COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL | OCTOBER 21, 2021 | 7A
ORDER
be in consensus that the
sidewalk order is an undue
financial burden and the
process neglected to allow
for a properly seeking other
solutions.
Miller said she was wor-
ried for families who were
still financially struggling
through the economic
impacts of the pandemic,
from A2
sponsibility and fix this.’ It
just happened so fast.”
Miller said she was dis-
appointed more conversa-
tion didn’t take place before
any decision was made.
Other residents impact-
ed by the order seem to
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especially those residents
who are retired and on
fixed incomes. Other res-
idents expressed similar
worries that their current
financial situations are too
precarious to take on the
extra cost of construction.
At last week’s city coun-
cil meeting, city staff had
received some quotes on
construction cost.
With each of the 11 lots
at 60 feet in length, and at
$10.50 per square foot, it
would cost the property
owners $3,150 each for re-
moval and replacement of a
five-foot sidewalk. Resident
driveways, however, vary
in width and construction
costs were quoted at $18.50
per square foot.
Though more quotes are
being sought, some resi-
dents felt that the sidewalk
order itself felt threatening.
In the event a proper-
ty owner cannot pay, they
may opt for a lien to be
placed on their property af-
ter the city completes work,
but this is not necessari-
ly an attractive option for
many. When a home lien is
placed on a property, it can
be more difficult to sell the
home, obtain a mortgage or
refinance the property.
The speed of the process
was also a common criti-
cism. All residents inter-
viewed by The Sentinel said
they received their notices
of the possible sidewalk or-
der on the Friday before the
Monday night city council
meeting, giving only days
to generate a response.
Miller said she was away
that weekend, causing her
time to be even more lim-
ited.
Others disagreed with
the municipal code out-
right.
One Taylor Avenue res-
Worship
Directory
ident who asked not to
be named said he did not
think the rule made sense.
“We pay taxes. We
shouldn’t have to pay for
this, too,” he said.
During the city council
meeting, resident Gerren
Castle said he didn’t think
old sidewalks should have
been grandfathered into
the 1996 city code as not
all residents would be re-
sponsible for equally-aged
sidewalks. If, prior to 1996,
the city was responsible for
sidewalks, the new ordi-
nance would have caused
an unequal distribution of
responsibility.
Not all of the stretch of
sidewalk under the order is
in the same condition, ei-
ther. The western half clos-
er to 10th Street is relatively
well-maintained and resi-
dents on this side don’t see
the urgency to do repairs.
“I don’t think it’s fair,”
said resident Maudie Mc-
Grady, who lives on the
western half. “I know even-
tually I need to get it done,
but I don’t think we should
be forced to do ours when
there’s no issues right now.”
Another point of crit-
icism has been the city
code’s 30-day window to
come into compliance with
sidewalk orders. McGrady
said that she contacted a
contractor immediately af-
ter receiving her notifica-
tion in the mail about the
possible order.
“They said 30 days is not
long enough,” she said. “He
said he would even go to the
city council and tell them
that they needed to extend
it more than 30 days.”
Why Sidewalk Orders?
One of the troubles res-
idents are having in mak-
ing sense of the issue is
the seeming arbitrary na-
ture of the sidewalk order.
Sidewalk orders are very
rarely issued and there are
no clearly established cri-
teria for staff or councilors
to turn to before making a
decision.
Though city staff can
recommend a sidewalk or-
der, ultimately the decision
rests with the city council.
Once issued, the city engi-
neer is responsible for de-
livering the notice to the
property owners.
Bradsby explained that
while the city council can
choose to issue sidewalk
orders as it sees fit, there
is no hard and fast rule re-
garding which sidewalks to
prioritize. Instead, he said,
a common criterion for city
staff is safety.
Public Works and De-
velopment Director Faye
Stewart confirmed that the
safety concern was a prime
motivator in recommend-
ing last week’s order.
“There’s at least one in-
jury caused from the dis-
repair of the sidewalk and
the [citizen] request was to
get the sidewalk repaired,
so that triggered the order
option,” he said.
At the Oct. 11 city coun-
cil meeting, councilors
were sympathetic to the
situation, but still unani-
mously voted to issue the
order.
