(A) Maintenance of sidewalks. Every owner of any lot or piece of land within the City shall at all times keep and maintain the sidewalk along and contiguous to the lot or piece of land in good and proper repair and in a reasonably safe condition for travel for all travelers thereon. In case the owner of any lot or pieces of lands abutting on any sidewalk in front of or along that owner’s lot or piece of land within the time and in the manner as directed and required by this chapter after having received due notice to do so, they shall be liable for all damages or injury occasioned by reason of the defective or dangerous condition thereon and the Mayor and City Council shall cause the sidewalk to be constructed or repaired as authorized by law and assess the cost thereof against the property as a special tax.
(B) Curbing. The City shall at all times keep and maintain the curbing along and contiguous to any publicly dedicated streets located within the corporate limits of the City in good repair. The City shall repair the first four feet of any sidewalk directly adjacent to a curb which has been damaged as a result of curb repair performed by the City with the exception of curbside sidewalks.
(C) Clearance over streets and walkways.
(1) Clearance over walkways shall be the responsibility of the abutting property owner. A clearance of eight feet will be maintained over walkways and a clearance of 13 feet can be maintained over streets and alleys. Property owners are responsible for trees on their own property. Property owners will report any infractions of street trees that abut their property to the City Engineer who will evaluate the situation and take appropriate action at City expense.
(2) It shall be the duty of the City to trim any trees to the 13 feet above the streets height so that they will not inhibit the passage of vehicles.
(3) It shall be the duty of the utility company to trim any trees within or in close approximation to utility lines.
(4) If any trees are permitted by the owner of the adjacent premises to grow untrimmed in violation of the provisions of this section, it shall be the duty of the Street Department to notify the owner in writing to trim the trees within the time and manner to be specified in the notice. If any person so notified shall neglect or refuse to comply with the notice, the Street Department shall forthwith cause the trees to be trimmed at the expense of the City and the costs thereof assessed against the property.
