[Amended 5-19-2021 by Ord. No. 660-2021]
Every person in charge or control of any building or lot of
land fronting or abutting on a paved sidewalk, whether as owner, tenant,
occupant, lessee or otherwise, shall remove and clear away or cause
to be removed or cleared away snow and/or ice from so much of the
sidewalk as is in front of or abuts on said building or lot of land.
Such work shall be completed within a reasonable time but not later
than 24 hours after the cessation of any fall of snow, sleet or freezing
rain.
[Amended 5-19-2021 by Ord. No. 660-2021]
Every person in charge or control of any building or other structure,
whether as owner, tenant, occupant, lessee or otherwise, shall remove
and clear away or cause to be removed or cleared away any accumulation
of snow and ice on said building or other structure which is liable
to fall on any sidewalk, roadway or other public way. Such work shall
be completed within a reasonable time but not later than 24 hours
after the cessation of any fall of snow, sleet or freezing rain.
No person shall deposit or cause to be deposited any snow or
ice on or immediately next to a fire hydrant or on any sidewalk, roadway
or loading and unloading areas of a public transportation system,
except that snow and ice may be mounded by the Borough on public cartways
incidental to the cleaning thereof.
[Amended 11-16-2022 by Ord. No. 672-2022]
A.
The owners of property abutting on any street, including state and
county highways, are required to keep the sidewalks along such property
in good repair. The sidewalks shall be maintained in a safe and passable
condition, free of tripping hazards and obstructions. The said owners
shall repair any defects in such sidewalks which make them unsafe
or impassable to pedestrians.
B.
The obligation to repair sidewalks shall include, but not be limited
to, the following defects and conditions:
(1)
Any sidewalk segment that is missing or displaced from its original
position.
(2)
Any sidewalk surface which is not firm, stable, and slip resistant.
(3)
Any sidewalk segment having five or more cracks in one surface segment.
(4)
Any sidewalk having a crack or joint in its surface with an opening
width of more than one inch.
(5)
Any sidewalk that has severe pitting or scaling of more than one
inch in depth at any point.
(6)
Any sidewalk segment that traps water and does not provide adequate
surface drainage.
(7)
Any sidewalk segment exceeding 3/4 inch maximum vertical elevation
difference along any two mating sidewalk segment joints, or sidewalk
segments that have grates, covers or the like within the slab that
have a vertical elevation difference exceeding 3/4 inch maximum. Such
vertical elevation measurements shall be taken between April 1 and
October 31 of the year to account for natural rise and fall related
to the freeze-thaw cycle.
(8)
Any sidewalk segments having a surface deviation in vertical elevation
of more than two inches over a span of six feet.
(9)
Any sidewalk that has an obstruction preventing access to the full
usable intended design width of the sidewalk, or through which an
object not associated with the sidewalk (such as but not limited to
a utility pole, tree, roots, road sign, fence, railing, or hydrant)
is protruding through or occupying the space of any portion of the
intended sidewalk width. For this subsection only, such obstructions
shall not warrant repairs unless other defects and conditions enumerated
in this section are also present. Repairs shall maintain the sidewalk
width but be otherwise adjusted within the right-of-way to avoid the
obstruction by at least three inches.
(10)
Any individual broken sidewalk segment found to be less than
three inches in vertical thickness must be replaced in its entirety.
(11)
Any other instance which may create a pedestrian safety hazard
as determined by the Borough Engineer.
C.
New sidewalks installed for a new subdivision or land development remain the responsibility of the developer to repair so that they are in conformity with the construction specifications prescribed in Chapter 184, Subdivision and Land Development, of the Code of the Borough of Franklin Park, as amended, until the expiration of the maintenance agreement and the release of the maintenance bond. New sidewalks are to be defect-free before the release of the maintenance bond.
Notice to repair sidewalks shall be given by the Building Inspector/Zoning Officer by registered or certified mail to abutting property owners, and such owners shall have 30 days to comply with said notice in conformity with the construction specifications prescribed in Chapter 184 of the Code of the Borough of Franklin Park, Subdivision and Land Development, as amended.
At any time during the performance of the required work, the
Building Inspector/Zoning Officer may inspect the work to determine
whether construction specifications are being observed.
Upon the failure of any property owner to maintain any sidewalk
in compliance with notice to do so, the Borough may do the same or
cause the same to be done and may levy the cost of its work on such
owner as a property lien to be collected in the manner provided by
law.
Any property owner not required by notice to repair a sidewalk
may repair the sidewalk abutting his property; provided, however,
that such owner shall make application to the Building Inspector/Zoning
Officer before commencing work, shall conform to the provisions of
this article and other regulations as to specifications for construction
and repair work, and shall notify the Building Inspector/Zoning Officer
within two days after completion of his work.
[Amended 5-19-2021 by Ord. No. 660-2021]
A.
In any case where the owner, tenant, occupant, lessee or otherwise fails, neglects or refuses to comply with any of the provisions of § 180-5 or § 180-6 of this article within the time limit prescribed herein, the Code Official or any police officer shall be empowered to deliver a notice of violation to the property at which a violation exists advising of the specifics of the violation and ordering the responsible party to pay a fine of $25 for a first offense, $50 for a second offense, and $100 for a third and any subsequent offense payable to the Borough Treasurer within seven days. The number of offenses shall be established only during the winter season of October 1 until March 31. If the responsible party fails to pay the fine within seven days of issuance of the notice of violation, the Borough may issue a citation to the responsible party as provided in Subsection B.
B.
Any person,
firm or corporation who shall violate any provision of this article
or fails to comply therewith or with any of the requirements thereof,
upon conviction thereof in an action brought before a Magisterial
District Judge in the manner provided for the enforcement of summary
offenses under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure, shall
be sentenced to pay a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000
plus costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by the Borough,
and, in default of payment of said fine and costs, to a term of imprisonment
to the extent permitted by law for the punishment of summary offenses.
A separate offense shall arise for each day or portion thereof in
which a violation of this article is found to exist and for each section
of this article found to have been violated. The Borough may also
commence appropriate actions in equity to prevent, restrain, correct,
enjoin or abate violations of this article. All fines and penalties
collected for violations of this article shall be paid to the Borough
Treasurer. The initial determination of ordinance violation is hereby
delegated to the Borough Manager, the Police Department, the Code
Official, the authorized designee of the Borough Manager, and to any
other officer or agent that the Borough Manager or the Borough Council
shall deem appropriate.
