Sec. 64-243. - Duty of abutting owner to keep sidewalk, curbing and guttering in good repair; special assessments authorized.
(a) No owner of any house, building, lot or premises shall permit or allow the sidewalk, curbing, drive approach or guttering in front or alongside of such house, building, lot or premises to be or remain out of repair or suffer or allow the same to be or remain above or below the established grade.
(b) No owner of any house, building, lot or premises shall permit or allow any cellar door, grating or stairway located on a sidewalk in front or alongside of such house, building, lot or premises to be or remain out of repair or suffer or allow the same to be or remain above or below the established grade.
(c) It shall be the duty of the director of public works to see that the requirements of this section are frilly complied with, by the owner of such house, building, lot or premises, or by any person who may hereafter do any grading, or perform any other public work upon any of the streets of the city where such sidewalk, curbing, drive approach, guttering, cellar door, grating or stairway may at the time be located. The word repair as used in this section shall be deemed to mean and embrace whatever is necessary for the preservation of such sidewalk, curbing, drive approach, guttering, cellar door, grating or stairway, and to render the sidewalk, curbing, drive approach, guttering, cellar door, grating or stairway safe and convenient for the public.
(d) When, in the opinion of the director of public works, any sidewalk (including any cellar door, grating or stairway existing in such sidewalk), curbing, drive approach or guttering on any part of any street or public highway is out of repair, the director may cause the same to be reconstructed or put in good substantial repair. The costs thereof may be assessed as provided herein, unless otherwise modified by ordinance approving a project whose costs are subject to special assessment:
(1) The director of public works shall cause a notice to be sent by United States mail, directed to the apparent owner of the real estate in front of which the said reconstruction or repair is to be made, as said ownership or taxpayer is shown on the real estate records of the city, which notice shall require the reconstruction or repair to be made within 30 days of the notice unless an alternative time is designated by ordinance. The requirement of notice is directory and not mandatory.
(2) After the expiration of the 30 days, or such alternative time designated by ordinance, the director of public works may cause the reconstruction or repair to be made through city forces or by contract if the owner has not complied with the notice or completed the repair or reconstruction to the city's established standards for sidewalks, curbing, drive approaches and guttering work. The work may be done as separate projects for each location or as a project combining several separate locations.
(3) After the work is completed at a single location or at several locations combined in one project, the director of public works shall cause the cost to be determined, and for this purpose may base the same on unit costs for a project involving work in front of several parcels of land. The director of public works shall thereafter determine whether a portion or all of the final cost of said improvements is to be paid by public funds, local or otherwise. If so, the director of public works shall determine the balance of the costs, if any, of such repairs or replacement and this amount shall serve as the basis of any special assessment.
(4) The balance of the costs, if any, subject to special assessment shall be assessed and charged according to the front-foot rule, which shall be held to mean that the required sum shall be assessed and charged against the several lots, tracts and parcels fronting or abutting upon the side of the street on which the work was done in proportion and ratably to the frontage or abutment thereon of such respective lots, tracts and parcels. In levying special assessments against corner lots, tracts and parcels, such shall be charged for the work done on both fronts and on the outside corners.
(5) The director of public works shall certify to the director of finance the cost of the work done in front of and adjacent to each parcel of land fronting or abutting on the side of the street on which the work was done, giving a description of each parcel of land so charged with sufficient accuracy to identify the same, and the amount of the special assessment against the same.
(6) The special assessments issued under this article shall be paid as provided in section 2-1721 of this Code of Ordinances.
(7) Special assessments provided for herein shall constitute liens upon the real estate and when delinquent shall be subject to collection in the same manner as provided for under state law, City Charter, and the Code of Ordinances.
(e) Issuance of special assessments for sidewalks suspended. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (d), no special assessments shall be issued for the cost of the repair or replacement of sidewalks, curbing, drive approach or guttering after April 4, 2017, and continuing for all such repairs or replacements made until the 2017 general obligation bond authorization for sidewalks of $150 million maximum is exhausted.
(Code of Gen. Ords. 1967, § 30.99; Ord. No. 080459, § 1, 5-22-08; Ord. No. 130937, § 10, 12-19-13; Ord. No. 170298, § 2, 4-27-17)
