CR 95-113 City Code Revision Section 820
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June 30, 1995
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Council Report 95-113
CITY CODE REVISION
SECTION 820 - SIDEWALK MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR
Proposed Action.
Staff recommends adoption of the following motion: "Move that Council adopt for first reading
Ordinance 95-772 amending section 820 of the City Code. II
Overview.
In 1992 staff undertook a systematic program of public sidewalk maintenance. Staff recommended the
establishment offour inspection zones, each zone treated to inspection and repair on a four-year rotating
basis. Council concurred and a policy was approved. Repair strategy and funding was based on
provisions of the City Code at that time. Once the program was under way Council took action that in
fact placed the burden of sidewalk repair funding on the City's general fund as opposed to adjacent
property owners. Staff is now finally proposing code changes that more appropriately reflect that action
of 1992.
Primary Issues to Consider.
o Existing public sidewalks
o Carriage walks
o Driveway aprons
o Recommendation
SUPDortin2 Information.
o Current City Code - Section 820
o Draft Ordinance 95-722
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James Gessele
Engineering Superintendent
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CR 95-113 Page 2
Analvsis
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Existing public sidewalks
Section 820.15 adds code authority to Council's action in 1992: repair and replacement of public
sidewalks shall be at the City's own expense. However, adjacent property owners are still
obligated to keep walks clean and safe as outlined in 820.03.
o Carriage walks
Carriage walks by definition are those short concrete panels between the public sidewalk running
parallel to the street and the back of the street curb. The term is derived from an era when
passengers would alight from their carriages at street's edge and step onto a clean, dry
hard-surfaced pavement.
Council and staff agreed during the 1992 action that maintenance of carriage walks was still the
responsibility of homeowners. Section 820.11 reiterates that understanding. In our current
inspection program, staff notifies homeowners of carriage walks needing repair and their potential
cost liability to the owners. Staff also offers the option of simply removing the walk permanently
because carriage walks are considered an amenity without mandate.
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Driveway aprons
By virtue of their inclusion in the City's assessment policy in Legislative Policy #8-B as a 100%
assessable amenity and by the fact that not everyone has one, driveway aprons and their
repair/maintenance have been assumed to fall under property owner responsibility. Sections
820.11 and 820.13 now add code authority to that assumption.
Staff has added a new element to the issue of curb cuts by treating unused or abandoned
driveways in the code. Staff proposes that where abandoned driveway aprons are found during a
street reconstruction project, where redevelopment of lots generates unneeded curb cuts, or
where abandoned aprons pose a trip hazard, then upon notice to the owner, the City shall cause to
have the apron removed, restoration made, and the cost billed to the owner.
o Recommendation
The City Attorney has spent considerable time in updating the language of Section 820 and has
undertaken thorough deliberation of code provisions with staff. Staff is confident of the fairness
of the provisions and their defensibility and recommends adoption for first reading.
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Hopkins City Code
(Rev.), 820.01
Section 820 - Assessable Current Services
820.01. Definitions. The term "current service" as used in this
section means one or more of the following: snow, ice, or rubbish removal
from sidewalks, weed elimination from street grass plots adjacent to
sidewalks or from private property, street sprinkling, street flushing,
light street oiling, or other dust treatment of streets, repair of
sidewalks.
820.03. Sidewalks. Subdivision 1. Public sidewalk nuisances. Snow,
ice, dirt and rubbish remaining on a public sidewalk more than 12 hours
after its deposit thereon is a public nuisance. The owner and the occupant
of any property adjacent to a public sidewalk shall use diligence to keep
such walk safe for pedestrians. The owner or occupant may not allow snow,
ice, dirt or rubbish to remain on the walk longer than 12 hours after its
deposit thereon.
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Subd. 2. Removal by city. The manager shall remove or cause to be
removed from all public sidewalks all snow, ice, dirt, and rubbish as soon
as possible beginning 12 hours after any such matter has been deposited
thereon or after the snow has ceased to fall. The manager shall keep a
record showing the cost of such removal adjacent to each separate lot and
parcel and shall deliver such information to the clerk.
