| Author |
Message |
    
hello
Citizen
Username: Hello
Post Number: 5
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 12:12 pm: |     |
when i bought my house, my lawyer explained to me it was my obligation to maintain my sidewalk. but, as i walk around, i see high-profile streets with amazingly decrepid sidewalks (e.g., lower durand). what is the story here? why does the code guy drive around and tell people to take down vine lattices over 4 feet high but not to take care of their sidewalks? i think sidewalks are very important- they swung us to maplewood and away from connecticut, fwiw. |
david glaser
Citizen
Username: Lefty
Post Number: 4
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 1:31 pm: | |
hello, please don't consider this a drift, more of an addendum....
i just bought a house, and wouldn't mind knowing what the town legislature is with regard to maintaining your sidewalks. also, anyone with first hand experience in fixing up their sidewalk (approx. cost, etc.)? if anyone has more info regarding this, please post a reply. |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 3
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, July 31, 2003 - 2:24 pm: | |
"why does the code guy drive around and tell people to take down vine lattices over 4 feet high..."
That's one I never heard of before, can you please explain how you know this?
BTW, your lawyer is basically correct, but call the town 762-8120 to be sure that the town doesn’t cover your property. Then call a few local contractors for a free estimate, get a reference or two, and before you know it your sidewalks will be looking good as new.  |
mwsilva
Real Name
Username: Mwsilva
Post Number: 371
Registered: 5-2002
| | Posted on Friday, August 1, 2003 - 12:18 am: | |
I have to walk up Durand, North of Maple Wood Avenue.
Why is 19 and 21 Durand allowed to have sidewalks that are in such bad repair?
1 block out of town center, just how can that happen??
BTW, I received a notice that my fence may be in violation. OK, it may be. I will work that out.
But what of the sidewalks on Durand? |
squeeks
Citizen
Username: Squeeks
Post Number: 18
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 1, 2003 - 12:10 pm: | |
Sidewalk maintenance and safety is certainly an issue that the Township seems to be totalling ignoring. Other than the main drags that get elaborate and extensive sidewalk and roadway repair, most other areas are left to deteriorate and become virtually impassible. Anyone who spends any time walking around Maplewood or dersires to take a child on a walking, stroller, or bicycle trip has to negotiate breakages, rising concrete and root problems that would make an uphill stroll on a ski slope look very easy.
What is with these people that won't look after their walkways. Where are their citations for violation, fines and court appearances. The town should be active in making them abide by the ordinances. NO EXCUSES ACCEPTED.
WHat's the next step - SUING FOR INJURY, SUING THE TOWNSHIP FOR NEGLIGENCE in pursuing these matters with home owners.
The sidewalks on the corner of Prospect and Oakview Ave on the north Oakview side are prime examples of these dangers. The homeowners on that corner should be ashamed an embarassed by the state of disrepair in their walkways.
I think if I trip once more on their raised concrete, I am going to sue their butts off. They'll be sorry they never responsed to the Town's citation. IF THEY EVER GOT ONE!!
Maplewood is a wonderful place to live, very popular, very neighborly. NOT REPAIRING YOUR SIDEWALKS is hurting this image, creating risks and lowering the value of our properties.
GET WITH IT PEOPLE! GET WITH IT TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE. Stop sitting around making up excuses for this problem. |
squeeks
Citizen
Username: Squeeks
Post Number: 19
Registered: 8-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 1, 2003 - 12:17 pm: | |
Sidewalk maintenance and safety is certainly an issue that the Township seems to be totalling ignoring. Other than the main drags that get elaborate and extensive sidewalk and roadway repair, most other areas are left to deteriorate and become virtually impassible. Anyone who spends any time walking around Maplewood or dersires to take a child on a walking, stroller, or bicycle trip has to negotiate breakages, rising concrete and root problems that would make an uphill stroll on a ski slope look very easy.
What is with these people that won't look after their walkways. Where are their citations for violation, fines and court appearances. The town should be active in making them abide by the ordinances. NO EXCUSES ACCEPTED.
