Grass Valley Municipal Code Ch. 12.08 Street and Sidewalk Construction and Repair

A. "Sidewalk zone" shall mean the area between a private property line and the street line, which area may include, without limitation, the sidewalk itself, a planting strip, and any curbing which is integral to the sidewalk, bulkheads, retaining walls or other works for the protection of any sidewalk or planting strip. For the purpose of this definition, "street line" shall mean the outer lip of the curb gutter pan or, if curb does not have a gutter pan, the outer edge of the face of the curb on the vehicle travel lane side. As utilized herein, the term "sidewalk zone" shall not include dirt pathways over completely unimproved areas.

B. "Owner" includes without limitation, the fee owner(s) of real property, or their agent(s).

(Ord. No. 711, § 1, 11-10-2009)

It is the purpose and intent of Sections 12.08.020, 12.08.030, 12.08.070 and 12.08.080 to require a building permittee or parking facility permittee to dedicate property for street widening purposes and sidewalk purposes and to improve such dedicated property in accordance with the requirements and standards set forth in this section. The council finds and determines that the regulations set forth in such sections are both reasonable and necessary for the following reasons:

A. That the population growth and commercial growth of the Grass Valley area during the past five years has been accompanied by an increase in the number of vehicles used on the streets within the city with resulting street and highway deficiencies, and

B. That master plans for the widening and improvement of streets within the city have been prepared but that the lack of public funds for the implementation of such plans has prevented the attainment of goals set forth therein and will prevent their attainment for decades in the future, and

C. That the improvement and development of property generate an increase of traffic on streets abutting upon such property and that the widening and improvement of such streets confer a direct benefit upon the owners and users of the developed property.

(Prior code § 21-11)

A. No building or structure shall be erected or enlarged, and no building permit shall be issued therefor on any lot if such lot abuts on a dedicated street or streets unless:

1. The one-half of the street located on the same side of its centerline as the lot has been dedicated and improved for the full street frontage of the lot so as to meet the dedication and improvement standards for such street and sidewalk as are provided in a resolution by the city council and other applicable provisions of this chapter;

2. Such dedications and improvements have been assured to the satisfaction of the city engineer.

B. A building permit may be issued for new construction without first improving such dedicated property, if the permittee enters into a secured agreement with the city to perform such improvements within one year from the date of the building permit;

C. The dedication and improvement requirements of this chapter shall also apply to the construction or alteration of all off-street parking areas, off-street loading or unloading areas, off-street pickup and delivery areas, and storage, sale, rental or service areas which are subject to the city's zoning ordinance;

D. As used in this chapter, the word "lot" means one or more individual lots or parcels of record which have been combined into a single lot or parcel for purposes of development, construction or improvement as a single unit of land.

(Prior code § 21-12)

Dedication requirements for streets and sidewalk improvements shall be subject to the following conditions:

A. The maximum area of land required to be so dedicated shall not exceed twenty-five percent of the area of any such lot as such lot existed on the effective date. In no event shall such dedication reduce the lot below the minimum lot size required within its zone;

B. No such dedication shall be required with respect to those portions of such a lot presently occupied by a building which was existing on the effective date and which will continue to exist following the completion of the work proposed in the building permit;

C. No additional improvement shall be required on such a lot where complete roadway, curb, gutter and sidewalk improvements exist within the present dedication contiguous thereto; provided, however, required additional dedications for future street construction shall be made;

D. No building or structure shall be erected on any such lot after the effective date within the area of dedication required by this chapter.

(Prior code § 21-13)

As set forth in California Streets and Highways Code Section 5610, the owner of real property adjacent to or fronting on any portion of a sidewalk zone shall repair and maintain such sidewalk zone in a safe and nondangerous condition at the owner's cost and expense. The owner shall have the primary and exclusive duty to perform such repair and maintenance, whether or not the city has notified the owner of the need for such repair or maintenance or has performed similar maintenance or repairs in the past. The duty to repair shall include the repair of damage caused by any force(s) including, without limitation, damage caused by trees planted within the public right-of-way or adjacent private property. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the owner believes that damage to the sidewalk zone has been caused by a tree planted by the city, the owner shall so notify the city engineer in writing and in the event that the city engineer, or his designee, determines that all or a portion of the damage to the sidewalk zone was caused by a tree planted by the city, the city shall repair the damage to the sidewalk zone caused solely by the city-planted tree, provided, however, that the city's repair of such damage does not alter or effect the provisions of Section 12.08.050 hereof.

Maintenance and repair of sidewalk zones shall include, but not be limited to, maintenance and repair of surfaces including grinding, replacement of sidewalks, repair and maintenance of curbs and gutters which are an integral part of the sidewalk, removal of weeds and/or debris, tree root pruning and installing root barriers, trimming of shrubs and/or groundcover.

(Prior code § 21-5; Ord. No. 711, § 2, 11-10-2009)

Any owner required by Section 12.08.040 to repair and maintain any portion of a sidewalk zone shall owe a duty to members of the general public, including travelers on the sidewalk zone, to keep and maintain the sidewalk zone in a safe and nondangerous condition. If any person suffers personal injury or damage to property, due to the failure of any owner to maintain any sidewalk zone in a nondangerous condition as required by Section 12.08.040, the owner shall be liable to such person for the resulting injury and/or damages.