820.05 Elimination of Grass. Weeds and Other Rank. Poisonous or Harmful
Vegetation. Subdivision 1. Weed Nuisances Declared. Any growth of weeds,
grass, or other rank vegetation, whether noxious as defined by law or not,
growing to an average height greater than ten inches or which have gone or
are about to go to seed, or any accumulation of dead weeds, grass or
vegetation, are declared a Weed Nuisance. "Noxious Weeds" as defined In
Minnesota Statutes Section 18.171, Subd. 5, and Minnesota Rules Chapter
1505 AGR 1505.0730, as amended, are also declared a Weed Nuisance. The
owner, lessee, or occupant, or any agent, representative or employee of any
such owner, lessee or occupant having control of any occupied or unoccupied
lot or land or any part thereof in the City of Hopkins, shall abate or
prevent such nuisances on any such lot or land or on or along the sidewalk,
street or alley adjacent to the same between the property line and the curb
or pavement edge or middle of the alley.
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Subd. 2. Notice. When the owner, lessee or occupant permits a
Weed Nuisance to exist in violation of Subdivision 1, the Weed Inspector
shall serve notice upon the owner of the property if he or she resides in
the City and can be found, or upon the lessee or occupant in other cases,
by registered mail or by personal service, ordering such owner, lessee, or
occupant to have such Weed Nuisances cut and removed within ten days after
receipt of the notice and also stating that in case of noncompliance, such
work will be done by the City at the expense of the owner and that if
unpaid, the charge for such work will be made a special assessment against
the property concerned.
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Hopkins City Code
(Rev.), 820.05, Subd. 3
Subd. 3. Public Works Director to cut Weed Nuisances. If the
owner or occupant fails to comply with the notice within ten days after its
receipt, or if no owner, lessee, occupant, or agent of the owner, lessee,
or occupant can be found, the City Public Works Director shall cut and
remove such Weed Nuisances. The Public Works Director shall keep a record
showing the cost of such work attributable to each separate lot and parcel
and shall deliver such information to the City Clerk. (Amended Ord. No.
89-661)
820.07. Repair of sidewalks. Subdivision 1. Repairs and permits. The
owner of any property within the city abutting public sidewalk shall keep
the sidewalk in repair and safe for pedestrians. Repairs shall be made in
accordance with standard specifications approved by the council and on file
in the office of the clerk. No such repairs shall be performed by the
owner of any such property without first securing a building permit
therefor from the city building official, approved by the engineer, as
provided in chapter IV of this code.
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Subd. 2. Duty of the city engineer. The engineer shall make such
inspections as are necessary to determine that public sidewalks within the
city are kept in repair and safe for pedestrians. 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 mail or by personal
service, upon the record owner of the property and the occupant, if the
owner does not reside within the city or cannot be found therein, ordering
such owner to have the sidewalk repaired and made safe within 20 days and
stating that if the owner fails to do so, the engineer will do so, that the
expense thereof must be paid by the owner, and that if unpaid it will be
made a special assessment against the property concerned.
Subd. 3. City engineer to repair. If the sidewalk is not repaired
within 20 days after receipt of notice from the engineer, the engineer
shall report that fact to the council and the council may by resolution,
order the engineer to repair the sidewalk and make it safe for pedestrians
or order the work done by contract in accordance with law. The engineer
shall keep a record of the total cost of the repair attributable to each
lot or parcel of property and report such information to the clerk,
820.09. Personal liability. The owner of property on which or adjacent
to which a current service has been performed shall be personally liable
for the cost of such service. As soon as the service has been completed
and the cost determined, the clerk shall prepare a bill and mail it to the
owner and thereupon the amount shall be immediately due and payable at the
office of the clerk.
