S.C. residents weigh in on sidewalk law

I brought it up to the board as something to be discussed, examined and thought about.”

Elena Villafane, Sea Cliff mayor

Village trustees continued an ongoing conversation at their board meeting on Monday, when the burden of village sidewalk upkeep and liability was a primary focus.

Sea Cliff is considering an amendment to its village code that would shift what is now the municipality’s shared financial responsibility for sidewalk repairs entirely to homeowners whose property borders them.

“I brought it up to the board as something to be discussed, examined and thought about,” Mayor Elena Villafane said, “and just because we’ve always done something one way doesn’t mean that it’s not something we should review, consider and make sure it still makes sense in our current village situation and [given] the feedback that we’ve gotten thus far.”

Almost universally throughout Nassau County, the obligation to maintain and repair sidewalks and trees that are in a village right of way — usually the portion of property that is closest to the street — falls on residents. Sea Cliff, in contrast, shares the cost of those repairs with homeowners, according to the Streets and Sidewalks Law. Villafane said that the trustees discovered that Sea Cliff is one of the few municipalities that does so.

At Monday’s meeting, several residents who would be affected by a code change asked about the law, and offered their insights. “I definitely agree that it makes sense to revisit old laws and not do things the way they were done just for the sake of it,” resident David Green said. “I think there’s a lot of areas where we can visit that in Sea Cliff and probably do great things. I’m just not sure that this is one of them. And I think a lot of the residents that I’ve spoken with agree with me on that.”

Green noted the limited number of sidewalks in the village, mostly downtown and around the schools, many of which aren’t in good condition, so now may not be the best time, he said, to pass the responsibility of upkeep off to residents.

“The residents who have reached out to us,” Villafane said, “have indicated that they feel — and this is coming from people who do not have sidewalks — that sidewalks are something that is enjoyed and utilized by the entirety of the village, and that it is not necessarily fair to push it back onto the homeowners.”

Others said they were confused about the current sidewalk law, and needed clarification from the board about what, exactly, a change in village code would mean for residents.

“We’ve lived in our house for 16 years,” resident Joanna Keenan said. “I actually had no idea that our law says that we’re responsible for 50 percent” of the cost of repair. “How does that work? How would that look if the village decided the sidewalk needs repair? Is there notice to the house? And then who repairs it, and what is 50 percent?”

When the village is made aware of a sidewalk that is defective or hazardous, Village Administrator Bruce Kennedy explained, village officials will examine it and determine what needs to be done to fix it. A formula is used to determine the amount of material that will be needed, and what the cost of labor is per square foot. The homeowner who is responsible for the repairs will then receive a letter from the village identifying the issue and the section of village code that enumerates the 50-50 split, as well as the expected cost. The homeowner is then asked to reply and to send a check for that amount.

“This is in the examination phase, if you will,” Villafane said. “This was something that I learned of in a different capacity. I looked into it, and I found that Sea Cliff was one of the only villages on Long Island that has the arrangement that we do in our code with respect to cost-sharing for sidewalks and trees. We are continuing the conversation … we’re looking at a whole host of issues that surround this issue, and we are not anywhere near making a decision as to whether the legislation should be changed.”

Residents will be kept informed, Villafane said, about any plan to change the code or keep it as is. “We will continue to discuss it,” she said, “and nothing will be done without sufficient notice for the community to be aware.”