any penalty to which he or she may be subjected
under this chapter for such failures, he or she shall reimburse the
City for all expenses and damages which the City may be compelled
to pay by reason of such unauthorized use, or for any failure to comply
with said conditions.
[1982 Code, Ch. VII, § 6]
No person shall, without the written permission of the City
Manager, place or cause to be placed in or upon any public way, or
sidewalk, any ashes, dirt, rubbish or filth of any kind, or any animal
or vegetable substance.
[1982 Code, Ch. VII, § 7; amended Ord. 135, passed 6-22-1993;
amended Ord. 25, passed 5-12-1998]
(A)
No public utility regulated pursuant to Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 164 shall
open the surface, dig up or otherwise obstruct any portion of any
street, sidewalk or way which the City is obligated to keep in repair
without first obtaining a written permit for such activity from the
Superintendent of Public Works, who shall require a nonrefundable
permit fee of $25 to cover the City's administrative cost of the issuance
of such permit.
(B)
Except as provided in division (C) of this section, no person shall
open the surface, dig up or otherwise obstruct any portion of any
street, sidewalk or way which the City is obligated to keep in repair
without first obtaining a written permit for such activity from the
Superintendent of Public Works, who shall require a nonrefundable
permit fee of not less than $100.
(C)
Notwithstanding division (B) of this section, any permit issued for
the construction, reconstruction or repair of a driveway shall be
issued only to the contractor performing the work, and shall require
a nonrefundable permit fee of $25.
(D)
A person obtaining a permit under divisions (B) or (C) of this section,
prior to the issuance of the permit, shall post a bond of not less
than $10,000 as prescribed by the Superintendent of Public Works,
to be held by the City Treasurer for a duration of not less than two
years past the estimated completion date for any project for which
such permit is granted.
(E)
The Superintendent of Public Works shall establish, enforce and perpetually
maintain engineering specifications, permit forms and procedures,
fees, performance standards, inspection and remedial regulations and
penalties which shall detail the exact requirements for the application,
performance and acceptance of public way openings and repairs.
(F)
Any person failing to comply with these conditions, in addition to
any penalty prescribed by the Superintendent of Public Works as provided
above, shall reimburse the City for all expenses and damages which
the City may be compelled to pay by reason of such violation of this
section. The Superintendent of Public Works shall not, under penalty
of personal liability, waive any permit, fee or bond for any person
notwithstanding work performed under the Superintendent's direction
by employees of the Department of Public Works.
(G)
For purposes of this section, the word "person" shall include any
natural person, business, partnership, corporation, association, trust,
committee, club or other organization, entity or group of individuals,
regardless of the manner in which they are organized or named, but
shall not include a public utility subject to Mass. Gen. Laws Ch.
164.
[1982 Code, Ch. VII, § 8]
No person shall ride or drive any beast of burden, carriage
or draught, or shall drive or propel or cause to be driven or propelled
any bicycle, tricycle, motor vehicle or any vehicle whatsoever, in
or over any crossing in any public way at such a rate of speed as
to endanger the lives and safety of the public.
[1982 Code, Ch. VII, § 9]
No person shall permit any vehicle under his or her care or
control to stand across any public way in such a manner as to obstruct
the travel over the same for an unnecessary length of time; no person
shall stop with any vehicle in any public way so near to another vehicle
as to obstruct public travel; and no person shall stop with any vehicle
upon or across any crossing in any public way.
[1982 Code, Ch. VII, § 10]
No person shall coast upon ice or snow upon any public way,
except one on which the City Manager or Chief of Police shall by public
notice permit such coasting, and no person shall ride any animal or
drive, wheel or draw any automobile, coach, cart, wheelbarrow, hand
cart, velocipede, bicycle, or any vehicle, except children's carriages,
or coast upon any sidewalk in the City.
