Montague Municipal Code Ch. 12.04 Streets, Sidewalks and Public Places

SIDEWALK CONSTRUCTION*

Sections:

• 12.04.010 Warranty of contractor.

• 12.04.020 Bond of contractor.

• 12.04.030 Grades.

• 12.04.040 Specifications generally.

• 12.04.050 Concrete, cement and finish. 12.04.060 Curbs.

• 12.04.070 Width and location.

• 12.04.080 Existing sidewalks.

• 12.04.090 Sidewalk required. 12.04.100 Deferral agreements.

*** Editor’s note:** Ord. 12-03, adopted June 7, 2012, amended Ch. 12.04 in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former Ch. 12.04, §§ 12.04.010—12.04.080, pertained to similar subject matter and derived from: Ord. 17, §§ 1—8, 1913.

The contractor or builder, in pursuance of the provisions of this chapter, shall warrant that the sidewalk to be laid under these specifications shall be first class in every particular and shall be so skillfully constructed and of such material that it will endure ordinary use for a period of two years from the date of its acceptance by the city, and will resist the extremes of wet and dry and hot and cold weather without breaking, cracking, scurfing, or becoming deteriorated or uneven on the surface and that if at any time during the two-year period, the sidewalk or any portion thereof shall break, crack, scurf or become deteriorated or uneven on the surface or become defective, in any other way, on account of faulty construction or unsuitable material, the contractor or builder shall without cost to the city or property holder, on ten days' written notice from the board, immediately repair such defects. (Ord. 12-03, 2012)

It is hereby made the duty of all contractors or builders to furnish a bond in such sum as may be designated by the board of trustees for the faithful performance of all work done under this chapter, and before any contractor or builder undertakes to do any work as provided under this chapter, he shall first obtain a permit from the city council, or the mayor, and before such permit is issued, such bond as named in this section shall be given with good and sufficient sureties for the faithful performance of such work as such contractor may do and perform under this chapter. (Ord. 12-03, 2012)

All grades shall be established and paid for by the city council. (Ord. 12-03, 2012)

All cement sidewalks constructed in the town after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter shall be made according to the following specifications and under the direction and supervision and to the satisfaction of the street superintendent:

A. The ground base for such sidewalks shall be made solid and permanent. When excavations or fills are made, all wood and other materials which are liable to decompose must be removed.

B. Fills must be tamped in layers of at all points where water is liable to accumulate under drains must be laid to the curb drain or gutter.

C. All forms shall be of lumber, free from warp, not less than one and three-quarter inches in thickness, dressed on one edge and two sides. All mortar and dirt shall be removed from forms that have been previously used.

D. The form for the walk shall be well staked and their upper edges shall conform to the finished grade of the walk, which shall have a rise from the curb of one-quarter of an inch per foot, unless otherwise ordered by the city engineer.

E. The forms for the curb shall be placed on both inside and outside except when the sidewalk extends to the inside line of the curb, in which case the sidewalk and curb shall be built as one. They shall be so staked and braced that the concrete can be thoroughly tamped. (Ord. 12-03, 2012)

A. The first or lower layer of concrete shall be not less than three and one-quarter inches in thickness, and up to within three-quarters of an inch of grade after thorough tamping. It shall be formed of a good, merchantable quality of portland cement mixed with clean gravel, which has been screened through a screen of two-inch mesh, and clean sand (the sand and gravel in about equal parts), entirely free from dirt, in the proportion of one part of cement measured in the original package to seven parts of sand and gravel. The cement, sand and gravel are to be thoroughly mixed dry until the mass is of an even color, and water added thereafter by sprinkling, the mixing to be continued until every particle of sand and gravel is coated with cement, and the mass is sufficiently wet. All is to be put in place and finished before the cement has taken the initial set.

B. The top layer of three-quarters of an inch shall be composed of good merchantable portland cement and fine screened gravel mixed in the proportion of one part cement measured in the original package to one and one-half parts of screened gravel. These are to be thoroughly mixed dry until the mass is of an even color, then to be sprinkled with water and again mixed so that the gravel particles are all coated with cement.

C. The top layer shall be trowelled to a plain, smooth and even surface on the established grade and line as given by the city engineer, and to be lined into blocks not to exceed nine square feet in area.

D. The work when completed shall be properly protected from sun, frost and travel or use until the surface is hard. (Ord. 12-03, 2012)

Curbs must be built with all sidewalks and shall be at least fourteen inches deep and as much deeper as required to get a suitable foundation, six inches in width at the top, perpendicular at the back and batter out in front at the rate of one and one-half inches in one foot, and shall be rounded on the upper edges to a radius of one inch. The inside core of the curb shall be composed of concrete mixed as specified in this chapter for sidewalks and placed in forms so as to be up to within three-quarters of an inch of grade after tamping. The top layer of three-quarters of an inch shall be composed of cement and gravel as specified in this chapter for sidewalks. The top layer shall be finished and marked into blocks not to exceed six feet in length. After the concrete core has set sufficiently hard, the forms shall be removed and the front side of the curb shall be given a coat of plaster three-eighths of an inch in thickness, which shall be trowelled smooth or floated to an even surface and marked into blocks, to correspond with the markings in the top layer of the curb. (Ord. 12-03, 2012)

A. All sidewalks shall be at least five feet wide and all sidewalks eight feet wide or less shall be placed so that the centerline thereof will be four feet from and parallel to the property line.

B. All curbs not built in contact with the sidewalk shall be placed so that the outside edge will be ten feet from and parallel to the property line. (Ord. 12-03, 2012)

All concrete sidewalks which have been laid before the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, with or without the order of the city council, but with its permission, which are found by the council to be in perfect condition, of full depth, well seasoned and unimpaired or broken, and which conform generally with these specifications, may, by order entered upon the minutes of the council, remain and be excepted from any work ordered by the council after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, provided that they are on the official grade. (Ord. 12-03, 2012)

Any person who constructs or causes to be constructed any building or dwelling or causes any major building improvements on any dedicated street in the city shall construct sidewalk in accordance with this chapter along dedicated street abutting the property upon which a building or dwelling is constructed. The determination for the need of the sidewalk will be made by the city engineer/public works supervisor at the time of the issuance of the building permit. The city engineer/public works supervisor shall put an endorsement on the building permit requiring the installation of sidewalk if such are found necessary. (Ord. 12-03, 2012)

If the city council finds, upon recommendation by the city engineer/public works supervisor, that construction of sidewalks would be better done at the time when similar improvements on adjacent property are being made, the city council may allow the property owner to enter into a deferral agreement which will require the property owner, or the property owner's successor in interest to make the required improvements at a later time as may be directed by the city. The deferral agreement shall be recorded and constitute a continuing obligation running with the land. (Ord. 12-03, 2012)