HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrd 140 - sidewalks
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ORDINANCE NO. /,JO .
AN ORDINANCE PROVIDlllG FOm THE CONSTRUCTION, RECON~
STRUCTION, REPEAIR, OR BRINGING TO GRADE OF SIDE-
WAl:~ AT THE EXPENSE OF ADJACENT AND ABUTTING PRO-
PERTY O~~ERS; PROVIDING'T}ill PROCEDURE WITH REFER-
ENCE THERETO; PROVIDING THAT THE COST THEREOF SHALL
GDNSTITUTE A PERSO NAL LIABILITY AGAINST mUCH OWNER
MqD A LIEN ON SUCH PROPERTY; PROVIDING FOR THE IN-
STITUTION OF SUIT, FOR ATTORNEYS' FEES M{D OTHER
EXPENSES; PROVIDING THAT ALL ORDINANCES AND PARTS
OF ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT WITH THIS ORDINANCE ARE
REPEALED; PROVIDING THAT IF PARTS OF THIS ORDn~ANCE
ARE HELD TO BE VOID OR m~CONSTITUTIONAL IT SHALL
NOT AFFECT OT}illR PARTS OF THE ORDINANCE; AND, DE-
CLARING AN EMERGENCY.
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BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE CITY OF
WEST UNIVERSITY PLACE, TEXAS:
SAr. t,i ()n 1 9
It shall be and it is hereby made the duty of every
owner of real estate within the corporate limits of the city
of ~vest University Place, Te.aas, abutting on any public street
in such city, in front of whicn real estate or along'vfuich LJ
street the Board of Commissioners of the City may order the 1--
construction, reconstruction, repair or bringing to grade of
sidewalks, to construct, reconstruct or rep~r the same or
bring the same to grade, as the case may be, in accordance
with the terms of said order.
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Whenever it shall be found necessary by the Board of
Commissioners that sidewalks be constructed, reconstructed or
repaired or brought to grade along or in front of any real es-
tate abutting upon any public street in the City of West Uni-
versity Place, the board of commissioners shall designate the
lot or lots, block or blocks, street or streets or community
in which said work is deemed necessary, and shall order the
construction, reconstruction, repair or regrading of said side-
walks.
Section 3.
The City's hngineer shall prescribe the width, kind,
character and type of materials to be used, specifications
and the line and grade of such sidewalks, all of V\hich s,hall
be incorporated as a part of the order thereof.
Sec tion 4.
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After sidewalks have been completed they must be pro-
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teeted from injury by keeping tEaffic off for at least five
days, and from the sun by a covering oE sand, boards, build-
ing paper or canvas, and must be sprinkled daily for at least
two days after completion.
Section 5.
All such work shall be under the direction and super-
vlslonof the City's Engineer. It shall not be comsidered as
completed until accepted by such Engineer in writing as com-
pleted. Before such acceptance 'by the City's Engineer, it
shall have been completed in accordance with such order and
the provisions thereof and shall be satisfactory to him. In
order that sidewalks fulfill the condition of being satisfac-
tory to the City's Engineer no obstruction shall project over,
across or upon such sidewalk or be left below the surface there-
of. '
Section 6.
When the Board of Gommissioners of the Ci ty of West
University Place shall have ordered the construction, recon-
struction, repairing or regrading of sidewalks and has de-
signated the location thereof, it shall be the duty of the
Mayor of such City to serve notice that such sidewalks must
be laid out by the owners of the abutting property. 'The no-
tice herein prOVided for shall show the width, kind, charac-
ter and type of materials to be used, specifications and the
line and grade of such sidewalks. Such notice shall be suff-
icient if given to the proper owner or owners in any one of
the methods hereafter indica ted:
(1)
The no tice may be served by an officer of the City
of West University Place designated by the Mayor
for that pUl"pose and service may be made by de-
livering a copy thereof to the o~mer of the abutt-
ing property, or to any tenant of the owner living
on the particular real estate included in tbe order,
or to any person living on such property wi thout the
necessfuty of showing or establishing that he or she
is a tenant of such owner.
(2)
If said property is unoccupied and the owner or
his authorized agent is unknown, then notice may
be given by posting a copy thereof upon the pro-
perty.
(3) If sUch notice is given in either of the methods
provided for, in paragraph (1) or (2) above, such
officer shall make due return in writing to the
Mayor stating the manner and time of such service
and upon whom such service has been made (if served
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upon any person) and the time of service thereof, which
return when produced in court shall constitute sufficient
ev.tidence of the service of such notice in the manner and,
form required by this ordinance unless the truth of the re-
turn made by such officer is attacken in the manner and
form as_of citations issuing out of the District Courts of
Harris County, Texas~ ' ,
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(4) The Mayor may cause to be mailed such notice to the
last known post office address of the owner or owners
and the depositing of such notice in the United States
mails shall be deemed sufficient whether received or
not.
(5) Notice may be given by publishing a brief sunrrnary of
said order once in the official newspaper of the City
or in a newspaper of general circulation in the City,
addressed II SIDEWALK IlVIPROVEMENTS: TO WHOM IT MAY
CONCERN ."