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Hopkins City Code
(Rev.), 820.11
820.11. Assessment. On or before September 1st of each year, the city
clerk shall list the total unpaid charges for each type of current service
against each separate lot or parcel to which they are attributable under
this section. The council may then spread the charges against property
benefited as a special assessment under Minnesota Statutes, section 429.101
and other pertinent statutes for certification to the county auditor and
collection the following year along with current taxes.
820.13. Violation. It
nULsance in violation of this
or other authorized person in
this section, but prosecution
direction of the council.
is unlawful for any person to maintain a
section or to interfere with a city employee
the performance of any current service under
shall be brought for such action only at the
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ORDINANCE 95-772
An Ordinance relating to Maintenance of Vegetation; Repair or
Replacement of Walks And Aprons; repealing in its entirety Section
820 - Assessable Current Services of Chapter VIII of the Hopkins
City Code as follows and replacing it with the following:
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HOPKINS DOES ORDAIN:
Section 820 - Maintenance And Repair Of Walks. Aprons And
Vegetation
820.01. Definitions.
Subd. 1. "Current Service". means the removal from sidewalks
accumulation of snow, ice, dirt and rubbish; cut or eliminate weed
growth, grass or other rank vegetation.
820.03. Walks And Weeds. The owner or occupant of property
adjacent to a public sidewalk, carriage walk, or driveway apron,
shall maintain such areas in a clean and safe condition for
pedestrians at all times and shall not allow snow, ice, dirt or
rubbish to remain thereon longer than 12 hours after its deposit.
Said owner or occupant shall further cut or remove weeds, grass or
other rank vegetation growth of an average height greater than ten
inches as defined in Minnesota Statute Section 18.171, Subd. 5.
820.05. Public Nuisance. Failure of the owner and occupant
to comply with the requirements of Section 820.03 by allowing such
accumulations or growth shall be deemed to be a public nuisance.
820.07. Notice. Whenever the owner or occupant permits the
continuance of a public nuisance as defined in Section 820.05, the
City shall serve notice upon said owner or occupant by registered'
mail or personal service ordering such maintenance or removal
within ten days following receipt of the notice and further notice
that non-compliance will be followed by such maintenance or removal
by the City at the expense of the owner or occupant and if unpaid,
shall be made a special assessment against the property concerned
as hereinafter provided.
820.09. Assessment. On or before September 1 of each year,
the City shall list the total of all unpaid charges for each type
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of current service against each separate lot or parcel to which
they are attributable under this Section. The City may then spread
the charges against the benefited property as a special assessment
pursuant to Minnesota Statute Section 429.101 and other pertinent
statutes for certification to the County Auditor and collection for
the following year with current real estate taxes due on said lots
or parcels.
820.11. The City shall repair or replace carriage walks and
driveway aprons when, in the opinion of the City Engineer and
subject to Council approval, such facilities are found to be in a
state of disrepair and pose a danger to the health and safety of
the Public. Costs incurred shall be assessed against benefited
property as a special assessment pursuant to Minnesota Statute 429.
820.13. Unused or abandoned curb cuts and driveway aprons
shall be removed by the City and street, curb, gutter and boulevard
restored in the event of street reconstruction, development or
redevelopment of real property adjacent to such curb cut and apron
or upon determination by the City that such unused or abandoned
curb cut and apron impose a hazard to the health and safety of the
public. Costs incurred shall be assessed against the benefited
property as a special assessment pursuant to Minnesota Statute 429.
820.15. Notwithstanding the above provisions to the contrary,
the City shall repair or replace public sidewalks at its own
expense without cost to the owner or occupant of adjacent property.
820.17. Violation. Continuation of a public nuisance as
defined in Section 820.05 in violation of this Ordinance or to
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interfere with a City employee or other authorized person in the
performance of any current service following due notice to the
owner or occupant of such lots or parcels is a misdemeanor
violation of this Ordinance.
This Ordinance is effective on
First Reading:
Second Reading:
Date of Publication:
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Effective Date of Ordinance:
Attest:
Charles D. Redepenning, Mayor
James A. Genellie, City Clerk
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