GENEVA — In this Ontario County city, property owners are responsible for maintaining their sidewalks and clearing the snow.
While that policy may or may not work on residential streets, it’s not working downtown, noted Teresa Cerino, who operates the Water Street Café with partner James Brown. However, the city does not appear ready to make changes to its existing policies.
Cerino spoke at a City Council meeting earlier this month to express concerns with sidewalk maintenance and snow removal. She said it’s a big issue not only for the popular Exchange Street restaurant, but other downtown businesses as well.
“The maintenance of sidewalks is directly connected to the prosperity of our downtown,” she told Council at its March 4 meeting.
As an example, she pointed to uneven sidewalks in front of The Dove Block Project building, which is next door to the restaurant. Cerino said several people have tripped, fallen, and been injured.
Many of Water Street’s customers are older and use canes, walkers, and wheelchairs to get around, and uneven or unplowed sidewalks present a challenge, Cerino noted, while acknowledging that responsibility for sidewalk maintenance and snow removal lies with property owners.
“However, with so many property owners not living in Geneva, many are unaware of these issues, especially if there are no fines or violations given,” she said.
Cerino said the Dove Block and the city have been “made aware” of the sidewalk issue, “but nothing has been done.”
However, there is good news for those uneven sidewalks in front of the historic building, which underwent major renovations in the past few years. Christopher Ryczek of Corbett Inc., a commercial interiors consultant that owns the Dove Block building, said the sidewalk in front of the Dove Block is being repaired.
“We have it scheduled to fix in the spring when the concrete can be applied and cured in appropriate weather,” he said Wednesday morning.
Cerino told Council the city needs to take the lead on the issue of downtown sidewalk maintenance.
“I believe the city should have the ability to do the work that needs to be done and then bill the property owner, if code violations have not been corrected,” she said. “Maybe then hazards will be addressed in a reasonable timeline.”
Cerino said the maintenance issue also applies to snow removal, which she described as haphazard.
“This again is another property owner responsibility that is not being done in a unified or timely manner, because it’s either passed down to the tenant in the lease or it is just simply ignored,” she said.
Cerino noted that Geneva Business Improvement District staff — in conjunction with the city’s Department of Public Works — clear the crosswalk curb cuts, but that many times it leads to sidewalks covered in snow and ice. This discourages people from coming downtown “until the snow melts,” she believes.
Cerino asked Council to consider a “coordinated and unified plan for downtown sidewalks, crosswalks, and streets.”
City Manager Amie Hendrix said the city expects to continue enforcing its existing sidewalk maintenance policies.
“No further action has been taken at this time,” Hendrix told the Finger Lakes Times this week. “Under the current sidewalk ordinance, property owners are responsible for clearing the sidewalks adjacent to their property. If a sidewalk is not cleared, residents can notify city staff by phone or email so enforcement can be addressed.”
Anyone with concerns about sidewalks can call 315-789-5311 or email complaints@cityofgenevany.gov.
Hendrix noted that city staff provided Council with estimates earlier this year showing that a citywide sidewalk snow-removal program would cost about $600,000 in startup costs and roughly $100,000 annually.
Additionally, she noted the “sidewalk repair moratorium will be lifted in April, allowing Code Enforcement to resume working with property owners to address repairs and ensure compliance.” The moratorium was put in place last year following complaints from some residential property owners over city orders to repair sidewalks in front of their properties. Ultimately, City Council opted to make no changes to sidewalk policies.