[Adopted 5-25-1989 as L.L. No. 3-1989]
[Amended 8-8-1990 by L.L. No. 6-1990]
The purpose of this article is to promote the
maintenance of safe and adequate sidewalks for pedestrian use by regulating
the manner of construction, reconstruction, repair and maintenance
of sidewalks and the materials to be used in the grades and widths
thereof in the Town of Brighton, to prohibit any construction, reconstruction
or repair which does not comply with such regulations and to provide
guidelines for assuring the safety of such sidewalks and to delineate
the responsibility of the Town of Brighton and of the property owner.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Anyone who holds title to the premises in fee simple or by
life estate or remainder, and also any beneficial owner of the premises
such as a contract vendee in possession, who has the duty to pay the
taxes on the premises.
Existing sidewalks, those presently under construction, if
any, and any future sidewalks constructed after the date of the adoption
of this article which abut public highways in fact used by the public.
The Town of Brighton, New York 14618.
[Amended 1-24-1996 by L.L. No. 1-1996]
It shall, in all cases, be the duty of the owner
of every lot or piece of land in said town to keep the sidewalks adjoining
the owner's lot or piece of land in good repair and to remove and
clean away all snow and ice and other obstruction from such sidewalks,
except to the extent that such duty has been assumed by a sidewalk
snow removal contractor, a sidewalk repair contractor, a sidewalk
district and/or a sidewalk snow removal district. Failure to do so
will result in the costs of any repair done by the Town of Brighton
to be assessed against the landowner, and further said landowner shall
be liable in tort for any injuries to any person or property as a
result of the landowner's failure to comply with this article.
[Amended 8-8-1990 by L.L. No. 6-1990]
Quality of concrete, grade, thickness and width
of sidewalks and other standards of construction and installation
shall be determined by specifications adopted by the town's Commissioner
of Public Works and available at the Town Department of Public Works
upon request. Unusual circumstances which may affect installation
or cause a deviation from these specifications may be approved on
a case-by-case basis after investigation by the Commissioner of Public
Works or authorized representative.
[Amended 8-8-1990 by L.L. No. 6-1990]
A.
Sidewalks shall be considered to be unsafe if, by
determination of the Commissioner of Public Works, they are so broken,
cracked, lifted, spilled or scaled or otherwise deficient as to cause
a clear and present danger to pedestrians. Upon such determination,
the owner of the property where such sidewalk is located will be notified,
in writing, by standard form of the need to repair or replace the
sidewalk in question. Such notice shall specify the sidewalk or portions
thereof which require repair or replacement and contain a brief summary
of the reasons therefor. Such notice shall be served upon such owner
by personal service or by certified mail, return receipt requested,
addressed to the last known address as shown on the latest completed
assessment roll of the Town of Brighton. If delivery of the certified
mail is returned or unclaimed, then service shall be made by regular
mail and shall be deemed complete five days after the date of mailing.
The cost of such repair or replacement will be borne by the property
owner.
B.
Upon delivery of the written notice, the property
owner shall make every attempt to correct the deficiency noted within
a reasonable time after delivery of the notice; in no event shall
more than one year elapse between delivery of the written notice and
correction of the deficient or unsafe sidewalk. However, no property
owner shall be required to repair or replace more than 100 linear
feet of sidewalk on any one lot within the first year after delivery
of said notice, nor more than 50 linear feet each consecutive year
thereafter.
C.
If, within said one-year period, the sidewalks required to be repaired shall not have been repaired, then the Town Board may cause the same to be done at the expense of the property owner. If said expense, as determined by the town, is not paid within 30 days after billing to the property owner, such a charge shall be a lien upon the property benefited until paid and shall be added to the property owner's tax bill as an assessment as set forth in § 166-16, Noncompliance.
D.
