Dave
if someone trips and falls on the sidewalk in the R/W in front of a house, the owner can be liable for their injuries.
My theory is this originates from the original town layouts where the sidewalk is attached to the building where the front building wall is the R/W for all intents and purposes. The sidewalk is part of the building and the property owner could have it as long as he maintained it and the Streets and Highways Code just recognized the reality. But it is true that Cities and Counties use this code to make suburban property owners fix the sidewalk in front of their property although the sidewalk is really part of the street improvements.
And be forewarned, if you were thinking about not paying that ticket, that's not an option. If a fine is not paid, it can be attached to the homeowner's property taxes.
No Paden, I think your post is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of.:-) I don't see the need for the outrage. Think of the law as a restrictive covenant, so to speak, just like the ones in a new subdivision in Okieland. When you buy a house or business in the "subdivision" you are accepting the rules and covenants. In this case the covenants are not in your deed they are in your municipal laws.
I can tell you that almost everyone accepts the fact that clearing the walks is their responsibility and they simply do it when they plow or remove the snow from their driveways. What does it take for most city dwellers in time to clear their 75-100 feet of sidewalk? Five minutes or so?
Remember that in the city of Boston that if you don't have functional sidewalks the population has to walk in the street and how many kids and adults are going to die as a result especially when the streets may be icy?
I live in the sticks, too, Perry. If I (or SWMBO) can make it out my drive, I'm good to go (literally).
The office sidewalk, however, has to be cleaned within 6 hrs of a significant snowfall, IIRC. There is a lot of pedestrian traffic in the village and it's not unreasonable to have to clear the walks. After all, you can't raise the taxes can you? The codes people are pretty good about it and recognize that most people make a good effort at opening the walks up quickly. They tend to focus on the lazy and recidivists.
The village my family home is in clears the walks through the tax levy. It's a great convenience, particularly given my Mom's advancing years. But, somewhere, someone has to pay.
Rick
Historic background...
In terms of historic background, responsibility for upkeep of your property and minimizing potential adverse impact on your neighbors have been a part of this country for at least as long as white folks have been here.
Even the earliest settlers in the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay Colonies had those kinds of ordinances and regulation back in the 1600s, for example, penalties if you didn't keep your fences up to snuff.
I can't seem to muster much outrage on this one, even given my libertarian roots. I think we all accept the idea that we mow the grass adjacent to our property contained within the ROW. It's a shame that we feel compelled to have ordinances or laws to get people to do what is right. I also find it amusing that even surveyors seem to think that ROW belongs to the government or city. Clearly the ROW belongs to the public and is only managed by the city or whatever applicable government entity.
The snow PATROL was out in full FORCE.
Egads!
Whenever city folk move to the country they spend a lot of time complaining about what "should be" done to make everything "work better". I guess this is one of those things a: "Snow Patrol". Really a SNOW PATROL? Maybe putting them to work clearing streets would be more helpful.
C'mon Moe...
> Really a SNOW PATROL? Maybe putting them to work clearing streets would be more helpful.
Surely you know: the people who RUN things seldom DO things.
C'mon Moe...
There is good reasoning to have the walks cleared: kids walking to school, grandma walking to the store, etc. With that in mind, there SHOULD be an expectation of the landowner to clear the walks. However, with the amount of snow the east received in one snowfall, there should be some common sense introduced in regard to fines. Maybe the snow piles are too big for grandpa to shovel without going into cardiac arrest?
The city should USE some of that common sense and work with the residents rather than against them. I guess I'm not a "black and white" kind of person.
This is standard in most municipalities. The courts have upheld the right of local governments to require property owners to maintain public sidewalks adjoining their property.
NYC requires that the sidewalks have a passable pathway cleared within " a reasonable amount of time" after the snow stops falling.
The City's Administrative Code (N.Y. ADC. LAW § 16-123) requires owners, occupiers and managers of property abutting the public sidewalk to clear the snow from the sidewalk within four hours after the cessation of any snowfall, with the exception that shoveling can wait until the next morning if the snow stops falling between 9 P.M. and 7 A.M. If the snow or ice is too compacted to remove, then sand, sawdust or ashes must be spread to prevent slipping.
A first violation carries a $50 fine while subsequent violations carry $100 penalties.
Here in NYC, not only do you need to shovel the snow, but year round, to also keep the sidewalks and gutters cleared of dirt, litter and garbage. The homeowner is responsible for 18 inches beyond the curb.
Frankly, those who think their taxes are too high should consider what the cost would be to have municipal workers go out and shovel every sidewalk in your city or town.
We have them here in Northern Arizona. So people do it, and then the City snowplow comes along and plows snow from the street onto the sidewalk, and you are responsible for removing it too, but you can't put it back in the street!
The City requires you to mow your lawn?!
In my area, yes. If one's lawn grows above a certain height and neighbors complain, the county will come cut your lawn and charge some ludicrous amount (seems to me I heard something like $250 if I remember correctly). It is seen as a breeding ground for rats and unseemly among other things. Same thing goes for having too much trash in the yard, unregistered cars, etc.
Wow - I'd love to see someone set foot on my property without my permission - ordinance or not!
Agreed. But you better have those "No Trespassing" signs up or the cops won't do a thing... or so I have been told.
