The City of Foster City is offering a new service to assist property owners with their sidewalk maintenance responsibilities.

Property owners can now choose to have sidewalk repairs along public streets for which they are responsible performed by the City rather than finding their own contractor to perform the work. Property owners will be billed by the City for the actual cost, including an administrative fee.

The benefits to the property owners are reduced efforts required to procure and administer a sidewalk repair contract and lower construction costs due to economies of scale. The City has approved an agreement with a contractor to perform sidewalk repair work throughout the City. The agreement is for a two year duration starting on July 1, 2010.

Property owners can always elect to repair sidewalks on their own. Property owners are reminded that all sidewalk repair/replacement work requires an encroachment permit from the City prior to the commencement of any work. Encroachment permits are to be obtained from the Public Works Engineering office in City Hall at 610 Foster City Boulevard.

As allowed by state law, Foster City property owners are responsible for maintaining the sidewalks immediately adjacent to their properties. This includes but is not limited to sidewalks along major roadways, sidewalks located behind walls or fences, segments on the back of properties and multiple segments for priorities with multiple sidewalk adjacencies.

When problems are identified with sidewalks adjacent to private properties, the owners are notified by the City and are required to repair/replace the sidewalks within established time frames. As allowed by the California Streets and Highways Code and outlined in the Foster City Sidewalk Maintenance Policy, if repairs are not completed within the specified time, the City would perform the work and seek payment from the property owners. If payment is not made by the property owners, liens on the properties would be made by the City. In some cases, the City Council may approve property owners’ requests to make payments in installments rather than lump sum payments.

Sidewalk maintenance is important to ensure the safety of pedestrians in the community. Per Municipal Code Section 11.08, if someone is injured or property is damaged because of the condition of the sidewalk, property owners may be liable. Property owners are encouraged to inspect the condition of their sidewalks and be proactive in ensuring that tripping hazards are abated quickly. At any time, property owners may request that the City perform sidewalk repairs to sidewalk segments adjacent to public streets at the property owner’s expense. To request that the City have its contractor perform a sidewalk repair, contact the Public Works Department at 650-286-3270. The cost will be charged to the property owner along with an administrative fee to cover the City’s cost to administer the contract.

For questions about the sidewalk maintenance program or to request that the City work with you to repair sidewalks adjacent to your property, please contact Public Works Assistant Engineer Laura Galli at lgalli@fostercity.org or 286-3280.