Any property owner aggrieved by a determination to
repair the sidewalk or any portion thereof as contained in the written
notification of the same shall have a right to appeal such determination
to the Town Board by delivering a written request for review of the
determination to the Town Clerk within 60 days of delivery of said
notification, which the Town Clerk shall thereupon transmit to the
Town Board. Upon receipt of a timely request for review, the Town
Board shall refer the matter to a person whom it shall designate for
the purpose of hearing all evidence and arguments both against and
in support of such determination. For this purpose, the person so
designated by the Town Board shall schedule a time and place for such
a hearing and shall give or cause to be given adequate notice thereof
to the property owner and the Commissioner of Public Works. On such
hearing the formal rules of evidence shall not apply. Upon conclusion
of such hearing the person designated shall prepare and transmit to
the Town Board a recommended decision, based on the evidence and arguments
presented, either annulling, modifying or affirming the determination
of the Commissioner of Public Works, together with a summary of the
reasons therefor. Upon receipt of such recommended decision, the Town
Board shall take the matter up at the next regularly scheduled Town
Board meeting and shall accept, reject or modify said recommended
decision. The determination of the Town Board so made shall be deemed
final and binding upon the property owner and the Commissioner of
Public Works.
The Town of Brighton shall dispose of the rubble
from the replacement of sidewalks within the right-of-way, provided
that the rubble is placed at the curb or road edge.
The Town of Brighton will not be responsible
for damage to sidewalks in the form of cracked or lifted blocks caused
by tree roots or for any root damage. The Department of Public Works
will cut out roots of trees within the right-of-way under the sidewalk
in conjunction with a sidewalk contractor and/or at the request of
the property owner. It is suggested that the owner/contractor remove
any blocks involved beforehand. In the case of such root removal by
the town, a one-year guaranty will be accorded the property owner
by the town against the cost of further repairs caused by such roots
damaging sidewalks.
No blacktop or blacktop sealer of any kind shall
be permitted along the path of a sidewalk where it crosses a driveway
or parking area. Exceptions to this provision will be allowed only
in the case of such conditions preexisting this article, unless deemed
hazardous. Whenever such preexisting blacktop should deteriorate or
be replaced or when the blacktop driveway abutting such a blacktop
area shall be replaced, the blacktopped sidewalk area must be replaced
with concrete.
In the case where an occupied lot is situated
at the end of a dead-end street, sidewalk otherwise required along
the frontage of the property shall be permitted to terminate at the
driveway on such property rather than be installed to the end of the
right-of-way.
In the event that sidewalks are replaced at
intersecting streets, corner lots or at other locations that would
require the curb and sidewalk to be reconstructed as provided for
in § 330 of the Highway Law, then the Town of Brighton shall
assume the responsibility and pay for the cost of resetting the curb
and sidewalk for the handicap access from the curb to the first intersecting
block of the main sidewalk. Work associated with these conditions
shall be conducted in accordance with the town's minimum specifications
for dedication regarding curbing and sidewalk as contained in the
text and standard detail sheets and the most recent edition of the
specifications.
A.
Owners of premises in the Town of Brighton, subject
to this article, must comply therewith and with any regulations, specifications
and any order passed by the Town Board of the Town of Brighton pursuant
to the Town Law, §§ 200-a and 130, Subdivision 4. In
the event that any owner or occupant, as the case may be, fails to
comply with this article, the sections of the Town Law set forth above,
any regulations passed by the Town Board or the specifications or
any orders of the Town Board pursuant thereto, the town may cause
the construction, reconstruction, repair or removal of obstructions
to be accomplished and audit and pay the expense of doing the same.
If the owner or occupant in question does not reimburse the town,
the town shall assess the expense thereof against the property benefited
as a whole, in any five or fewer annual installments, in the same
manner as street improvements constructed pursuant to the Town Law,
§ 200, and in accordance with the Town Law, § 200-a.
B.
If such expense is assessed in installments, there
shall be assessed as part of each installment, except the first, as
interest, an amount not exceeding 6% of such installments, such rate
to be fixed by the Town Board in the order providing for the assessment.
C.
If such expense is assessed as a whole and the Town
Board resolution assessing such expense against a particular piece
of property shall so provide, the assessment against such property
may be paid in five or fewer annual installments on the dates fixed
by such resolution with interest, not exceeding 6% of each such installment,
fixed by such resolution.
[Added 8-8-1990 by L.L. No. 6-1990]
This article shall be applicable to all outstanding
notices requiring the repair and/or reconstruction of sidewalks on
the effective date of this article, and those outstanding notices
shall be automatically extended for a period of one year from the
date that the prior notice to repair was received by the property
owner.
