Chapter 12.12
SIDEWALKS – MAINTENANCE BY ABUTTING OWNERS
Sections:
12.12.010 Abutting owner’s duty to maintain.
12.12.020 Notification of owner when sidewalk unfit.
12.12.050 Failure to correct – City action.
12.12.060 Record of assessment.
12.12.010 Abutting owner’s duty to maintain.
Whenever any street, lane, square, place or alley in the city of Marysville, shall have been improved by the construction of a sidewalk or sidewalks along either or both sides thereof, the duty, burden and expense of maintenance, repairs and renewal of such sidewalk or sidewalks shall devolve upon the property directly abutting upon the side of such street or other public place along which such sidewalk has been constructed as herein provided. (Ord. 142 § 1, 1906).
12.12.020 Notification of owner when sidewalk unfit.
Whenever in the judgment of the director of public works or designee the condition of any sidewalk is such as to render the same unfit or unsafe for the purposes of public travel, the department shall notify the owner of the property immediately abutting upon said portion of the sidewalk of the condition thereof, instructing the owner to clean, repair or renew said portion of the sidewalk in such manner as the department shall designate. (Ord. 2292 § 8, 1999).
12.12.030 Form of notice.
The notice mentioned in MMC 12.12.020 shall be addressed to the owner of the property abutting upon the portion of such sidewalk to be cleaned, repaired or renewed; shall specify a reasonable time within which such cleaning, repairing or renewal shall be executed by the owner and the general character of such improvement (when so ordered by the director of public works or designee); and shall be sufficient if substantially in the following form:
Notice to (clean, repair or renew) sidewalks on ________ Street to _________.
You are hereby notified and instructed to (clean, repair or renew) the sidewalk extending along ______ side of __________ (description), of which property you are the owner, by ____________ (give general character of cleaning, repairing or renewal), within ___ days from and after the service of this notice, or in case of your failure so to do the said work will be done by and under the authority of the city of Marysville, at the expense of said property and the cost and expense thereof charged to you and become a lien upon said property in accordance with Chapter 35.69 of the Revised Code of Washington and Chapter 12.12 of the Municipal Code of the City of Marysville; and report made to the city council at its regular meeting to be held at the Public Safety Building in the city of Marysville, on the ___ day of __________, 20__, at the hour of seven p.m. of said day, of an assessment roll, showing the lot or parcel of land immediately abutting on that portion of the sidewalk so improved, the cost of such improvement or repair, and the name of the owner, if known, and that thereupon the council will hear any or all protests against the proposed assessment.
By order of the city council.
Dated Marysville, Washington, ___, 19__.
/s/____________________
When any improvement provided for by this chapter is a renewal of any sidewalk, the time for the execution of the same by a property owner shall not be less than 10 days, which time shall be considered a reasonable time for such renewal. (Ord. 2292 § 9, 1999).
12.12.040 Service of notice.
Service of the notice provided for in MMC 12.12.030 shall be made as follows:
The notice provided for shall be deemed sufficiently served if delivered in person to the owner of the property or his authorized agent, or by leaving a copy of such notice at the home of the owner or authorized agent, or if the owner is a nonresident, by mailing a copy to his last known address, or if the owner of the property be unknown or if his address be unknown, then such notice shall be addressed to the general delivery office of the city wherein the improvement is to be made. (Ord. 142 § 4, 1906).
12.12.050 Failure to correct – City action.
If any such property owner who has been so notified, shall fail for the period of time designated in such notice to execute such cleaning, repairing or renewal of such sidewalk, the city street superintendent shall proceed to clean such sidewalk or to make such repairs or renewal forthwith and report to the city council at its next regular meeting or as soon thereafter as possible, an assessment roll showing the lot or parcel of land immediately abutting on that portion of the sidewalk so improved, the cost of such improvement or repair, and the name of the owner, if known; and the council will hear any or all protests at the time named in the notice against the proposed assessment. The council shall at the time in such notice designated or at an adjourned time or times, assess the cost of such work against the property in accordance with the benefits derived therefrom, which charge shall become a lien upon the property and shall be collected by due process of law. The city street superintendent shall file with said assessment roll, a copy of such notice, with proof of service of the same. (Ord. 142 § 5, 1906).
12.12.060 Record of assessment.
The city clerk shall keep a well-bound book in which shall be entered an abstract of all assessment rolls filed in accordance with MMC 12.12.050, showing a description of the property, the name of the owner thereof, total cost charged to each owner, and the date of filing the assessment roll, and when any property is cleared of the lien by payment, the city clerk shall note the fact upon such book, with the date of payment. (Ord. 2292 § 10, 1999).
12.12.070 Definitions.
For the purpose of this chapter, all property having a frontage upon the sides or margin of any street shall be deemed to be abutting property, and such property shall be chargeable as provided by this chapter for all costs of maintenance, repairs or renewal of any form of sidewalk improvement between the said street margin and the roadway lying in front of and adjacent to said property; and the term “sidewalk” as intended for the purposes of this chapter, shall be taken to include any and all structures or forms of street improvement included in the space between the street margin and the roadway. (Ord. 142 § 7, 1906).