(Ord. 459 § 29, 1991; prior code § 21-6; Ord. No. 711, § 3, 11-10-2009)

A. When the city engineer has actual knowledge that any portion of any sidewalk zone is so out of repair or is in such condition as to endanger persons or property passing thereon or as to interfere with the public use thereof, the city engineer is authorized to notify the owner in writing, to be delivered to such owner, requiring such owner to repair, reconstruct or improve forthwith, in accordance with city construction standards and to the extent as the city engineer may determine, such that the sidewalk zone is restored to a safe and nondangerous condition.

B. Within the time specified in the notice to complete repairs, the owner shall cause to commence such repair, reconstruction, maintenance, or improvement as identified in the notice, and shall diligently pursue to completion restoring the sidewalk zone to a safe and nondangerous condition. The owner shall obtain such permits as may be required by the city, including, without limitation, an encroachment permit, prior to undertaking or causing the repair of the sidewalk zone, provided, however, that the city council hereby waives the encroachment permit fee in connection with the repair and maintenance of sidewalk zones.

C. As part of waiving the encroachment permit fee in connection with the repair and maintenance of sidewalk zones, the city shall upon request be provided city standard plans for nonstructural sidewalk repair/maintenance at no cost to the owner; if required, the owner shall hire an appropriate licensed contractor of their own choice; the cost of the repair shall be the sole responsibility of the owner; and the city will perform an inspection as required ensuring that the repair/maintenance is done in accordance with city requirements at no expense to the owner.

(Prior code § 21-7; Ord. No. 711, § 4, 11-10-2009)

Notice to repair may be given by delivering a written notice personally to the owner of the property adjacent to the sidewalk zone or by mailing written notice, postage prepaid, to the owner thereof at last known address as appears on the Nevada County Tax Rolls.

(Ord. No. 711, § 5, 11-10-2009)

Upon failure of the owner of the property adjacent to the sidewalk zone to construct or repair the sidewalk after notice given pursuant to this chapter, the city engineer shall cause such repair, reconstruction or improvement to be made, and any and all costs necessarily expended by the city in making such repair, reconstruction, maintenance or improvement shall be reimbursed to the city.

In addition to any other remedy provided in the Grass Valley Municipal Code, the sum of all costs expended to repair the sidewalk zone by the city in accordance with the notice given to the owner pursuant to this chapter shall be charged against the property on which furnished and against the owner of record thereof and shall be a lien against the property where furnished, and any steps authorized by law may be taken by the city to enforce payment of such lien. No change of ownership or occupation shall in any way affect the application of this section. The city will attempt to collect costs from the owner, if such attempts fail, the city council may authorize the placement of such delinquent costs on the Nevada County Tax Roll.

(Ord. No. 711, § 6, 11-10-2009)

A. The provisions of this chapter relating to construction of sidewalks shall only apply to property in residential use in blocks where the frontage of existing sidewalks, when added to the frontage of unimproved properties, constitutes more than fifty percent of the front footage of the block where the property is located. The city engineer may, upon application of a property owner affected by the provisions in this section, waive and/or modify the requirements for installation of sidewalks because of unusual circumstances or hardship. Such decision of the city engineer may be appealed to the city council, consistent with the procedures established in the city's improvement standards.

B. The term "block" as used in this section means property facing one side of any street between an intersecting street and the next intersecting street or between an intersection street and the end of a street which terminates in other than an intersection. The term "unimproved property" means parcels of property not devoted by means of buildings or facilities to residential, commercial, or accessory uses.

C. The street and sidewalk dedication and construction provisions of this chapter shall not apply to building permits for additions and accessory buildings incidental to a residential building existing on a lot if such additions and accessory buildings have less than three hundred square feet as a total cumulative floor area.

(Prior code § 21-14; Ord. No. 711, § 7, 11-10-2009)

It shall be a violation of this chapter for any owner to fail to perform the duties and obligations established by Section 12.08.040 or to perform such duties and obligations in a negligent manner.

(Ord. No. 711, § 8, 11-10-2009)

Editor's note— Section 8 of Ord. No. 711 adopted Nov. 10, 2009, amended § 12.08.080 in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former § 12.08.080 pertained to exceptions and derived from prior code § 21-15.

Editor's note— Section 9 of Ord. No. 711, adopted Nov. 10, 2009, repealed § 12.08.090, which pertained to the Municipal Improvement Act of 1913, and derived from Ord. 506, § 1, 1993.

Editor's note— Section 9 of Ord. No. 711, adopted Nov. 10, 2009, repealed § 12.08.100, which pertained to the modification of Section 10010 and derived from Ord. 506, § 2, 1993.

Editor's note— Section 9 of Ord. No. 711, adopted Nov. 10, 2009, repealed § 12.08.110, which pertained to acquisition of improvement not yet complete, costs and expenses, Municipal Improvement Act of 1913, and derived from Ord. 506, § 3, 1993.