[Adopted as Art. 913 of the 1979 Codified Ordinances]
A. 
No person shall lay, relay or repair a curb or sidewalk, in any other manner than is specified in this article or the specifications adopted by Council for such work.
B. 
All curbing, paving and repaving of sidewalks shall be done in accordance with specifications adopted by Council. The width, depth and thickness of curb and curbstone, the depth of grading and the manner of mixing and laying materials, and the kind and character of material to be used, shall be as prescribed by Council.
C. 
Each owner of any property abutting any street or highway shall be required by ordinance to construct a sidewalk or pavement and to lay a curb in front of and adjoining any such lot, or to repave and repair the sidewalk or reset or relay the curb, and make the same conform with the regulations of this article, any other City ordinances and to the specifications governing such work.
Whenever Council, by ordinance, requires a property owner to construct a sidewalk or to lay a new curb, or to renew or to repair a sidewalk or to relay or reset a curb, and such property owner after having received due notice as provided by this article fails to comply with the requirements of such notice, the Director of Streets and Public Improvements shall cause such curb and sidewalk to be laid and constructed, or repaired, repaved and reset, and put in good order.
A. 
After the work required by the preceding section is done the cost thereof shall be computed by the City Engineer.
B. 
The City Engineer shall make out bills for the work performed by the City for each respective owner and certify the same to the City Treasurer, who shall proceed to collect them within 60 days. At the expiration of such time the City Treasurer shall certify unpaid bills to the City Solicitor for collection and to be filed as liens against the respective properties. The City shall not only recover the full amount of the cost of doing the work, but also a penalty of 10%, as allowed by law and all costs of filing and collection. Charging the bill for work done, as provided in this section, against an abutting property owner and the collection of the same shall be a remedy against the property owner for noncompliance with the requirements of the City in addition to the remedy for a penalty as provided in § 483-83.
In cases involving new work required under this article, the owner shall be given 30 days within which to do the work. In case of renewal or repair work, the owner shall be given 10 days within which to do the work, except where the repairs needed are of such character that they should be made at once in order to avoid dangerous conditions, then the time within which to repair or renew may be limited to 48 hours or such as the Director of Streets and Public Improvements thinks proper and expedient.
A. 
The notice to be given to any property owner directing curbs and sidewalks to be laid and constructed or relaid, reset and repaired, shall be given by the Director of Streets and Public Improvements.
B. 
The notice shall be in writing and a record shall be kept of the same.
C. 
The notice shall state the length of time in which the work required by such notice shall be completed.
A. 
The notice specified in § 483-66 shall be served by the Director of Streets and Public Improvements or his employees upon owners residing in the City as in the case of a service of a summons in assumpsit by a sheriff. If an owner is not a resident then notice shall be given in the same manner to a tenant upon the premises. If the premises are unimproved, or if improved and there is no tenant or occupant thereon, and the owner is a nonresident, the notice shall be posted upon a conspicuous part of the premises.
B. 
The person who serves any such notice shall make a full return of the time and manner of the service, which return shall be in writing and shall be filed in the office of the Director.
All property owners are hereby required and directed to lay and repair and keep in good repair and condition, at their own expense, all curbs, walks, pavements and sidewalks, in front of and along premises and lands, owned and controlled by them; and to put and keep at all times level with the sidewalk all water, gas, sewer, and drain stop boxes and vent boxes, on the sidewalks in front of their respective premises, and to remove and keep the sidewalks free at all times from any and every kind of obstruction, except those allowed by law and ordinance.
[Amended 3-27-2013 by Ord. No. 2-2013; 6-25-2014 by Ord. No. 3-2014]
A. 
Before any curb is set or reset, or any sidewalk laid or relaid, the property owner, or the contractor to do the work, shall notify the Department of Streets and Public Improvements, and make application and obtain a permit for the doing of the work.
(1) 
A curb permit fee of $75, plus $3.50 per linear foot after the first 20 linear feet, shall be charged to and paid by the applicant. This fee may be amended from time to time by resolution of the Chester City Council.
(2) 
A sidewalk permit fee of $50, flat fee for 20 linear feet, plus $3.50 per linear foot after the first 20 linear feet, shall be charged to and paid by the applicant. This fee may be amended from time to time by resolution of the Chester City Council.
B. 
The form of the application and permit required shall be determined and provided by the Department.
C. 
Post enforcement action surcharge. Where a permit is applied for after the City has issued a stop-work order or notice for failing to obtain a permit prior to commencing work, a surcharge of $200 shall be added to the permit fee.
A. 
If any sidewalk or curb hereafter becomes out of repair it shall be the duty of the Director of Streets and Public Improvements to immediately cause to be notified the owner to repair such sidewalk and curb, and to give such notice as provided for in §§ 483-66 and 483-67.
B. 
If any property owner fails to make such repairs according to notice, such premises and such owner shall be liable and subject to the remedies on the part of the City and to the penalties as provided in such cases in § 483-63B.
City inspectors and police officers shall report any broken places in any sidewalk or curb, or any curb or sidewalk that is in need of repair, and the names of the owners and occupants of the premises in front of which such sidewalk or curb is located. Reports are to be submitted to the Director of Streets and Public Improvements. Proper records and memoranda shall be kept of all such repairs and of the action taken thereon.
A. 
Every owner, contractor and builder, when erecting, altering or repairing a building on a public street, highway, or alley of the City, if it becomes necessary to tear up the sidewalk in the progress of such work, shall cause planks at least six feet in width to be laid on and over the sidewalk the whole length of the part torn up, and longer if needed, and properly maintain them until a new sidewalk is laid, or the existing sidewalk is repaired and put in good condition for public travel.
