The purpose of this article is to establish a sidewalk cost offset program for owner-occupied one- and two-family residential properties to repair and/or replace existing sidewalks that have been damaged by City trees located in the right-of-way for which a notice of violation has been issued by the Housing Department.
[Adopted 2-17-2026 by Ord. No. 8080-26]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
A corporation, partnership, association, sole proprietorship, and any other form of business organization or entity that enters into contracts for home improvement, is registered as a home improvement contractor with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs.
A paved, surfaced or leveled area, paralleling and usually separated from the street, used as a pedestrian walkway.
A flat, individual section of sidewalk separated from other slabs by expansion joints to allow for movement.
To facilitate the promotion of a safe walkable community, the City actively encourages the replacement of sidewalks damaged by City trees located in the right-of-way. To ease the burden of paying for the repair/replacement of such damaged sidewalks, the City has put into place a cost sharing program to help defray the expense.
Any owner occupier of a one-family residential property or owner-occupied two-family residential property who has been issued a notice of violation relative to a sidewalk issue concerning a City tree located in the right-of-way is eligible to participate in the program upon submission and approval of an application, certification of satisfactory completion of the work by the City Engineer/Housing Code Officer and proof of payment to the contractor, the City will reimburse eligible property owners up to $500 per sidewalk slab.
Any owner-occupied one- or two-family residential property owner, whose sidewalk has been damaged by a City tree located in the right-of-way who is required to repair or replace such damaged sidewalks abutting his/her property is eligible to participate in the program. Eligible residents can apply on a first-come-first-served basis up to the amount of available funds. If all funds are expended before the resident's participation is approved, the resident's application will be kept on file for consideration in the next funding cycle. All applicants must be current on their property taxes, sewer charges, have no other unabated violations on the subject property and must not have done anything to have caused and/or contributed to the damaged sidewalk. To be eligible for reimbursement under the program, an application must be submitted and an approval granted prior to any work being done on the sidewalk.
A cost share sidewalk repair program application is required. An application form can be obtained from the Housing Department and shall contain, at a minimum, the following information:
A.
Name.
B.
Address.
C.
Phone.
D.
Email.
E.
Number of damaged sidewalk slabs to be repaired or replaced.
F.
The name, telephone number and address of the contractor that the resident has hired to perform the work.
G.
The estimate/quote of the contractor.
H.
Proof of payment to the contractor which may be in the form of a cancelled check, credit card statement or invoice marked "paid" from the contractor.
Each participant submitting an application and request for reimbursement agrees that the sidewalk repairs or replacement will be constructed in accordance with all the requirements of the Code of the City of Clifton, that they are responsible for and will pay the contractor the full amount set forth in the approved estimate/quote and that reimbursement is subject to the City Engineer's/Housing Department's approval of the work.
A.
Application. Eligible property owners will submit a complete application to the City Engineer's office prior to commencing any work.
B.
Approval of application. The City Engineer will review and approve eligible applications, which must be done prior to any work commencing on the project.
C.
The City Engineer and the Director of Public Works or their designees shall inspect the subject sidewalk and determine, in their sole and absolute discretion, if the damage to the sidewalk was caused by a City tree located in the right-of-way.
D.
If it is determined in the sole and absolute discretion of the City Engineer and/or Director of Public Works that the damage to the subject sidewalk was caused by a City tree, the property owner or their contractor must arrange to have the damaged sidewalk slab lifted or removed to expose the roots of the City tree. The Director of Public Works or his or her designees will then determine, in his his/her sole and absolute discretion whether the roots of the City tree can be safely cut without compromising the integrity or health of the tree or whether the tree must be removed. The Department of Public Works will then either cut the roots or remove the tree. If the tree is removed, the City will replace the tree at the City's expense.
E.
Request for reimbursement. Upon completion of the sidewalk work, the property owner shall submit a request for reimbursement, signed by the owner and the contractor, certifying that the work has been completed in accordance with all requirements of the Code of the City of Clifton and verification that the contractor has been paid the full amount of the approved estimate/quote.
F.
Approval and reimbursement. Upon receipt of a request for reimbursement, the City Engineer or Housing Department will inspect and approve the work and reimbursement, and the City will thereafter reimburse the property owner up to $500 per slab repaired or replaced.