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Lloyden Park homeowners in Atherton faced the full brunt of costly, long-overdue sidewalk repairs in their neighborhood as an updated town ordinance seeks to enforce residents’ responsibilities for the areas in front of their homes.
But they got a measure of relief as the City Council has agreed to have the town split the cost 50-50 for sidewalk repair or replacement, but just in the first year of the ordinance, which takes effect Nov. 17.
“I believe that the majority of Lloyden Park residents concluded that the council reached a fair compromise,” said Frank Burke, who lives in the neighborhood.
The town will also waive administrative fees and cover the expense for tree root grinding in the initial year before the ordinance and accompanying sidewalk repair program take full flight. The council on Oct. 18 passed the ordinance and approved appropriating $182,000 to fund the program.
The ordinance hits Lloyden Park in particular as public sidewalks only exist in that neighborhood, the Town Center and Holbrook-Palmer Park.
According to a town staff report, Lloyden Park has 825 areas where the sidewalk shows signs of uplifting by tree roots while 55 other places have more-serious buckling.
“Yes, it has been a while since there was a significant effort to deal with these issues,” Burke said. “Some of the worst spots have been dealt with periodically, but the last prior effort which involved replacing the sidewalks was 30 years ago.”
Fellow Lloyden Park resident Walter Robinson echoed that observation. “I’ve been here 52 years, and I’ve walked these sidewalks hundreds of times,” Robinson said during the Oct. 18 council meeting. “Nothing has been done for years.”
And all this time, he hasn’t been ordered to pay for repairs, either. “Nobody has ever told me that we have to pay for anything,” Robinson said.
“I only know of two situations where the homeowners have told me that they paid for” sidewalk repairs, said former Atherton Mayor Jim Janz, a Lloyden Park resident who addressed the council.
“I think that there’s a lot of homeowners that are going to be shocked to learn that they’re going to be asked to pay for something that they had no idea they were going to pay for,” Burke added during that meeting.
The cost for a sidewalk replacement is estimated to be $500 per location, according to the staff report.
“In several spots, four squares will need to be replaced,” Burke said. Those spots with severe uplifting “will require some excavation and careful cutting of the tree roots. The town arborist may be needed to consult on those as some of the involved trees are heritage trees, which are protected in Atherton.”
As the compromised sidewalks result in the potential for injury, Lloyden Park residents were also worried about the liability placed upon them by the new ordinance.
“Some of the worst spots are significant trip hazards,” Burke said. “Especially for elderly persons, the injuries could be significant.”
The ordinance clarifies homeowners’ responsibilities for maintaining their street frontage area, that is, the sidewalk or public right-of-way in front of their property. It also imposes liability on property owners for any injuries arising from a hazardous situation on their frontage area.
“In past years, the liability remained with the property owners,” City Manager George Rodericks said.
But recent state case law prescribed that local jurisdictions incorporate in their regulations clear language holding property owners responsible for the upkeep of their frontage area.
Otherwise, the town could not continue to pass on liability to property owners. “That’s why the town had to adopt the ordinance,” Rodericks said.
“I sympathize that a lot of residents all at the same time are going to have a surprise expense for their sidewalk,” Council member Stacy Holland said during the Oct. 18 meeting.
But Mayor Bill Widmer expressed concern that the town is subsidizing a small part of Atherton at least for one year although he said those residents do have legitimate issues.
“My two cents on it would be (to) grant amnesty for whatever time it takes to do the repair,” he said. After that, residents will have to take full responsibility for frontage maintenance.
“This is it going forward,” the mayor said.
