[Adopted 12-13-1995]
For the purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall
have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section.
The Township of Alexandria, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, or its
authorized agents, servants, employees or officials.
The owner, tenant, lessee or person in charge of, in control of or
in possession of any building or premises or part thereof.
The pavement between the curbline and property line.
The occupant, owner or tenant of any lands abutting upon the public
highways of the municipality shall remove all snow and ice from the abutting
sidewalks and gutters of such highway within 12 hours of daylight after the
same shall fall or be formed thereon.
The occupant, owner or tenant of any land abutting upon the public highways
of the municipality shall remove all grass, weeds and other impediments from
the abutting sidewalks and gutters of such highways and from the portion of
any street or highway abutting on such lands within three days after notice
from the municipal governing body to remove same, which notice may be served
by certified mail.
In case the occupant, owner or tenant of any lands abutting upon the
public highways of the municipality shall fail to provide for the removal
of snow, ice, grass, weeds or impediments, the municipality may provide for
the removal of same and the cost thereof shall be certified to the governing
body of the municipality by the officer or employee in charge thereof. The
governing body shall examine such certificate and, if found to be correct,
shall by resolution cause such cost to be charged against such real estate
so abutting upon such highway, sidewalk or gutter, and the amount so charged
shall thereupon become a lien and tax upon such real estate and be added to
and be part of the taxes next to be levied and assessed thereon and enforced
and collected with interest by the same officers in the same manner as other
real estate taxes (N.J.S.A. 40:65-12).
A.
Encumbering of sidewalks. No person shall place or permit
to be placed upon any sidewalk any object or thing that shall in any manner
encumber such sidewalk or render travel upon such sidewalk dangerous or unsafe.
B.
Awnings.
(1)
No person shall place or maintain any drop awning extending
over any sidewalk which, when lowered, shall be less than seven feet above
such sidewalk.
(2)
Temporary awnings may be erected across a sidewalk and
permitted to remain for a period not exceeding 24 hours, provided that they
shall be securely fastened and shall be so arranged as to permit travel along
the sidewalk.
C.
Bridging or obstructing gutters. No person shall place
any bridging over any gutter, or place any pipe or other obstruction in any
gutter, without first obtaining a written permit therefor from the municipality.
D.
Riding on sidewalks. No person shall ride, drive, park or pass over or along any sidewalk with horses, wagons, carts, carriages, automobiles, motor trucks, motorcycles or bicycles, except for handicapped persons and children under the age of 10 years. This article shall not prevent the use of driveways in accordance with Ch. 89, Driveways, or the crossing of a sidewalk for the purpose of entering upon property. In such case the curb and the sidewalk shall be protected in a manner approved by the municipality.
No person shall obstruct or permit the obstruction of any portion of
a street, sidewalk or public place by the storage or placing of any building
material or other material or merchandise thereon and permitting the same
to remain longer than is necessary to convey the same on or into private property.
A.
Compliance with article. No sidewalk shall be laid or
repaired within the confines of any public right-of-way in the municipality
unless the same is of the quality specified in the Code of the Township of
Alexandria and is laid by a person holding a permit pursuant to this article.[1]
B.
Permit to lay sidewalks required; issuance. No individual
shall lay or repair the sidewalks of the municipality unless he or she shall
have a permit from the municipality. Such permit shall be issued by the Zoning
Officer and approved by the Municipal Engineer and shall specify the lot and
block and by whom the work shall be done and such other related information
as the municipality shall specify.
C.
Permit; fees.
(1)
A fee shall be charged for a permit for each individual
job of construction or repair under this article at the rate of $50 for each
50 feet or part thereof of frontage by four feet width along which the sidewalk
is to be laid, with a minimum fee of $100 to cover the cost of any inspection
or tests.
(2)
Sidewalks constructed pursuant to development approval issued by the Alexandria Planning Board or Board of Adjustment shall not require a sidewalk permit hereunder or payment of the fees specified herein, but shall be regulated by the terms of the development approval, applicable provisions of Ch. 115, Land Use, and any performance guarantee agreement as to fees, escrow charges and other requirements, provided that all such fees and escrow costs are paid in full and sidewalks are completed, inspected and approved by the Municipal Engineer as provided therein.
D.