WHat's the next step - SUING FOR INJURY, SUING THE TOWNSHIP FOR NEGLIGENCE in pursuing these matters with home owners.
The sidewalks on the corner of Prospect and Oakview Ave on the north Oakview side are prime examples of these dangers. The homeowners on that corner should be ashamed an embarassed by the state of disrepair in their walkways.
I think if I trip once more on their raised concrete, I am going to sue their butts off. They'll be sorry they never responsed to the Town's citation. IF THEY EVER GOT ONE!!
Maplewood is a wonderful place to live, very popular, very neighborly. NOT REPAIRING YOUR SIDEWALKS is hurting this image, creating risks and lowering the value of our properties.
GET WITH IT PEOPLE! GET WITH IT TOWNSHIP COMMITTEE. Stop sitting around making up excuses for this problem. |
Joan
Citizen
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 1816
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 1, 2003 - 4:20 pm: | |
One problem with enforcing the code requiring home owners to keep their sidewalks in good repair is that the town lacks the code enforcement staff to inspect all of the sidewalks in town often enough to insure that all properties in town are in compliance.
However, the town has been known to promptly inspect a sidewalk IF they receive a complaint regarding the condition of said sidewalk. They will then serve notice to the homeowner responsible for said property that the sidewalk needs to be repaired by a certain date if a fine is to be avoided.
Back in the good old days when TC members and other town officials read this section of the board on a regular basis, mentioning the precise location of sidewalk in poor repair would have been sufficient to get an inspector to visit said property pronto. Now, if you are serious about getting action on your complaint, it might be a good idea to follow up with a call to Town Hall. |
kap
Citizen
Username: Kap
Post Number: 233
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 1, 2003 - 6:42 pm: | |
From Chapter 239 of the MAplewood Code:
"§ 239-23. Maintenance of sidewalks, curbs and gutters. [Amended 3-3-1987 by Ord. No. 1715; 2-21-1995 by Ord. No. 1964]
Any person owning any land fronting upon any public street or highway within the Township of Maplewood shall keep all sidewalks, curbs, monolithic curbs and gutters fronting said land in good repair.
§ 239-24. Construction of new sidewalks. [Amended 3-3-1987 by Ord. No. 1715; 2-21-1995 by Ord. No. 1964]
A. All new sidewalks within the township right-of-way, constructed by the abutting owner, shall be of portland cement concrete in accordance with township standards.
B. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A, all sidewalks on the following streets shall be constructed of concrete paving stone and shall be in accordance with the township standards:
(1) Maplewood Avenue.
(a) East side, from Durand Road to Baker Street.
(b) West side, from Durand Road to two hundred twenty-five (225) feet south of Baker Street.
(2) Baker Street.
(a) North side, two hundred forty-five (245) feet west of Maplewood Avenue.
(b) North side, seventy-five (75) feet east of Maplewood Avenue.
(c) South side, one hundred fifty (150) feet west Maplewood Avenue.
(d) South side, forty-five (45) feet east of Maplewood Avenue.
(3) Highland Road.
(a) North side, one hundred seventy-five (175) feet west of Maplewood Avenue.
(b) South side, ninety-five (95) feet west of Maplewood Avenue.
(4) Inwood Place.
(a) North side, two hundred forty-five (245) feet west of Maplewood Avenue.
(b) South side, one hundred sixty (160) feet west of Maplewood Avenue.
§ 239-25. Construction of new curbs. [Added 3-3-1987 by Ord. No. 1715; amended 2-21-1995 by Ord. No. 1964]
All new curbs within the township right-of-way constructed by the abutting owner shall be constructed of Belgian block unless it is determined by the Construction Official that poured concrete is already the predominant type within the vicinity.
§ 239-26. Responsibilities of property owners.
In accordance with the notice procedures provided in this Article, any sidewalk or curb on any public street which is out of line or grade or broken or out of repair or is otherwise in need of construction or repair shall be relaid to line or grade or the broken portions thereof shall be repaired or reconstructed by the owner or owners of the land or building in front of which any such improvement, reconstruction or repair is to be made.
