§ 25-62. Repair and maintenance of abutting sidewalks by property owner.

(a)

The owner of any property within the city abutting a public sidewalk shall keep such sidewalk in repair and safe for pedestrians. Repairs shall be made in accordance with the specifications established by this article. City employees will be responsible for removing snow from sidewalks that abut city-owned buildings or parking lots. Adjacent property owners, including other public entities, are responsible for removing snow and ice from sidewalks that abut their property. The city may, as a public service and for reasons of public safety, remove snow and ice from sidewalks. The city engineer will identify sidewalks from which the city will remove ice and snow.

(b)

The city engineer or his designated representative shall establish procedures for regular sidewalk inspection and shall make such inspections as are necessary to determine that public sidewalks within the city are kept in repair and safe for pedestrians. Those procedures will include a schedule for routine sidewalk inspections on a regular basis and the establishment of criteria for determining whether a particular sidewalk condition is in need of replacement or repair. Those criteria will include, but not necessarily be limited to, a deviation or difference in elevation greater than three-fourths (¾) inch, as determined at the time of inspection. If he finds that any sidewalk abutting on private property is unsafe and in need of repairs, he shall cause a notice to be served, by registered or certified mail or by personal service, upon the record owner of the property ordering such owner to have the sidewalk repaired and made safe within thirty (30) days from the receipt of such notice.

(c)

If the sidewalk is not repaired within thirty (30) days from the receipt of the notice sent under subsection (b) of this section, the engineer shall report the same to the city administrator. The city administrator shall refer the matter to the city council for initiation of a special assessment project to make the required repairs.

(d)

Any property owner in the city desiring to repair an abutting public sidewalk, notwithstanding an order to repair the same, may petition the city council to make said repairs in accordance with the special assessment procedure in state law.

(e)

Violators of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(f)

The city engineer shall establish a sidewalk replacement and repair schedule. This schedule is subject to modification based both on sidewalk conditions and the availability of resources for sidewalk replacement and repair. The sidewalk replacement and repair schedule will:

(1)

Divide the city into sections or otherwise prioritize replacement of the sidewalks identified as needing replacement or repair so all sidewalks identified in the initial sidewalk survey as needing replacement or repair are replaced or repaired by December 31, 2015.

(2)

Take into consideration and weight the following factors:

i.

Sidewalk location and amount of pedestrian traffic;

ii.

Proximity of sidewalk identified as needing replacement or repair to other sidewalks also needing replacement or repair;

iii.

When an adjacent street is scheduled for repair so as to coordinate the projects

iv.

The nature and severity of the condition needing replacement or repair;

v.

The city's budget for replacement or repair of sidewalks;

vi.

Whether or to what extent the cost of repair can be recovered from adjacent property;

vii.

Availability of employees, equipment, and other resources for sidewalk replacement or repair;

viii.

Public safety;

ix.

History of prior accidents or complaints;

x.

Schedules of independent contractors and work necessary to prepare bids and bid specifications if work is to be performed by independent contractors.

(Code 1971, § 25-69; Ord. No. 2009-06, §§ 1—3, 3-10-09)