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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSidewalk Inspection Program final 06-2018City of Atascadero Sidewalk Inspection Program I. PURPOSE The purpose of inspecting the agency’s sidewalks is to identify hazardous conditions and report them to responsible property owners in order to minimize the possibility of injury to residents and visitors of the agency. This manual provides standard instructions for conducting sidewalk inspections and management of the records. Sidewalk inspections, in accordance with this program, should be done approximately every four years. II. BACKGROUND A. The City of Atascadero has placed the responsibility and liability of maintaining sidewalks on the abutting property owners. The City Municipal Code states: 4-6.04 Maintenance of sidewalk and street edge by abutting owners. The owners of lots or portions of lots fronting on any portion of a public street or place, when the street or place is improved, shall maintain all items including, but not limited to, trees, sidewalks, parkways, curbs and gutters and driveways located in public rights-of-way in a condition that will not endanger persons or property or will not interfere with the public convenience in the use of those works..... (Ord. 342 § 4, 1998) B. Sidewalks serve as the “streets and highways” for pedestrians who travel through our community. In order to limit the harm to pedestrians and the liability to the agency, the City desires to implement an effective inspection program for our sidewalks. C. The sidewalk inspection program is intended to help identify potential trip and fall hazards due to the deterioration of aging sidewalks, expansion of roots, and ground settlements. D. The sidewalk inspection program is also intended to notify the abutting property owner of a potential hazardous condition and assist the property owner in finding resources to repair the sidewalk. E. An average vertical displacement between sidewalk abutments that is used to evaluate a “trivial defect” is ¾ inch. Vertical displacements less than ¾ inch may not be excused for non-hazardous situations. All hazards are intended to be evaluated whether the hazards are critical or not. III. INSPECTION GUIDELINES. On every even calendar year, the City of Atascadero’s Public Works Department will inspect approximately one-half of the City's public sidewalks for safety and code compliance. Thereby, all of the City’s sidewalks will be inspected every four years. A. Each sidewalk inspection will clearly document: i. the location of the sidewalk inspected ii. the name of City employee(s) inspecting the sidewalk iii. the date of the inspection iv. exact location of areas of concern v. if the street segment does not have any hazardous conditions, note the inspection date and state “No sidewalk hazards found.” B. Areas around traffic signals, utility poles, ground level utility boxes, street lights and regulatory signposts should be checked for possible damage. C. Brick or concrete walkways and tree wells should be level to the sidewalk. D. All inspections shall be documented and for each location where a sidewalk concern is noted, a categorization of the concern should be noted. The categories are as follows: 1= displacement is less than ¾ inch 2= displacement is between ¾ inch and 1 ¼ inches 3= displacement is more than 1 ¼ inches 4= deficiency is in the vicinity of a sensitive location (e.g., adjacent to a school, senior housing, high pedestrian area, etc.). The deficiency rating of 4 could be given no matter the amount of displacement. It places priority onto the location needing repair due to the pedestrian activity at the site. 5= cracks that have a gap of ½ or greater 6= holes that are ½ or greater in depth and in diameter 7= sidewalk damage around a construction site with heavy equipment should be noted; the construction company could be held responsible. E. Any hazards or sidewalk damage that may not meet requirements for immediate repair should be noted for future inspections. F. Upon inspection, any sidewalk locations that have been identified and deemed to be deficient or hazardous as per the code shall be marked with fluorescent orange paint to serve as a clear warning of a known trip hazard to the public. G. If the City becomes aware of a sidewalk deficiency at any time, not only during a regular inspection period, the deficiency shall be documented and the area shall be marked with fluorescent orange paint to serve as a clear warning of a known trip hazard to the public. NOTIFICATION AND ABUTTING PROPERTY OWNER RESPONSIBILITIES. A. As per the Municipal Code and Streets and Highways Code, the abutting property owner is responsible for correcting sidewalk deficiencies. B. Once a deficiency has been identified and marked, the City will notify the applicable Property Owner in writing of their obligation to correct and repair the hazard with a Notice of Repair. C. For those sidewalk locations deemed to be in need of immediate repair, appropriate notifications will be made to the Property Owner or Business Owner, via immediate contact with a verbal or