§ 239-27. Notice to repair.
Whenever the Township Engineer determines that sidewalk work is necessary, he shall cause notice thereof duly signed by himself to be served upon the responsible owner directing him to do the work within thirty (30) days after service of the notice. The notice shall specify in sufficient detail the character of the improvement, reconstruction or repair to be made, shall set forth a description of the property affected sufficiently definite to identify the same and shall otherwise comply with the requirements of N.J.S.A. 40:65-1 et seq. etc., for such cases made and provided. The notice shall give opportunity to such owner or owners to be heard and to offer satisfactory reasons to the Township Engineer why the work should not be done. Service of the notice and proof of service thereof shall be made in accordance with the requirements of N.J.S.A. 40:65-1 et seq.
§ 239-28. Failure to comply; work done by township.
If, in the absence of any good and sufficient reason why the work should not be done, the owner fails to make the improvement, reconstruction or repair within thirty (30) days after service of the notice, then the Township Engineer may have the work done at the cost and expense of the owner or owners, and he shall keep an accurate account of the cost thereof. The cost shall be assessed against the owner or owners of the land or building in front of the improvement or repair, and a report shall be filed with the Township Clerk. The Township Committee, after notice to the owner or owners, shall confirm the report and file it with the Tax Collector. The sidewalk assessments shall bear interest from the time of confirmation and shall be a lien on the real estate assessed and shall be collected in the same manner as taxes and other legal assessments." |
sac
Citizen
Username: Sac
Post Number: 640
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, August 1, 2003 - 10:12 pm: | |
Just because they aren't posting, I don't believe for a minute that our TC members have stopped reading this board. |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 1667
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, August 2, 2003 - 12:07 am: | |
There you go Hello and David... just like I thought, call a few local contractors for a free estimate, check a reference or two, and before you know it your sidewalks will be looking good as new.
BTW, thank you Ken, it's good to see you on-line again. |
hello
Citizen
Username: Hello
Post Number: 7
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, August 3, 2003 - 11:00 am: | |
ajc, nowhere did i say i wouldn't accept the responsibility. what i said was why aren't others accepting their responsibility.
pls don't give me any excuses about the city code guy not having time or resourcesz. the guy drives around and cites anyone with any barrier or obstruction over 4 fee high, per the fence ordinance, but he sees the sidewalks and ignores them, as do city workers everywhere.
it hurts MY property values when slackers don't maintain THEIR sidewalks. the value of a sidewalk is for a child orstroller to get from here to tere, not just from here to here.
i can't help but think the problem here is a peculiar one of fairness. some streets, and sides of streets, don't have sidewalks, so in a real way it is not fair for those of us who do to have to maintain our sidewalks while those who live across the street benefit from ours but have no obligations here.
i actually think the city should assume the obligation. having said this, i don't understand the finances here- we seem to pay pay higher taxes than other cities but the city acts like it has no money (e.g., no maintenance of orchard park's restrooms, etc). something is missing here- i'd be curious for someone to post what it is. do we have more police thanother towns? do we pay them more? something is up here. |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 1677
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, August 3, 2003 - 1:25 pm: | |
“Something is missing here- I’d be curious for someone to post what it is…”
Hello, hold on a minute. I think it would be nice if you answered a few questions yourself. First, I asked if you on Thursday if you would please explain how you know the code guy drives around and tells people to take down vine lattices over 4 feet high…
Also, where did I say you wouldn't accept the responsibility, and where did I give you any excuses about the city code guy not having time or resources? Also, what makes you think the inspector sees the sidewalks and ignores them, as do city workers everywhere?
What’s with all the accusations, questions, suggestions, and complaints? Come-on, calm down, slow down, and give a little… we’ll be more than happy to return the favor.
