The Borough of Edgewater NJ REQUIRES all homeowners to fix their sidewalks! See below.
Chapter 380 Section 34 (ecode360.com)
“A.
The Borough will be responsible only for repair and maintenance of sidewalks when a sidewalk is damaged by Borough trees existing or planted in the public right-of-way; provided, however, that any person damaging a sidewalk will be responsible for the replacement thereof which shall be in the form of a new sidewalk and constructed with material identical to the sidewalk that was damaged. The party responsible for the replacement of such sidewalk shall obtain all required permits from the Borough Building Department.
B.
The Borough will be responsible to repair or replace a sidewalk constructed with brick pavers if such repair or replacement is attributable to the initial construction of such sidewalk. Any person damaging a brick paver sidewalk will be responsible for its replacement, and it shall be constructed with brick pavers and material identical to the sidewalk which was damaged. The party responsible for the replacement of such sidewalk shall obtain all required permits from the Borough Building Department.
C.
Except as provided in Subsections A and B of this section, the maintenance of all sidewalks shall be the responsibility of the adjoining property owner, who will be responsible for maintaining the sidewalk in a safe condition so as to permit use and access by the general public in a safe and secure manner.
D.
If the sidewalk is deemed to be in an unsafe condition, the Borough will give notice to the adjoining property owner, who will then have a period of 30 business days within which to repair the sidewalk. Such property owner shall be responsible to obtain all necessary permits from the Borough Building Department. Failure to comply with an order or directive regarding the repair of a sidewalk will subject the property owner to the issuance of a summons. In addition, the Borough will have the right to have the sidewalk repaired and to charge the property owner for the cost thereof, plus reasonable expenses, which may be imposed as a lien on the property and enforced in the same manner as nonpayment of real estate taxes.”
Sidewalk repair as well as maintenance in the State of New Jersey is the duty of the abutting house proprietor. Many house proprietors are not aware of this ordinance and they assume that their city or state is responsible for repairing damaged sidewalks. In most cases, the home owner will hire contractors to make the repair or their municipality will hire the work but will charge the home proprietor for 100% of the job cost. In 2012, the borough of Highland Park in New Jersey initiated a program that required estate proprietors to repair broken sidewalks in front of their homes. Your city or borough can be next!
A lawsuit waiting to happen…
Home proprietors in Edgewater are liable for upholding the sidewalks adjacent to their property. When they fail to effectively maintain their sidewalks, they become responsible for the injuries that pedestrians experience. These pedestrians that injure themselves by cause of your damaged sidewalk have the legal right to sue you since you are the estate propriety. There are also dozens of lawyers that love to follow through with these types of premise liability cases, which will amount to a lot of money down the road. A lot of property owners in the State of New Jersey have been taken to court because of their laxity or the lack of understanding in regards to sidewalks and responsibility.
Your municipality or borough may also send you a notice requiring you to repair your sidewalk. Failure to conform within a certain time frame will result in fines. Spare yourself a lawsuit and fines by calling a sidewalk repair company now!
Types of Sidewalk Defects
There are many types of defective sidewalks that can prove dangerous for Edgewater pedestrians.
- Tree roots: When sidewalks go too long without repair, tree roots may cause them to become uneven.
- Collapsed sidewalks: Severely damaged sidewalks may have large parts caved in or separated from the rest of the walkway. This type of a situation certainly poses a serious fall hazard.
- Trip hazards: It is easy to trip and fall on large cracks that cut across poorly maintained sidewalks.
- Improper slope: Uneven sidewalks may have large portions that do not line up with the rest of the walkway.
- Patchwork: In an effort to save money on repairs, it is common to see inadequate patchwork jobs on specific locations that make the sidewalk surface uneven.
- Missing cobblestones and bricks: It is necessary to properly maintain walkways that are not made from concrete to ensure the safety of pedestrians.
Edgewater NJ Sidewalk Repair Contractors
Hiring a contractor to fix your defective sidewalk is the best solution to avoid any lawsuits or fines from your municipality. HOLESSolutions, a Clifton based infrastructure repair company, specializes in sidewalk repair. With plenty of crews working throughout Northern New Jersey, HOLESSolutions is highly capable of re-constructing your sidewalk within a few hours which will diminish liability and refine the look of your home’s aesthetics vastly. Just a quick call to HOLESSolutions will end the daily gamble you’re taking. Available 24 hours a day/7 days a week, you can dial 973-779-4653 to get your sidewalk fixed professionally!