§ 6-2-2. Sidewalk construction and repair

(a) Construction and Repair Procedures.

(1) Construction and Repair Regulated. No person, whether owner, builder or contractor, shall build any new sidewalk or repair or renew, or cause to be built, repaired or renewed any existing sidewalk contrary to the provisions of this Chapter, unless by petition to the Common Council and having permission therefore granted by the Council, or upon the Common Council's own motion, or where such a change in the specifications hereinafter set forth shall be deemed in the best interests of the City.

(2) Standards. The Common Council may determine that sidewalks be constructed and establish the width, determine the material and prescribe the method of construction of standard sidewalks pursuant to this Section. The Common Council shall bid and award contracts for all sidewalk construction and reconstruction projects.

(b) Cost of Sidewalks.

(1) New Sidewalks. Sidewalks required in new subdivisions and developments shall be paid for by the land divider pursuant to Title 14 of this Code of Ordinances. New sidewalks constructed in existing areas of the City shall be paid for by adjacent property owners.

(2) Sidewalk Repair and Reconstruction. It shall be the duty of the abutting property owner to construct, reconstruct, and the duty of the abutting property owner to maintain sidewalks along or upon any street, alley, or highway in the City of Greenwood as required by the Common Council and to pay fifty percent (50%) of the cost thereof. The remaining fifty percent (50%) shall be paid by the City.

(3) Assessment a Lien. Said special assessment shall remain a lien on the premises until paid in full and shall be entered on the tax roll as a special tax as above provided and failure to pay when due shall result in the whole balance being immediately due and payable and collectible as a delinquent tax against the above described property and that all proceedings in relation to the collection, return and sale of the property for delinquent real estate taxes shall apply to such special assessment.

(c) Sidewalk Permit Required. No person shall hereafter lay, remove, replace or repair any public sidewalk within the City of Greenwood unless he/she is under contract with the City to do such work or has obtained a permit therefor from the Director of Public Works or his/her designee at least three (3) days before work is proposed to be undertaken. A Ten Dollar ($10.00) fee shall be charged for such permits. Denial of such permits may be appealed to the Common Council.

(d) Standard Specifications for Sidewalk.

(1) General. Concrete sidewalk construction shall meet the specifications and provisions set forth in this Section and shall be constructed in locations and to line and grade as established by the City. All sidewalks constructed in the City shall conform to the line and grade established by the ordinances or resolutions of the City. Where no grade has been established as ascertained by the records, the City Engineer shall prepare and report a grade for the approval of the Common Council; and, when the same has been established, the City Engineer shall stake out the sidewalk as ordered by the Common Council. No sidewalk shall be laid under the provisions of this Section until a grade therefor has been established by the Common Council.

(2) Subgrade. All earth, dirt and material shall be removed to a depth, not less than eight (8) inches, ten (10) inches across private driveways, below the grade line; and the space shall be filled with crushed stone, sand or gravel. The base shall be left four (4) inches thick after being tamped, with the stone or gravel to be not larger than one and one-half (1½) inches in diameter and to be free from dirt, dust and foreign matter. Soft, porous and unsuitable subgrade material shall be removed and replaced with sand, gravel, or other satisfactory material, and the subgrade shall be thoroughly and uniformly compacted and moistened immediately before the concrete is placed. On embankments, the subgrade shall extend at least one (1) foot beyond each edge of the sidewalk.

(3) Concrete. The minimum quantity of cement per cubic yard shall be six (6) sacks of ninety-four (94) pounds each. Concrete shall be mixed for at least one (1) minute. Gravel shall be of good quality and washed. Concrete shall test three thousand (3,000) pounds compression in twenty-eight (28) days. (Wis. Admin. Code § DOT 501).

(4) Forming. Concrete shall be placed in straight forms of wood or metal of sufficient strength to resist springing, tipping or other displacement during the process of depositing and consolidating the concrete. Concrete shall be placed in the forms on a moist subgrade, deposited just above the finished grade and consolidated and spaded sufficiently to bring the mortar to the surface and to prevent honeycombing. It shall then be struck off level with the top of the forms and finished with wooden flats. Forms shall be securely fastened, staked, braced and held firmly to required line and shall be sufficiently tight to prevent leakage of mortar, and all forms shall remain in place for twenty-four (24) hours after pour.

(5) Jointing, Floating and Finishing. Soon after screening and while the concrete is still plastic, the surface shall be floated with wood, cork or metal floats or by a finishing machine. At all places where the sidewalk intersects another sidewalk or curb-line, a one-half (½) inch expansion joint shall be placed. Transverse expansion joints of one-half (½) inch thick and four (4) inches wide and five (5) feet long or premolded material shall be located every thirty (30) feet. Sidewalks must be marked off to make blocks five (5) foot square and be at right angles to the parallel lines. Any new sidewalk adjoining an old sidewalks or a sidewalk which abuts curb and gutter shall have one-half (½) by four (4) inch expansion joints of premolded material.