BTW, you should try spell check once in a while, it's a great way to think over what you're posting... |
Joan
Citizen
Username: Joancrystal
Post Number: 1827
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, August 3, 2003 - 2:11 pm: | |
Hello:
Take a little time to learn about the financial circumstances affecting Maplewood and South Orange. Then perhaps you will understand the problems under discussion here a little bit better.
The tax bill which you pay quarterly is actually three tax bills. By far, the largest is the school budget. Since we have few commercial and industrial ratables in our two towns and receive very little in State Aid to Education, most of the operating costs of running our rather large school district falls on the homeowners who pay residential property taxes. Another, sizeable, chunk of our tax burden goes towards supporting Essex County. Since we are considered to be relatively well to do communities when compared with some of our neighbors such as Newark, Irvington, Orange, and East Orange, we end up paying a higher percentage of the county costs than our relative population size would suggest. The proportion of our real property taxes which goes to municipal services, such as maintain restrooms in the town parks is very small and again the cost of municipal services is paid mostly by the homeowners. The sad fact is that the municipal budget is very tight. |
hello
Citizen
Username: Hello
Post Number: 8
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, August 3, 2003 - 5:01 pm: | |
ajc, the person i bought my house from had put up a lattice/trellis 8 feet high to obstruct a rubbish pile uphill, and was told by the code guy to take it down. and, you have another poster in here indicating his fence doesn't comply, and it's a fair chance it's also the 4 foot thing. and, i've seen the code guy driving around, by the way.
when i posted, i was well aware i could pay someone to redo my sidewalks. but, i certainly apologize for mixing your post with joan's saying the city lacked the resources to inspect them- my bad.
personally, i'd rather someone have a high fence and a beautiful sidewalk than a low fence and a bad sidewalk. it seems to me the township has willfully decided to favor the latter, though, with its seemingly bald selective enforcement of the rules. |
ajc
Citizen
Username: Ajc
Post Number: 1678
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, August 3, 2003 - 8:58 pm: | |
Hello,
No problem, however, I'd be willing to bet the code guy had no right to tell you to take down a lattice/trellis, no matter it be 8 feet or 16 feet high. On the other hand, any kind of fencing along your property line is a different animal, and we are governed there by strict ordinance.
I will agree with you that enforcing code should be handled in a more uniform manner. Anyone reporting obvious violations that they see would probably be a valuable service for the whole community. I would estimate that the majority of all code enforcement is by way of neighborhood complaints anyway.
BTW, the town probably does lack the resources to properly inspect everything it needs to. Good luck... |
hello
Citizen
Username: Hello
Post Number: 11
Registered: 7-2003
| | Posted on Monday, August 4, 2003 - 6:23 am: | |
not to sidetreack too much, the code guy was of course right that the trellis, since if was attached to the fence, was subject to the height restriction.
i'm going to try to figure out how to get the TC to address the issue of sidewalks. i think they are a public good and i think the current system has failed, self-evidently. i don't know if maplewood has tried this, but some towns have some forms of low cost financing available for things like this. |
hch
Citizen
Username: Hch
Post Number: 44
Registered: 8-2002
| | Posted on Monday, August 25, 2003 - 1:24 pm: | |
Why is the taxpayer responsible for fixing the sidewalk if a tree belonging to the town is ruining the sidewalk? |
redY67
Citizen
Username: Redy67
Post Number: 89
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, August 28, 2003 - 8:25 pm: | |
hch--I looked into this, and somehow Maplewood managed to pass a law that they are not responsible for any damage a tree causes to the sidewalk. Anywhere else in NJ if a tree causes damage, the tree owner is responsible. I have no idea how in the world anyone would allow that law to pass.
If you look under soapbox it is being discussed as well. My point is that the town should be responsible if the tree is pushing up the sidewalk. With the taxes we pay, to expect the homeowner to replace the sidewalk every few years is outrageous. Our tree is half dead, and the town refuses to remove it. They want to cut the roots out. I have two fears:
1. We cut the roots out and the tree has no support system and falls on my house.
2. We cut the roots, replace the sidewalk and in a couple of years we will have to shell out another $2000 for another sidewalk.
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