[1982 Code, Ch. VII, § 14]
(A)
The Superintendent of Public Works for the purpose of removing or
plowing snow, or removing ice, from any way, may remove or cause to
be removed to some convenient place, including a public garage, any
vehicle interfering with such work. He shall keep or cause to be kept
records of the registration number of each vehicle so removed and
the place to which it is removed, and shall within 48 hours after
the removal of any such vehicle send notice by mail to the owner of
such vehicle, at his address as recorded at the Registry of Motor
Vehicles, of the place to which such vehicle has been removed. If
the owner of the motor vehicle be unknown or be not on record at the
Registry of Motor Vehicles for this Commonwealth, the Superintendent
of Public Works shall on the business day following the day of removal
publish, at least once in a newspaper published and having a general
circulation in Watertown or Boston, notice of the removal, the registration
number, if any, the type of vehicle and the place to which the same
was removed.
(B)
Before the owner or his or her agent shall be permitted to remove
a vehicle which has been removed as aforesaid to a public garage or
other convenient place, he shall:
(1)
Furnish satisfactory evidence to the owner or person in charge
of the public garage or to the Superintendent of Public Works of his
or her identity and ownership or right to possession of the vehicle.
(2)
To pay for the cost of publishing or sending any notice required
hereunder in such amount as shall be determined by the Superintendent
of Public Works of the City and to pay the cost of removing the vehicle
and all storage charges as authorized by Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 40, § 22D
as provided in the "City of Watertown Traffic Rules and Orders, as
amended."
[1982 Code, Ch. VIII, § 1]
No person shall stand on any sidewalk or in any public place
in such a manner as to obstruct a free passage for foot passengers,
after having been requested by a police officer to move on.
[1982 Code, Ch. VIII, § 3]
No person or persons shall play or perform on any musical instruments
or sing, parade, march or congregate in any public way or public place,
except in connection with a funeral, without the written permit of
the City Manager.
[1982 Code, Ch. VIII, § 9]
No person shall transport any liquid, substance or material
of any kind in any vehicle on the street within the City in a manner
that the liquid, substance or material leaks, overflows or falls form
the vehicle onto the street.
[1982 Code, Ch. VIII, § 18]
The City Manager may order numbers to be affixed to or painted
on the building on any street in their discretion. The City Manager,
in his or her discretion, may order owners of both residential or
business property to remove and change the numbers on the buildings
on any street. The owner of every house or building shall comply with
the order within 30 days.
[Ord. 893, passed 6-26-1990]
(A)
The City may make temporary repairs on private ways that have been
previously constructed and open to public use for a period of five
years or more, provided the repairs are for the protection of the
health and safety of the persons using such roads, in the opinion
of the City Manager upon the advice of the Superintendent of Public
Works, and provided the repairs are required by public necessity.
(B)
The repairs shall include the filling of holes in the subsurface
of such ways and repairs to the surfaces materials thereof. Materials
for such repairs, where practical, should be the same as, or similar
to, those used for the existing base or surfaces of such ways, in
the judgment of the Superintendent of Public Works. The repairs may
upon the petition of a reasonably substantial proportion of the abutters
in the judgment of the City Manager include surfacing or resurfacing
the ways with bituminous materials, including but not limited to bituminous
concrete. However, no betterments or other charges are to be charged
or assessed against the owners of the private way for such repairs
done under this section.
(C)
Drainage repairs or construction, as determined by the Superintendent
of Public Works, to be necessary as a result of repairs made pursuant
to division (B) of this section may also be done.
(D)
The City shall not be liable on account of any property damage or
death or personal injury whatsoever caused by such repairs, and Mass.
Gen. Laws Ch. 84, §§ 24 and 25 shall not apply. Nothing
in this section shall be construed to create an obligation of the
City to repair or maintain any private way, or way open or dedicated
to the public but not a public way, to which any repairs are made.
(E)
The City may, without petition or the formalities of division (B)
of this section, make temporary minor repairs to private ways not
exceeding $500 in total value at the time made, provided the private
way has been open to public use for a period of five years or more.
The repair shall be limited to minor work such as filling, patching,
grading or scraping. Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 84, §§ 24
and 25 shall not apply.
(F)
No actions by the City under this section shall be construed to either
open or dedicate any way in Watertown to public use.
[1982 Code, Ch. VIII, § 24]
Owners of land which has been excavated are required to erect
barriers or take other suitable measures within five days after such
owners have been notified in writing by the City Manager that in his
or her opinion such excavation constitute a hazard to public safety.
