Village Forcing Homeowners to Repair Broken Sidewalks

Homeowners with broken sidewalks are receiving notices in the mail – fix your sidewalk or potentially face an appearance in court.

An intern from the Engineering department has been documenting sidewalks that do not comply with ADA standards. Once documented, a letter detailing a request to have the sidewalks repaired is mailed to the homeowner. The homeowner has up to 45 days to repair the sidewalk.

"The end result is we get to have better sidewalk conditions in the village," Village Engineer Chris Rutishauser said Tuesday.

Somewhere north of 130 first notices have been issued to homeowners in neighborhoods throughout Ridgewood, according to Rutishauser.

In many cases, the damaged sidewalk is attributed to the roots of trees in the public right-of-way.

Homeowners have the option of having a private contractor grind the roots and set a new sidewalk slab, or they can call the Ridgewood Parks & Recreation Department to grind the roots for free but still must have a contractor set a new slab. There is a backlog at the Parks & Rec department for root grinding.

Should the homeowner receiving the letter not comply within 45 days, another letter is sent offering an additional 45-day period. Afterwards, a summons for a court appearance is issued, according to Rutishauser. There is no set fine, he said.

Clearing a 4X3 slab of sidewalk could tally several hundred dollars, several contractors said.

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