Hereafter it shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation in the city to construct or cause to be constructed, repaired, altered, removed or replaced any sidewalk or other permanent walk in the parking of any street in the city without first having secured a permit therefor as provided by this article. Application for any such permit shall be made to the city clerk in writing and shall give the description of the property along which the walk or work is proposed to be done, the width of the walk and location with reference to the property line and the curb line and the specifications and materials proposed to be used for such work.
(Code 1962, 18-101)
All sidewalks hereafter constructed or reconstructed in the city shall be built on the grade established by the city. The city, at its own expense, shall bring that portion of any street right-of-way upon which a sidewalk is to be constructed to grade at the time the governing body orders the sidewalk to be constructed (or reconstructed). It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to construct or reconstruct any sidewalk on other than the grade established by the city.
(Code 1962, 18-102)
All standard sidewalks shall be not less than four feet wide in any residential district of the city and shall extend from property line to curb line in the business district of the city. However, where residential sidewalks to be connected to are wider than four feet the new sidewalk shall be of the same width but shall not be required to be over 56 inches in width. Sidewalks constructed in the residential district of the city shall be located not closer than 16 inches to the lot line of adjacent property fronting on the street on which located. Curb sidewalks where permitted may be located on any street adjacent to the curb as hereafter provided and such sidewalks shall be not less than four feet wide.
(Code 1962, 18-103)
All sidewalks hereafter constructed or reconstructed in the city shall be constructed, repaired or reconstructed in accordance with standard plans and specifications adopted by the governing body for the purpose of reference. Copies of the standard plans and specifications so adopted shall be kept on file in the office of the city clerk and shall be made available to any applicant upon the issuance of a permit for sidewalk construction in the city. All sidewalks shall be one-course monolithic construction and tamped and struck off with a template and floated with a wooden float until the surface has a true contour. The surface shall be inclined from the property line side of the walk toward the curb line at a grade of one-eighth inch to the linear foot except where impracticable. The sidewalk surface shall be float-finished. A one-half inch expansion joint shall be provided every 50 feet with a variation of not more than 10 feet either way. Expansion joints of one-half inch shall be provided between the sidewalk edge and the curb or any other permanent or solid structure along such sidewalk. The space in each such expansion joint shall be filled by suitable premolded strips of bituminous filled fiber, one-half inch thick. All sidewalks hereafter constructed or reconstructed in the city shall be at least four inches thick. Sidewalks constructed or reconstructed at driveway entrances shall be not less than six inches thick in residential districts and not less than seven inches thick in business districts of the city.
(Code 1962, 18-105; Code 1985, 13-105)
All sidewalks ordered to be constructed, reconstructed or repaired by the governing body shall be constructed, reconstructed or repaired under the supervision of the city manager or director of public works. Upon the completion of such work, the same shall be inspected and approved, or the work may be disapproved and rejected if not performed in accordance with the requirements of this article.
(Code 1962, 18-106; Code 1985, 13-106)
When a petition signed by not less than 51 % of abutting property owners in the block where sidewalks are proposed to be constructed praying for the construction of a sidewalk or sidewalks in such block is filed with the city clerk, the governing body may in its discretion, by resolution, order such sidewalk or sidewalks constructed as provided by law and this article.
(Code 1962, 18-107; Code 1985, 13-107)
When any sidewalk in the opinion of the governing body, becomes inadequate or unsafe for travel thereon, the governing body may adopt a resolution condemning such walk and ordering the construction of a new walk in the place of the walk condemned.
(Code 1962, 18-108; Code 1985, 13-108)
The resolution, heretofore authorized, for the construction or reconstruction of a sidewalk shall give the owner of the abutting property not less than 30 days nor more than 60 days after its publication in which to construct or cause to be constructed or reconstructed the sidewalks at his or her own expense. Such resolution shall be published, once in the official city paper. If the sidewalk is not constructed by the property owner, the governing body shall cause the work to be done by contract.
(Code 1962, 18-109; Code 1985, 13-109)
Nothing in this article shall prohibit the owner of property abutting on a street who desires to construct or reconstruct a sidewalk from doing so without a petition or condemning resolution, if he or she does so at his or her own expense and in accordance with the standard plans and specifications and in accordance with other requirements of this article. If such property owner desires the walk to be constructed or reconstructed by the city and an assessment levied as provided in other cases, he or she shall file a request with the governing body and it may, in its discretion, provide for the construction or reconstruction of the sidewalks in the same manner as in other cases where citizens or taxpayers file petitions.