[1982 Code, Ch. VII, § 5; amended Ord. 90, passed 12-10-1991;
amended Ord. 4, passed 1-28-1992; amended Ord. 38, passed 5-13-1997; amended Ord. 13, passed 3-11-2003; amended 1-9-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-O-1]
No person or entity, regardless of its ownership, tenancy, or
other status or relationship to any real property, nor any agent,
employee, contractor, or servant of any such person or entity, shall
place, throw, plow or in any way move any snow or ice onto any portion
of the City's streets and ways. Without limiting the generality of
the foregoing, streets and ways shall include the vehicular pavement,
sidewalks, ramps, islands, and medians, whether used by vehicles or
pedestrians. Notwithstanding the foregoing, however, this section
shall not be construed to prohibit owners or lawful occupants of residential
premises from placing snow and ice on the sidewalks immediately adjacent
to the driveway opening as long as a minimum forty-two-inch pathway
along the sidewalk, or the full width of the sidewalk if narrower,
is provided for passage within 24 hours of cessation of snow, sleet
or freezing rain.
[Ord. 39, passed 5-13-1997; amended 1-9-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-O-1]
(A)
ABUTTING PROPERTY OWNERS
SIDEWALK(S)
SMALL RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES
Definitions. For this purpose of this section, the following definitions
shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different
meaning.
The legal owners of real property abutting on a public street
or way and, if in question, as determined by the Zoning Enforcement
Officer.
That portion of a street between the curb lines, or the lateral
lines of a roadway, and the adjacent property lines, paved and intended
for the use of pedestrians.
Any residential property with one, two or three residential
units contained within.
(B)
Snow and ice to be removed from sidewalks by abutting property owners.
(1)
_____
(a)
In order to provide for safe pedestrian passage and universal
access, abutting property owners shall remove and clear away, or cause
to be removed and cleared away, snow and ice from a path of at least
42 inches, or to the full width of the sidewalk if narrower, from
that portion of the sidewalk which abuts their property. For properties
abutting sidewalks with curb cuts, ramps, and other access points,
abutting property owners shall provide unimpeded access to the street.
(b)
Except as provided in Subsection (B)(2), snow and ice shall
be removed from sidewalks within 24 hours of cessation of snow, sleet
or freezing rain.
(2)
In the event that snow and ice on a sidewalk have become so
hard that it cannot be removed without likelihood of damage to the
sidewalk, abutting property owners shall, within the time mentioned
in this section, cause enough sand or melting agent to be put on the
sidewalk to make travel thereon reasonably safe, and thereafter, as
soon as weather permits, shall cause a path to be cleared of such
snow and ice of at least 42 inches in width, or to the full width
of the sidewalk if narrower.
(3)
In the event of a declaration of a State of Emergency by the
Governor, applicable to an area of the commonwealth which includes
the City of Watertown, as a result of snow, sleet or freezing rain,
the provisions of this section shall be suspended for a period of
24 hours after the cessation of the fall of such snow, sleet or freezing
rain or until the end of the State of Emergency, whichever is the
latest to occur. The City Manager may extend the deadlines set forth
above as conditions may warrant.
[1982 Code, Ch. VII, § 5(C); amended Ord. 90, passed 12-10-1991;
amended Ord. 4, passed 1-28-1992; Ord. 39, Sec. C(2), passed 5-13-1997; amended Ord. O-2016-47, passed 8-9-2016; amended 1-9-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-O-1]
[1982 Code, Ch. VIII, § 24; 1982 Code, Sec. 5(B);
amended Ord. 90, passed 12-10-1991; amended Ord. 4, passed 1-28-1992; Ord. 39, passed 5-13-1997; amended Ord. O-2016-47, passed 8-9-2016; amended 1-9-2024 by Ord. No. 2024-O-1]
(B)
(D)
Exemptions.
The City Manager may issue regulations providing exemptions from this
section for residents who are unable to meet the physical requirements
of this section, particularly for low-income, elderly, or disabled
residents, or for other unusual circumstances.
