Today Town Attorney Christopher Jarboe filed the proposed changes to Chapter 54 of the New Canaan Town Code with the Town Clerk. Mr. Jarboe presented the changes to the Town Council Ordinance Committee last week, and the committee approved them with minor amendments. At the Town Council meeting which followed, Ordinance Committee Chairman Richard White described the committee’s two meetings and the philosophy which guided the ordinance changes which will be proposed. He said he would present the proposed ordinance changes to the Council in September and that there would be a public hearing in September. Since the Ordinance Committee presentation was on the agenda, we admit to being a bit puzzled that the full Town Council did not get a peek at the proposed changes and have an opportunity to comment publicly.
For abutting property owners living in residential zones, and for those living in one or two-family dwellings in the business/retail zones, the proposed changes will remove responsibility for sidewalk maintenance and safe passageway. Good news.
Paragraphs relating to the cost of sidewalk construction, maintenance and repair have also been revised to exclude passing along these costs to abutting property owners when the sidewalks are installed on the Town’s initiative. If the sidewalks are installed at the request of abutting property owners, they will pay these costs.
For businesses downtown there are proposed additions which may raise some red flags. The committee chose to follow Westport’s lead and recoup some of the the Town’s cost of sidewalk upkeep downtown. There is a detailed new section which transfers responsibility for snow removal and liability to the “owner or person in possession and control of land abutting a public sidewalk” in the retail or business zones. There is also a new paragraph prohibiting sidewalk obstructions without written permission from the Board of Selectmen. (“Examples of such obstructions include, without limitation, benches chairs, tables, planters, signs, and retail or commercial displays.”)
We appreciate that the committee responded to homeowner concerns and look forward to September’s public hearing. We do suspect there may be some new faces in attendance. Hopefully any concerns about the new business district proposals will not derail the Council’s stated intent to relieve homeowners’ responsibilities for new sidewalks.
Tags: liability, main street, New Canaan, responsibility, sidewalks, snow removal, Town Code