(Code 1962, 18-110; Code 1985, 13-110)
It shall be the duty of the owner of the abutting property to keep the sidewalk in repair, but the city manager may after giving five days' notice to the owner or his or her agent, if known, of the necessity therefor, and without notice if the lot or piece of land is unoccupied, make all necessary repairs at any time. Repairs made by the city hereunder may be made by force account or by contract and an account of the cost thereof shall be kept and reported to the governing body. The governing body shall by ordinance levy a special assessment against the lot or piece of land abutting on the sidewalk so repaired for the cost of repairs, and if the abutting property owner does not pay the assessment within 30 days upon the city clerk mailing to him or her or his or her agent, if known, a printed or written notice of the amount of the cost of such repair, the full amount shall be certified by the city clerk to the county clerk to be put on the tax rolls for collection like other taxes. The temporary financing of the cost of repairs may be borne by the city out of the fund for maintaining streets or out of the general operating fund.
(Code 1962, 18-111; Code 1985, 13-111)
The costs of all sidewalks shall be assessed against the owner of the property abutting on the sidewalk, in the case of construction or reconstruction by the city. Where a sidewalk is condemned and a new sidewalk constructed by the city, the materials of the old sidewalk shall be the property of the city. In those cases where the property owner builds such new sidewalks and pays for the same without any assessment being made, the materials of the old sidewalk shall be the property of the owner and in such cases he or she shall remove the old material from the street.
(Code 1962, 18-112; Code 1985, 13-112)
In all cases where a sidewalk or sidewalks are constructed or reconstructed by the city and where special assessment must be levied for the expense thereof, the governing body shall levy as assessment against the lot, or piece of ground chargeable therefor, by ordinance, and the property owner shall have 30 days after the publication of the ordinance within which to make full payment of the assessment. The city clerk shall mail a notice not less than 15 days prior to the end of the 30 days to the owner of the property as shown on the records of the register of deeds, and failure of the owner to receive the notice shall not affect the validity of the assessment. The sidewalk assessment may be levied to be paid in one installment or in not more than five installments at the discretion of the governing body as provided by law. If the assessment is levied in one installment, the cost of construction or reconstruction of sidewalks under the provisions of this article may be financed, until the assessment is paid, out of the fund provided for the maintenance of streets if such cost has been budgeted as an expense of such fund. When the assessment and the interest thereon, at the rate of four percent, are paid the same shall be credited to such fund. If the assessment is levied to be paid in excess of one and not more than five installments, the cost of such financing shall be by the issuance of sidewalk scrip or sidewalk bonds as provided by law.
(Code 1962, 18-113; Code 1985, 13-113)
The cost of constructing, reconstructing, and repairing all sidewalks abutting on lots and pieces of land belonging to the city or to the state or to the United States, and that portion of the sidewalk extending from the projected property line to the curb and which does not abut on and which is not in front of or alongside of any lot or piece of land, shall be paid for by the city unless the state or the United States shall pay the cost of the sidewalks abutting on property owned by the state or the United States, and may be paid for out of the fund provided for the maintenance of streets or general improvement fund or by the issuance of scrip or bonds and the levying of taxes to pay such scrip or bonds.
(Code 1962, 18-114; Code 1985, 13-114)
In any case where the reconstruction or construction of a sidewalk is required to be done by contract as provided in section 13-109, the governing body may require the contractor to give a bond for the faithful performance of the contract and for the construction of the sidewalk in accordance with the plans and specifications, laws of the city and the laws of Kansas, and for all contracts exceeding $100.00 entered into with the city for any such purpose a statutory lien bond shall be furnished.
(Code 1962 18-115; Code 1985, 13-115)
It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to construct or reconstruct any sidewalk or other walk in any street right-of-way in the city, unless such sidewalk shall conform to the ordinance or resolution, if any, ordering such sidewalk constructed or reconstructed and to the specifications therefor and according to all other applicable provisions of this article. Any person, firm or corporation who shall construct a sidewalk or other such walk structure which shall not conform to the ordinance or resolution, if any, ordering any sidewalk constructed or reconstructed, and to the specifications therefor, and on the established grade, all as provided by this article shall be deemed guilty of a violation thereof. Any sidewalk built without an order and which shall not be constructed or reconstructed as provided herein may be torn out and reconstructed and the cost thereof assessed against the abutting property.
(Code 1962, 18-116; Code 1985, 13-116)