The first reading of a proposed ordinance regulating the development, construction, maintenance and signage of safety paths and sidewalks was approved last week by Oxford Township officials.
Under the proposed “Safety Path and Sidewalk Regulation Ordinance,” developers would be required to either construct or pay for the construction of safety paths along public roads.
Township Treasurer Joe Ferrari, who also sits on the safety path committee, said the proposed ordinance “puts a process” to safety path development, which was previously handled through individual agreements between the township and developers that varied on a case-by-case basis.
Ferrari said the proposed ordinance sets up a “uniform” system for the creation of a safety path network throughout the township.
“It will ensure new developments put in safety paths,” the treasurer said.
According to the proposed ordinance, “All developers of property along side either side of a public roadway shall, upon development of their property, construct a pathway that is located within the public road right-of-way and extends the full width of their property.”
Safety paths must be constructed “in accordance with the design and construction standards adopted” by the township.
Developers not wishing to construct the safety paths themselves “may be allowed to pay the township a sum of money equivalent to the actual cost of construction of the path, including permit, engineering and inspection fees,” according to the proposed ordinance.
However, the second option is applicable “only with the recommendation of the planning commission and safety path committee and approval of the township board.”
Developers responsible for the construction of any section of approved township safety path will also be responsible for its maintenance for one year, “commencing on the date of the path’s final inspection by the township engineer and expiring on the one year anniversary date of such inspection,” according to the proposed ordinance.
Maintenance includes “repair of surface cracks, upheaval or deterioration” and “repair of any damage caused by the elements or by any person.”
Owners of developed property abutting the safety path are also be given responsibilities under the proposed ordinance.
Property owners will be required to keep vegetation trimmed so that no portion of it extends over the path unless it’s a minimum of 8? feet above the path.
In addition, abutting property owners will be required to keep the portion of the path that runs adjacent to their property “free and clear of all debris, litter, leaves or branches, machinery, vehicles, equipment, junk, and other items which may obstruct the use of the safety path.”
Under the proposed ordinance, the township will also be able to exercise its “powers to compel the construction, repair or maintenance of sidewalks” as authorized by state law.
Assessments against township properties for the construction, maintenance and/or repair of sidewalks will be levied to cover “cost of the project, including the cost of estimate preparation, inspection, engineering, legal, finance and administration.”
The costs will be assessed to the properties involved “in proportion to the respective benefits received” and will be “payable in five annual installments, with interest.”
However, the township board “may provide an opportunity within a reasonable time set by the township or the respective property owners involved to have the sidewalks constructed, maintained and/or repaired at their own expense, according to specifications directed by the township.”
Under the proposed ordinance, residents may also petition the township for establishment of a Special Assessment District to finance the installation of sidewalks.
“It allows folks to put sidewalks in subdivisions that don’t have them,” Ferrari said. “There are six to eight older subs in the township without sidewalks.”
The treasurer cited Lakes of Indianwood and the older sections of Oxford Woods as examples of subdivision areas lacking sidewalks.
The second reading and possible adoption of the proposed “Safety Path and Sidewalk Regulation Ordinance” is slated for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 25.