City of Manteca
Sidewalks - Obligations and Liabilities in California & State of the City December 20, 2022
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BRIEF HISTORY OF SIDEWALKS AND SIDEWALK LAWS
• The first evidence of paved pedestrian paths dates from ancient Greece and Rome.
• Began to become prevalent in England after the Great London Fire of 1666 • California, like many states, has provisions allowing municipalities to impose repair obligations for damaged sidewalks on adjacent property owners. • California’s sidewalk repairs provisions are set forth in Streets and Highways Code sections 5600 et seq.
California state law provides that a municipality may assess landowners for the cost the municipality incurs to maintain sidewalks if the landowner fails to perform his/her duty.
Note that this is a choice available to the municipality and not all so assess.
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Streets and Highways Code 5610
• “The owners of lots or portions of lots fronting on any portion of a public street or place when that street or place is improved or if and when the area between the property line of the adjacent property and the street line is maintained as a parking or a parking strip, shall maintain any sidewalk in such condition that the sidewalk will not endanger persons or property and maintain it in a condition which will not interfere with the public convenience…”
• Pursuant to the authority of section 5610, the majority of cities in California have passed ordinances imposing the obligation for sidewalk repair on adjacent property owners.
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California Cities with a Sidewalk Ordinance
• Includes, but is not limited to:
• Stockton, Sacramento, Elk Grove, Gilroy, Dublin, Fremont, San Jose, San Mateo, San Ramon, San Leandro, Union City, Oakland, Berkeley, Pacifica, Fresno, San Rafael, Sonoma, Martinez, Petaluma, Santa Rosa, Menlo Park, Richmond, Albany, Dixon, Pittsburg, Roseville, San Diego, Orinda, Moraga, Lafayette, Turlock, Brentwood, Pleasant Hill, West Sacramento, Pasadena, Hanford, Santa Cruz, Benicia, San Luis Obispo, Bakersfield, Ukiah, and Daly City.
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Legal Issues Surrounding Maintenance Obligations
• The main issue that adjacent property owners charged for sidewalk repairs often raise is whether the sidewalk repair obligation of section 5610 applies where the sidewalk is displaced or damaged due to trees located in the public right of way
• Though many assert that an adjacent property owner should not bear responsibility to repair a sidewalk caused by a tree in the right of way when the property owner has no control over the tree’s roots, the statutory language and the reported cases do not support this position – cities, however, can address this issue in their respected ordinances
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Sidewalk Liability
• The law is clear: the property owner must maintain the sidewalks in a safe condition. What happens if the owner does not and there is injury to a third party? Depends on what the ordinance states in terms of liability – must be explicit!
• Courts have held that imposing liability upon abutting owners for a duty of care in favor of third persons “would require clear and unambiguous language” – thus a city must “enact[] an ordinance which expressly made abutting owners liable to members of the public for failure to maintain the sidewalk but did not.” • Note that the owner is liable for conditions of danger created by the owner even if on the public sidewalk. In general, “[a]n abutting owner has always had a duty to refrain from affirmative conduct which would render the sidewalk itself or use of the sidewalk dangerous to the public.” Selger v. Steven Brothers, Inc. (1990) 222 Cal.App.3d 1585, 1592. • Sidewalks are considered a “program” under the ADA
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Sidewalk Liability – CONTINUED…
• If there is no negligence on the part of the owner and no local ordinance imposing a duty to repair, California Streets and Highways Code § 5610 does not impose on owners tort liability or a duty to indemnify municipalities for pedestrian injuries, except where a property owner created the defect or exercised dominion or control over the abutting sidewalk.
• Still (even without an ordinance):
A property owner may be liable if he or she alters the sidewalk for the benefit of the owner's property.
A property owner may also be liable if he or she negligently damages the sidewalk. An abutting owner can be found liable for negligence in creating a special hazard on the sidewalk.
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Sidewalk Liability – Risk Claims
• Over the course of five years, the City has received 24 claims due to injuries sustained from lifted/uneven sidewalks
• All lifts were due to tree root causation
• Injuries range from abrasions to broken bones
• The cost to the City to pay only 5 of these claims was $161,377 • Government Code Section 835:
Except as provided by statute, a public entity is liable for injury caused by a dangerous condition of its property if the plaintiff establishes that the property was in a dangerous condition at the time of the injury, that the injury was proximately caused by the dangerous condition, that the dangerous condition created a reasonably foreseeable risk of the kind of injury which was incurred.
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From Public Works and Engineering…
• Encroachment permits will be required prior to work being performed and will include detailed instructions/city specifications on how to perform the work to City Standards.
• An administrative fee can also be charged to cover the costs for inspection and general administrative costs.
• When tree roots are involved, an inspection by an Arborist will be required to determine acceptable level of root pruning or need for tree removal. If City Arborist is utilized a fee will be charged for services.
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To the Trees!!!
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Trees…Continued
• Contrary to some beliefs, in most urban settings trees do not grow deep roots.
• Key things tree roots need are oxygen, water, and nutrients (aka: “the good stuff”). These are typically found within the top 12” of soil. • The roots push further horizontally to stay within the root zone holding “the good stuff”.
• That is why you see fallen trees with extensive root systems exposed with roots only 12-18” deep
• Tree root barriers and various planting techniques can help, but tree roots will always be an issue in urban settings.
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The Root(s) of the Problem
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Trees
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Trees
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Options for the City Council to Consider
• Some cities, like Sacramento, impose the entire repair cost on the property owner regardless of the cause of any damage or displacement
• Many cities exempt damage caused by city trees from the repair obligation (but still maintain the liability aspect of an ordinance – see Roseville) • Another option followed by many cities is a 50/50 sharing of repair costs (see Gilroy) (note: homeowners who fix their own sidewalks would need an encroachment permit from the Engineering Department)
• Some cities, in addition to a general sidewalk repair program, have instituted a program which requires a defective sidewalk to be repaired upon the sale of the property.
Please note separate issues of repair costs and liability ATTACHMENT 1
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