BEDFORD – During the Bedford City Council Meeting Tuesday night, the council approved a new ordinance and adopted a new resolution.
Ordinance 2-2022 was added to clarify the roles and responsibilities of homeowners when it comes to maintaining sidewalks and retention walls on their properties.
Previously there was nothing to clarify the role of the homeowner when it came to a retention wall. Bedford Plan Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals Clerk/Treasurer, Brandon Woodward, helped refine the role homeowners need to take when maintaining their walls.
If the wall is over four feet tall, a building permit will be required to repair or replace the wall. Walls that are two feet or lower may be removed by the city if it is deemed necessary, but the homeowner will be required to replace the wall.
Bedford Street Commissioner David Flinn also clarified the responsibility of homeowners when it comes to the sidewalks near their property.’
“It remains the property owner’s responsibility to maintain the sidewalk that is on or near their property. If the sidewalk needs to be replaced, the city will remove the concrete and provide bags of concrete for the property, however, the owner is responsible to pay for a contractor to replace the sidewalk,” said Flinn.
The next item on the agenda was Resolution 2-2022. This resolution is the response from the City of Bedford, which will oppose the legislation regarding business personal property tax.
The council determined that with the tax, the city would lose $157,136 in revenue, which could affect the salary ordinance put in place for 2022 and beyond, as well as increase taxes in other areas such as alcohol or beverage taxes.
This resolution would put the City of Bedford against the business personal property tax, in hopes to lessen the amount of revenue that could be lost.
Both the ordinance and resolution were approved by the council, with Councilmember Dan Bortner abstaining from the vote before adjourning.
