No curbing or edgestone located on or along
a sidewalk or street in the City shall be lowered or removed by any
person except in accordance with a permit issued therefor by the Commissioner
of Public Works of the City. All applications for such removal or
lowering of curbing or edgestone shall be filed with the Commissioner
of Public Works, and the following regulations shall apply in each
case:
A.
The person filing such application shall submit to
the Commissioner of Public Works therewith duplicate scale drawings
showing the scope of the work.
B.
The Commissioner of Public Works shall investigate the location where such curbing or edgestone is to be removed or lowered and may grant such application, if it is approved by the officer in charge of the Traffic Division of the Police Department as provided in Subsection C hereof, or may deny the same for such cause as he deems proper. Upon denial of the application, the Commissioner of Public Works shall notify the applicant in writing by ordinary mail, giving his reasons therefor and the conditions, if any, under which the same will be granted.
C.
Upon receiving such application, the Commissioner
of Public Works shall refer the same to the Traffic Division of the
Police Department, and the officer in charge of such Division shall
investigate such application with specific reference as to whether
or not the safety of pedestrians or the flow of vehicular traffic
will be affected materially by the approval thereof and shall report
his recommendations thereon in writing to the Commissioner of Public
Works. If such report recommends that the application be denied for
reasons of pedestrian safety or interference with traffic, such reasons
shall be contained in the recommendations, and no permit shall be
issued by the Commissioner of Public Works except by order of the
City Council as hereinafter provided.
D.
Upon the approval of any such application, the work
required for the removal or lowering of such curbing or edgestone
shall be done by the Department of Public Works of the City and the
cost thereof charged to the applicant shall be on file in the City
Clerk's office and the Department of Public Works office. Removal
or changing the location of hydrants, poles, catch basins or other
structures of any kind, nature or description shall be billed and
paid for at the actual cost for labor and materials to the City, as
determined by the Commissioner of Public Works.
E.
Before any work is done by the Department of Public
Works or other department of the City towards lowering or removal
of such curbing or edgestone, a deposit shall be made with the City
Treasurer by the applicant in accordance with an estimate given to
him in writing by the Commissioner of Public Works, in accordance
herewith.
F.
The width of the sidewalk cut shall be determined
by the grade of the pitch, which shall not exceed 3/4 of an inch per
foot.
G.
No application for the lowering or removing of curbing
or edgestones for more than a distance of 32 feet for each entrance
to the premises involved shall be approved.
H.
No radial curbing or edgestone at street intersections
shall be lowered or removed upon any such application.
I.
Upon denial of any such permit by the Commissioner of Public Works, the applicant shall have the right of appeal to the City Council by filing such appeal with the City Clerk within 10 days after the mailing of notice of such denial, as provided for in Subsection B hereof. The City Council shall grant the applicant a hearing upon such appeal and after hearing shall approve, modify or overrule the decision of the Commissioner of Public Works. The decision of the City Council shall be final and binding upon the Commissioner of Public Works, and he shall act in accordance therewith.
A.
Petition; permit. The chief executive officer of the
City and the City Council may, upon petition, give to telegraph, telephone,
electric light and other companies written permits to erect and maintain
poles, wires and cables, together with sustaining and protecting fixtures,
including guy wires and anchors, in the public ways of the City, and
such permits shall specify where in such ways the poles of such companies
shall be located; the type, style and height of the poles; the number
of wires or cables which may be attached thereto; and the height to
which such wires, cables or other fixtures or appliances shall be
located above the public ways. The chief executive officer and the
City Council may impose any other conditions deemed necessary for
the protection of the public, provided that any and all such companies
shall reserve space for one crossarm at a suitable point on each of
such poles, to be determined by the City Electrician/Wire Inspector,
the Superintendent of Police and the Chief of the Fire Department,
for the exclusive use of the wires of the fire, police, telegraph
and telephone signal service of the City and any other wires to be
used exclusively by the City for municipal purposes. The provisions
of this section shall in no way affect any other provisions of the
ordinances of the City which require the obtaining of permits to open
public ways in the City or any other provisions which are applicable.
B.