B. 
Such owners, contractors and builders shall not tear and take up any part of any sidewalk during building, erection or repairing, other than such portion thereof as may be absolutely necessary in carrying on their work.
A. 
The width of sidewalk pavements along the streets, highways and alleys of the City shall be one-fifth of the width of the street on each side thereof from the building line to and including the curb.
B. 
Sidewalk paving.
(1) 
All sidewalks shall be paved either full width or on streets 60 feet in width, with a walk 5 1/2 feet in width, with a grass plot on either side thereof, the one next to the curb being four feet in width and the one next to the building line being two feet in width; and on streets 50 feet in width with a walk 5 1/2 feet in width, with one grass plot four feet in width next to the curb as Council may decide at the time any sidewalk is ordered laid. In front of doorways or entrances the pavement may be made the full width of the sidewalk.
(2) 
In front of driveways leading into private property, the sidewalks shall be paved their full width in accordance with the standard sidewalk specifications adopted by Council.
Property owners on any side of any street within the same square may at any time petition Council as to the manner in which they desire the sidewalk to be laid in such square, and Council shall consider such petition and direct the manner in which the sidewalk is to be laid, either full width or with a gross plot, as set out in § 483-73.
All trees, telegraph, and telephone and other utility poles, and all vent stop boxes on the streets of the City shall be placed next to the curbs. If there is a grass plot next to the curb, they shall be placed on such grass plot.
A. 
When new curbing is to be laid, and whenever practicable, all corner curbs shall be circular and shall have a radius of 12 feet on 60 feet wide streets and a radius of 10 feet on streets 50 feet wide.
B. 
The owners of corner lots shall extend their respective sidewalks, pavements and curbs, where the same intersect at the corner of streets, so that they shall meet and form a continuous walk or pavement and curb around such corners.
A. 
Curbing, paving or repaving of pavements and walks referred to in § 483-73 shall be done with such material as Council determines. Any property owners on one side of a street in any square may petition Council for any kind of material, and Council shall consider the petition and direct what kind of material shall be used.
B. 
Neither the City nor any property owner, or other person shall use bricks in the laying of a new sidewalk on any public street within the City.
C. 
Existing brick sidewalks may be repaired with brick; provided, that such repairs do not amount to practically a new sidewalk, and the Director of Streets and Public Improvements determines all questions in relation to the repairs.
All sidewalks shall have a pitch of one-quarter of an inch to the foot from the building line to the curbline.
A. 
Before laying sidewalks or pavements it shall be the duty of all property owners or contractors to make application to the City Engineer for the grade. The City Engineer shall furnish grades as soon as possible, and at the same time mark the line of the curbing.
B. 
When a grade is required to be reset in consequence of any fault or delay on the part of any property owner in constructing a sidewalk or laying a curb or pavement, the expense thereof shall be paid by the property owner.
C. 
No person shall change or remove a sidewalk grade stake, or the stakes indicating the line of a curb.
The sidewalk space appropriated for grass plots shall be made, trimmed and kept in good order at the expense of the property owner.
Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to affect the liability of any owner of property within the City for damages for injuries which may occur by reason of sidewalks or curbs not being laid or being out of order and repair.
When a sidewalk is being laid or repaired the owner or contractor shall, while the work is being done, erect and maintain suitable barricades. If the sidewalk is to be used during the progress of the work, a sufficient number of planks shall be installed to accommodate the use thereof the entire length and extent of the work. A sufficient number of red lights shall be placed at night as a warning.
[Amended 6-15-2017 by Ord. No. 2-2017]
Upon violation of this article the City may take any of the following actions:
A. 
The Director of the Department of Streets or the Director of the Department of Public Safety or their duly authorized representatives or any Police Officer may cause a printed ticket for such violation to be handed to the violator, left upon or affixed to the premises where such violation occurred, or mailed to the address of the property in question or the address to which tax bills are mailed for such property by certified mail. The ticket shall bear the date, the time and the nature of the violation, the fine prescribed therefor pursuant to Subsection A(2) below, and a reference to this chapter.
(1) 
Whoever receives such a ticket may within 10 days, admit the violation, waive a hearing and pay the fine in full satisfaction of such ticket. Payment shall be made as directed on the ticket and the violator shall be furnished with an official receipt therefor, which shall constitute an admission of the violation charged but shall not excuse a continuing violation.
(2) 
Ticketed penalties for violations shall be in the amount of $200, provided however, that the City Council may revise such ticket penalties amount by resolution from time to time.
(3) 
When a person has been notified in the manner set forth in this chapter and does not avail himself or herself of the penalty provision of Subsection A(1) hereof, a citation or summons shall be issued for such violation. Upon conviction on such summons or citation before the Magisterial District Justice, such person shall be subject to a penalty of not more than $1,000 and costs, and in default of payment thereof, imprisonment for a period of not more than 30 days. If the person named in the citation or summons fails to appear on the date specified therein, a warrant may be issued for his or her arrest.
B. 
The Director of the Department of Streets or the Director of the Department of Public Safety or their duly authorized representatives may cause the conditions in violation of this article to be removed or abated by employees of the City or by any independent contractor authorized by the City. Thereafter, the owners, tenant, occupant or agent of the property shall be liable for the cost of such removal or abatement, plus an administrative charge equal to 15% of such costs, in the manner of a municipal lien.
C. 
In addition to the penalty provided above, the City shall have all other remedies available at law and in equity.