The Ordinance Committee of the New Canaan Town Council met on Wednesday, July 2, to review current Town of New Canaan Code references – Chapter 54 – which assign responsibility for sidewalks to the abutting property owner. Town Attorney Christopher Jarboe noted that the Code does not specifically assign liablity to the abutting property owners. Case law in this regard can be confusing, he said. He also remarked that the Town of Westport Code – Chapter 128 – makes a distinction between “business use” – the abutting properties in the business zone – and, presumably, abutting homeowners.
Discussion followed on the Code references to billing the abutting property owners for the cost of installing the sidewalk. Frank DeNicola, Director of Public Works, said that this has occasionally been done on a case by case basis.
Most of the Council members on the committee seemed inclined to relieve abutting homeowners from the responsibility for paying for sidewalk cost, for maintaining the sidewalks and for any snow shoveling implied by the phrase “safe passageway.” The committee asked the Town Attorney to draft a replacement ordinance that would remove homeowner responsibility but leave open the option for the Town to bill businesses in the downtown area for associated costs of maintenance. The committee will meet again to review the draft replacement ordinance at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, July 18, and plan to report to the Town Council later that evening.
Homeowners who spoke at the meeting included several who had not previously voiced their opinion. All were opposed to having homeowners assume responsiblity and potential liability for the new sidewalks.
Tags: liability, main street, New Canaan, responsibility, sidewalks, snow removal, Town Code
Main St. New Canaan Property Owners 
July 10, 2008 at 4:09 pm |
There is an article in today’s (10 July) Advertiser, in which Richard White is quoted reading from the recommended Town Code changes: “Subject to available resources, the Town shall clear all snow for all sidewalks abutting Town-owned property…and other residential areas, AS RESOURCES PERMIT.” (caps added by this writer)
WELL–it was painfully obvious in November 2006 at the Town Council hearing @ existing sidewalks that the Town lacks the resources to attend to what we already have, so this “Subject to available resources…” is a wonderful escape clause for the Town. They will never have sufficient resources–so we’ll always be on the hook for these new sidewalks.