Upkeep of sidewalk. The owner or occupant of premises
abutting any blue stone or concrete sidewalk shall maintain such sidewalk
at all times in a good and passable condition at a grade which will prevent
water accumulating thereon and shall replace any flag stones or concrete slabs
which become broken and shall maintain the sidewalk so that the joints thereof
are even. The surface of all concrete sidewalks shall be kept properly roughened
so as not to become smooth and slippery.
E.
Duty of adjoining property owners to replace sidewalks.
In case any sidewalk becomes deteriorated, broken or hazardous, the owner
or occupant of the land abutting such sidewalk shall forthwith, upon receipt
of written notice from the municipality, replace or cause such sidewalk to
be replaced and made in a good and passable condition so as to conform with
the requirements of the article.
F.
Sidewalk crossings for driveways; permit to lower curb or change grade of sidewalk. That portion of the driveway crossing the sidewalk strip shall be constructed in compliance with Chapter 89, Driveways. No person shall lower the curb or change the grade of a sidewalk for the purpose of providing a driveway across such sidewalk without a driveway permit from the municipality issued pursuant to Chapter 89, Driveways.
G.
Inspection of sidewalk construction. The contractor or
person in charge of pouring any concrete shall notify the Municipal Engineer
48 hours prior to any work being done so that an on-site inspection can be
arranged.
H.
Placement of name on work. Every person laying concrete
curbs, sidewalks or driveways shall imbed and imprint therein by means of
a metal plate or otherwise, the name of the contractor doing the work and
the month and year in which the work was completed. Such imprints shall be
placed on each job and not more than 100 feet apart.
I.
Responsibility of contractor. The contractor shall assume
full responsibility for materials and equipment employed in the construction
of any project under this article and shall make no claims against the municipality
for damages to such materials and equipment from any cause whatsoever. Until
its final municipal acceptance, the contractor shall be responsible for damage
to or destruction of the project or any part thereof due to any cause whatsoever.
He shall make good all work damaged or destroyed before the final municipal
acceptance.
Any person who shall violate any of the terms or provisions of this article or who shall commit or do any act or thing prohibited in this article shall be penalized as provided in Chapter 1, General Provisions, Article I. Each day that any such act or thing committed or done in violation of the provisions of this article shall be permitted to exist shall be deemed a separate and distinct offense upon conviction thereof. The municipality reserves the right under the laws of the State of New Jersey to bring suit against any person or persons violating this article in the appropriate Superior Court if it is deemed necessary to enforce this article for injunctive or other relief including but not limited to compelling removal and/or reconstruction of any improperly constructed sidewalks.
Whenever it shall hereafter become the duty of any owner of abutting
lands under this article or other ordinances of this municipality to construct,
repair, alter or relay any curb or sidewalk, or section thereof, the authorities
of this municipality having charge of street affairs may, by resolution, cause
a notice in writing to be served upon the owners or occupant of said lands,
requiring the necessary specified work to said curb or sidewalk to be done
by the said owner or occupant within a period of not less than 30 days from
the date of service of such notice; whenever any lands are unoccupied and
the owner cannot be found within this municipality, the same may be mailed,
postage prepaid, to his or her post office address, if the same can be ascertained;
in case such owner is a nonresident of this municipality or his or her post
office address cannot be ascertained, then the notice may be inserted for
four weeks, once a week in some newspaper of this municipality or, if none
be published therein, then in some newspaper published in the state and circulating
in this municipality; in case the owner or occupant of such lands shall not
comply with the requirements of such notice, it shall be lawful for the street
department of this municipality, upon filing due proof of the service or publication
of the aforesaid notice in the appropriate department of this municipality,
to cause the required work to be done and paid for out of the municipal funds
available for that purpose; the cost of such work shall be certified by the
department or person having charge thereof to the department or person having
charge of the collection of assessments in this municipality; upon filing
the said certificate, the amount of the cost of such work shall be and become
a lien upon the said abutting lands in front of which such work was done to
the same extent that assessments for local improvements are liens in this
municipality under its charter or the general law, and shall be collected
in the manner provided by law for the collection of such other assessments,
and shall bear interest at the same rate; in addition thereto this municipality
may have an action to recover the said amount against the owner of said lands,
in any court having competent jurisdiction thereof; a certified copy of the
aforesaid certificate shall in such action be prima facie evidence of the
existence of a debt due from the said owner to this municipality (N.J.S.A.
40:65-14).