(6) ~otice may be gi~n by posting a true and correct copy
of the order of the Board of Commissioners for such
improvements at three (3) public places \nthin the
City.
(7) If the herein prescribed notice is served by an offi- 1;10
cer of the City, such service shall be at least thirty
(30) days before said work is required to be completed.
~f such notice is mailed, it shall be deposited in the
United States mails at least thirty (30) days before
such work is required to be completed. If such notice
is published either in a newspaper or by posting, as
hereinabove provided, such publication or the posting
of such notices shall be at least thirty (30) days be-
fore said work is required to be completed. '
Section 7.
The City of West University Place reserves the right,
when putting down a permanent street pavement, either by or-
iginal construction or reconstruction, or of any other char-
acter or street, either by original construction, or recon-
struction, to change or alter the lines and grades, or either
of said street and of the sidewalks of said street, when in
the opinion of the Board of Commissioners such change is nec-
essary for the proper improvements, su~facing or pavements,
or drainage of said street, and 1/lJi thout liability on the part
of the City by reason of said change. In the event that a side-
walk, the line or grade of which is changed, is in good con-
dition and does not, in the,opinion of the Board of Commiss-
ioners of the City of West University Place require entire 10
recon'stI!1iction,\ the ovmer or owners thereof shall be given I
notice in the m~ner and form hereinabove required, to break
said sidewalks b\Ck to a ,point fixed by the City's Engin-
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eer, and to remove the broken portion and reconstruct said
portion on the line and grade determined by the vity's En-
gineer, at the cost of the saidabutting ovvner. This shall be
required upon order of the Board of Commissioners thereof in
the same manner as hereinabove required for the construction,
reconstruction,repairing or regrading of sidewalks.
Sec tion 8'.
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$hould the ovmer or owners of any such adjacent and
abutting property fail or refuse to comply with the order pro-
vided for in this ordinance or complete the work required by
such order in accordance there~fuh, the Mayor, with the con-
sent and approval of the Board of Commissioners, may enter in-
to a wiitten contract for such work or any part thereof; or,
the IvIayor, wi th the consent and approval of the Board of Com-
missioners, may cause such work, or any part thereof,_to be
done and performed by employees, of the City of West Univer-
sity Place. It shall not be necessary to advertise for bids
for such work but the cost thereof must be agreed upon in the
contract, if a written contract is entered into. If such work
or any part thereof, is done and performed by employees of the
City, the Board of Commissioners shall determine upon the rea-
sona~le cost of such work, which determination shall be con-
clusive as to such cost. The cost of such work shall be pay-
able at the city hall of the City of West University Place in
Harris County, ~exas, and shall bear legal interest from the
date of completion of such work, and shall be a lien against
the adjacent and abutting property thereto. vVhen said work is'
completed the Mayor shall, in one general~fidavit or in sep-
arate affidavits as he may tleem best, make a statement under
oath showing the cost of constructing, reconstructing, repair-
ing, or bringing to grade the s idewalk( or the work actually
done4 adjacent to each separate piece or lot or property, giv-
ing the name of the o\v.ner or owners thereof as know~to him and
a description of the property sufficient to identify it. How-
ever, no mistake of name of the o~ner or ovmers or description
of the property shall vitiate or defeat such affidavit or the
lien oh said property. Said affidavit shall be filed for re-
cord in the office of the County Clerk of Harris vounty, Texas;
and, when so filed for record it shall fix the amount thereof
as a preference lien against each respective piece or lot or
property superior to all other liens, claims, or titles except
lawful taxes, and shall also cons ti tute a personal demand a-
gainst the owner or owners thereof and shall further be prima
facie evidence that all necessary preliminary things have been
done as required by,this ordinance in order to establish such
lien and the amount thereof. Such lien may be foreclosed by ,_
the institution of suit in any court of competent jurisdition,
the venue thereof being in Harry County, ~exas. If such claL~
is placed in the hands of an attorney for collection, or if
suit is filed thereon, the costs thereof including a reason-
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able attorney's fees shall be added thereto.
Section 9.
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All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict
with this ordinance are hereby repealed in so far as conern
such conflicts.
Section 10.
If any section, paragraph, subdivision, clause, phrase,
or provision of this ordinance shall be adjudged invalid or held
unconstitutional the same shall not affect the validity of tllis
ordinance as a whole or any parts or provisions thereof other
than that specifically so decided to be valid or unconstitution-
al.
SAntion 11&
WHEREAS, on account of the rapid growth of the City of
West University .l:'lace, the congestion of ~ra:ffic, the lack of
sidewalks whereby pedestrians are compelled to walk upon the
streets of such City thereby creating a dangerous situation,
and on account of the fact that there are not ordinances with
reference to the subject matter of this ordinance, and impera-
tive public necessi ty and emergency is created so that this or- :!l'='
dinance shall take effect and be in force and effect immed-
iately from and after the date of its passage and approval.
PASSED AND APPROVED this
Secretary
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