hand-delivered written notice and/or door- hanger placement. A written notification will be mailed to the Property Owner within 30 days as a follow-up to the immediate notification D. A written notification will be sent to the property owner within 60 days for concerns that may not require immediate repair, but have been identified as an area of concern. E. A Notice of Repair will specify what work is required to be done, how it is to be done, what materials shall be used in the repair, the time required to complete the repair, and the process the City will take if the repair is not completed in the time allowed. If the property owner does not make contact with the City, a second notice will be mailed not less than thirty (30) days or more than sixty (60) days after the first notice. F. Upon notification, the property owner then has up to 60 (sixty) days to complete the necessary sidewalk repairs or sooner if the City Engineer determines that the sidewalk deficiency or location is such that more immediate action is required for public safety. G. Sidewalk repairs will be undertaken by the City only in the following circumstances: i. for sidewalk location where the abutting Property Owner is the City of Atascadero; or ii. in emergency situations and/or safety hazards that require immediate attention. iii. after the Property Owner, has failed to comply with the requirements of the Municipal Code as outlined in the Notice of Repair. The City will first take all reasonable steps including assessing any fines and penalties, to enjoin the Property Owner to repair the sidewalk. If the Property Owner still fails to repair the deficiency, the City will cause the repairs to be done and the cost of such repairs, plus any assessed fines, City administrative and legal costs will be billed or assessed to the Property Owner; or H. To assist Property Owners with individual costs of completing necessary sidewalk repairs, the City may solicit competitive pricing and/or seek cost-saving opportunities from sidewalk grinding providers, concrete contractors, or other qualified vendors on behalf of the property owners. I. The repairs shall be tracked and inspected within the City’s standard encroachment permit process. The standard City fees for obtaining an encroachment permit in order to complete sidewalk repair work in the City’s right of way will be $0. MUNICIPAL CODE. As per the City’s Municipal Code, if needed repairs are not completed by the abutting property owner within sixty (60) days of notification, the Property Owner’s unresponsiveness may then become a violation and Code Enforcement action including appropriate penalties or fines may be assessed. Property Owners not complying with needed repairs in a timely manner will receive legal notice from the City’s Code Enforcement division. If necessary, a legal process may be undertaken to provide the City with reimbursement from the property owner for the cost of repairs. Certain portions of the Municipal Code Title 4 Chapter 6, “Sidewalk and Street Edge Maintenance and Improvement”, are included here: 4-6.04 Maintenance of sidewalk and street edge by abutting owners. The owners of lots or portions of lots fronting on any portion of a public street or place, when the street or place is improved, shall maintain all items including, but not limited to, trees, sidewalks, parkways, curbs and gutters and driveways located in public rights-of-way in a condition that will not endanger persons or property or will not interfere with the public convenience in the use of those works..... (Ord. 342 § 4, 1998) 4-6.06 Repair by Public Works Department. If the repair is not commenced and prosecuted to completion with due diligence, as required by the notice, the Public Works Department may forthwith repair the sidewalk…… (Ord. 575 § 1, 2013; Ord. 342 § 6, 1998) 4-6.08 Assessment, notice of lien, recordation. The cost of repair may be assessed by the City Council against the parcel or parcels of property fronting upon the sidewalk upon which such repair was made…... (Ord. 575 § 1, 2013; Ord. 342 § 8, 1998) 4-6.09 Collection with regular taxes. As an alternative method of collection of the amount of the lien, the City Council, after confirmation of the report of the Superintendent of Streets, may order the notice of lien to be turned over to the Assessor and the Tax Collector.….(Ord. 342 § 9, 1998) REPAIR SOLUTIONS. Grind down displacement if less than 3/4”, or apply appropriate materials to minimize displacement. If the sidewalk is displaced by tree roots, repair with appropriate materials and slope with 6:1 ratio. When the sidewalk is buckled and the ratio is greater than 5:1, use appropriate materials to repair sidewalk with a ratio of 6:1. If a sidewalk is buckled or has numerous large cracks, remove and replace concrete. If the sidewalk is buckled due to tree roots, remove the root and replace the sidewalk. Cracks and holes should be filled with appropriate materials. Worn out asphalt concrete patches should be re-patched or evaluated for removal and replacement. Repaired patches that continue to have cracks and displacements may have to be removed and replaced.