Inspection fees. Any person engaged in the transmission of intelligence by electricity or in the transmission of electricity for lighting, heating or power which shall have erected its poles within the public ways of this City shall pay an annual City inspection fee into the City treasury as provided in Chapter 150, Fees, for each pole which it shall have standing in the public ways of the City on January 1, 1913, and for all additional poles thereafter erected by any person. Such fee or charge shall be a compensation for the cost of inspecting the poles and wires supported thereby by the Electrical Division of the Department of Public Works of the City. Such annual fee shall be paid in four payments; the first payment shall be made on the first day of June, and each succeeding payment shall be made on the first day of the third month thereafter.
[Amended 1-29-2002; 2-5-2008]
A.
Removal from sidewalks.
(1)
Snow removal. The owner, agent or any other person
having the care of the building or lot of land bordering on any public
way within the City shall cause all snow and ice, however accumulated,
to be removed from the sidewalk or alley within 12 hours after the
snow has ceased falling and/or the ice has accumulated. However, if
the snow ceases falling or the ice accumulates after 6:00 p.m., the
same shall be removed before 1:00 p.m. on the following day. Furthermore,
said owner, agent or other person having the care of the building
or lot of land shall have a continuing duty to keep said sidewalks
and alleys free and clear of snow and ice and shall maintain adequate
accessibility to said sidewalks and alleys from the street.
(2)
Ice control. Whenever ice forms upon a sidewalk or
private alley, the owner, agent or any other person having the care
of the building or lot of land shall cause such ice on said sidewalks
and alleys to be removed or to be covered with sand or other substances
in such manner to allow safe and easy travel on such sidewalk or alley.
(3)
Enforcement. A police officer, parking attendant, code enforcement inspector, building inspector, or other official designated by the City Manager is hereby empowered to enforce the provisions of this Subsection A. The penalty for violation of this Subsection A shall be as set forth in the Schedule of Fees and Charges of Chapter 150 of the Lowell City Code.
(4)
Clearing by the City. If any owner, agent or any other person having the care of the building or lot of land fails to cause the removal of snow within the time provided in Subsection A(1) or fails to remove or control ice forming on the sidewalk, the City Manager may direct the Department of Public Works to cause the removal or control of such snow or ice, and the owner, agent or any other person having the care of the building or lot of land shall be jointly and severally liable to repay the City all reasonable charges therefor.
B.
Depositing in streets.
(1)
No owner, agent or any other person shall place or deposit upon any public street, way, sidewalk or byway snow or ice, in any of its forms, which has accumulated upon the premises of such person or from the sidewalk or alley for which such person is responsible, except that snow and/or ice which has been removed in accordance with Subsection A of this section may be deposited in that part of the street or way nearest the curbing or outer edge of such sidewalk or alley, so long as placement of the same does not obstruct the street, way, sidewalk or byway.
(2)
No owner, agent or any other person shall, after the
public street, way, sidewalk or byway has been plowed or cleared by
snowplows or other snow removal equipment, of or under the control
of the City, deposit, throw or otherwise place snow or ice on such
public street, way, sidewalk or byway.
(3)
A police officer, parking attendant, code enforcement inspector, building inspector, or other official as designated by the City Manager is hereby empowered to enforce the provisions of this Subsection B. The penalty for violation of this Subsection B shall be as set forth in the Schedule of Fees and Charges of Chapter 150 of the Lowell City Code.
(4)
If any person violates this Subsection B and refuses an order of the City to remove deposited snow, the City Manager may direct the Department of Public Works to cause the removal or control of such snow or ice, and the violator shall be jointly and severally liable to repay the City all reasonable charges therefor.
[Amended 12-23-2008]
No person shall sweep, place or deposit any
dirt, sawdust, soot, ashes, cinders, shreds, shavings, hair, manure,
oyster or lobster shells, or any animal or vegetable substance or
any rubbish, offal or filth of any kind in or upon any public place
without written permission from the Commissioner of Public Works and
the Health Director, or someone authorized by them, and without faithfully
complying with the conditions of such permission, and no person shall
displace or remove the cover of any cesspool or common sewer in any
street or public highway within the City without permission of the
Executive Director of the Regional Wastewater Utility.