(6) Slope. All forms must be approved by the Director of Public Works or his/her designee before concrete is poured. To provide adequate drainage, the sidewalk shall slope toward the curb at a minimum rate of one-half (½) inch per foot of width of sidewalk. All joints and edges shall be finished with a one-fourth (¼) inch radius edging tool. Sidewalks shall be constructed within the limits of the street, and unless otherwise specifically indicated, there shall be a one (1) foot strip of street property left between the property line and the edge of the sidewalk.

(7) Width and Thickness. Residential walks shall be a minimum of five (5) feet in width and not less than four (4) inches thick, or shall match existing sidewalk width in that block. However, in driveway approaches, the minimum sidewalk thickness shall be six (6) inches. Such sidewalks shall have a grade one (1) inch higher than the adjacent curb on the curbside of the sidewalk. All such sidewalks shall be constructed eight (8) inches from the adjacent lot line. In the case of a laydown type curb, the pitch shall be one-half (½) inch per foot from the curb in the parkway to the sidewalk with a three (3) inch minimum. Sidewalks in front of commercial or industrial establishments shall have a width as determined by the Common Council and be five (5) inches thick, except within driveway approaches where the minimum thickness shall be seven (7) inches.

(8) Finishing. The concrete shall be struck off true to grade, finished smooth and given a broom finish in transverse direction. Edges and joints shall be given a finish with a one-quarter (¼) inch radius edging tool. Dry cement shall not be spread on a wet surface to take up excess water. Finishing operations shall be delayed until water has disappeared. No tool marks shall be left on exposed surfaces. In case of rain, the walk shall be covered to protect the surface from being damaged. Walks shall be kept free from all traffic at normal temperatures for forty-eight (48) hours and in cold weather [below fifty (50) degrees F.] for ninety-six (96) hours.

(9) Curing and Drying. As soon as any of the concrete work herein before mentioned has been finished and hardened sufficiently to prevent excessive marring of the surface, it shall be cured and protected against rapid drying. Failure to comply with this requirement shall be deemed sufficient cause for suspension of the work. Curing shall be accomplished by the "Impervious Coating," "Wet Fabric" or "Paper" methods. For impervious coating or membrane curing, only those materials meeting requirements of ASTM Spec. C156-44T, "Method of Test for Efficiency of Materials for Curing Concrete" shall be used. Said specifications are hereby adopted by reference as if fully set forth herein.

(10) Cold Weather Requirements. When the temperature is less than forty (40) degrees F., all concrete placed in the forms shall have a temperature between fifty (50) degrees F. and seventy (70) degrees F. and shall meet the requirements as per Wisconsin Department of Transportation specifications for cold weather concrete.

(11) Minor Repairs. Nothing in this Section shall apply to minor repairs, the cost of which does not exceed Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00); such repairs may be made at the direction of the Director of Public Works without notice, and the cost thereof may be charged to the abutting property owner in the same manner as provided in this Section for major repairs.

(e) Repair or Replacement of Defective or Damaged Sidewalks.

(1) Pursuant to Wis. Stats. § 66.615, the Common Council may order at any time property owners to repair or remove and replace any sidewalk which is unsafe, defective or insufficient, or which is damaged by the acts of the property owner or his/her agents. If the property owner shall fail to so repair or remove and replace such sidewalk within twenty (20) days after service of the notice provided in Wis. Stats. § 66.0907, the Common Council or its designee shall repair or construct such sidewalk and the City Clerk-Treasurer shall enter the total cost thereof upon the tax roll as a special tax against said lot or parcel of land. If an emergency situation exists which is caused by a sidewalk in need of repair, the Common Council or its designee shall immediately direct the property owner to immediately make repairs. If the property owner shall fail to repair such sidewalk within the required period, the Common Council shall make the necessary repairs and the City Clerk-Treasurer shall enter the total cost thereof on the tax roll as a special tax against said parcel.

(2) The Common Council shall determine that any sidewalk which is unsafe, defective, or insufficient, be repaired or replaced with a sidewalk in accordance with this Section. The existence of any one or more of the following characteristics shall determine whether a sidewalk is defective, in need of immediate maintenance, or insufficient:

a. One (1) inch or more vertical differential at any point, between adjacent individual sidewalk sections.

b. One and one-fourth (1¼) inch horizontal distance between adjacent individual sidewalk sections.

c. Deterioration to the surface on any one single section of sidewalk to a vertical depth of one (1) inch or more.

d. Contains grass or other vegetation in cracks which is one (1) inch or more in height.

(f) Illegal Sidewalks. No sidewalk which shall be constructed contrary to the provisions of this Section shall be considered a legal sidewalk and the same may be ordered to be replaced with a legal sidewalk and with one that is in conformity with this Section, the same as if no sidewalk whatever had been built or constructed in the place where any such sidewalk is located.

refstatelaw

Sidewalks generally, Wis. Stats. § 66.0907.