Councilor Fleck told The
Sentinel that a two people
falling on the sidewalk in a
short window of time was
the main driver in his de-
cision to vote for the order
and he felt the six-month
extension was a more rea-
sonable window for resi-
dents.
However, he added that
he’s willing to revisit the
topic and weigh options
such as extending the win-
dow again to the summer.
At the council meeting,
some councilors and staff
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expressed concern that
extending the order to six
months would also extend
the amount of time resi-
dents would be liable for
any injuries on their abut-
ting sidewalks.
However, city code does
not stipulate that a side-
walk order must be issued
for a resident to be liable. In
fact, all Cottage Grove resi-
dents are liable at all times
for their sidewalks, regard-
less of notices.
This point in itself has
come as a shock to many
residents, but holding
property owners responsi-
ble for their abutting side-
walks has been established
in Oregon case law for
more than a century.
Two points, though relat-
ed, are often addressed sep-
arately in Oregon Supreme
Court rulings: responsibili-
ty for maintenance and lia-
bility for injuries.
Many cases have specif-
ically revolved around lia-
bility for injuries sustained
as a result of poorly main-
tained sidewalks rather
than property owner re-
sponsibility for that main-
tenance.
In 1917, the Supreme
Court of Oregon ruled in
favor of the City of Vale
over a citizen complaint in
which a sidewalk had fallen
into disrepair. The plain-
tiff was seeking to recover
damages for an injury sus-
tained while stepping into a
hole of a defective sidewalk.
The court ruled that “by
virtue of its city charter, the
city was exempt from lia-
bility.”
Case history has further
established that in order to
exempt a municipal cor-
poration, an “equivalent
remedy” must be provided.
In many cities, the primary
duty of constructing and
repairing sidewalks has
been placed upon the own-
er of abutting property and
municipal codes expressly
declare the owner liable for
failure to perform that duty.
In Cottage Grove’s case,
both responsibility and li-
ability have been allocated
to property owners, thus
meeting the standards for
the city to exempt itself.
MKT-P0108
See ORDER A10
COTTAGE GROVE:
6th & Gibbs Church of Christ
195 N. 6th St. • 541-942-3822
10:00am
Christian Education: Pre-K through 5th
Tim Baker, Senior Minister
www.6thandgibbs.com
Calvary Baptist Church
77873 S 6th St • 541-942-4290
Pastor: Riley Hendricks
Sunday School: 9:45am
Worship: 11:00am
The Journey: Sunday 5:00pm
Praying Thru Life: Wednesday 6:00pm
Church of Christ
420 Monroe St • 541-942-8565
Sunday Service: 10:30am
Cottage Grove Bible Church
1200 East Quincy Avenue
541-942-4771
Pastor:Bob Singer
Worship 11am
Sunday School:9:45am
AWANA age 3-8th Grade,
Wednesdays Sept-May, 6:30pm
www.cgbible.org
First Presbyterian Church
3rd and Adams St
541-942-4479
Rev.: Karen Hill
Worship: 10:00am
Sunday School: 10:00am
fpcgrove.com
Hope Fellowship
United Pentecostal Church
100 S. Gateway Blvd.
541-942-2061
Pastor: Dave Bragg
Worship: 11:00am Sunday
Bible Study: 7:00pm Wednesday
www.hopefellowshipupc.com
“FINDING HOPE IN YOUR LIFE”
St. Andrews Episcopal Church
1301 W. Main • 541-767-9050
Rev. Lawrence Crumb
“Scripture, Tradition, Reason”
Worship: Sunday 10:30am
All Welcome
Seventh-day Adventist Church
820 South 10th Street
541-942-5213
Pastor: James D. Boram
Bible Study: Saturday, 9:15 am
Worship Service: Saturday, 10:40
Mid-week Service: Wednesday, 1:00
Trinity Lutheran Church
6th & Quincy • 541-942-2373
Pastor: James L. Markus
Sunday School & Adult Education
Living Faith Assembly
9:15am
467 S. 10th St. • 541-942-2612
Worship Services Sundays: 9a & 11a Sunday Worship 10:30 am
Comm. Kitchen Free Meal Tue & Thur
Youth Worship Sundays: 11a (all
5:00pm TLC Groups
ages welcome)
Mondays: 5:30p (6th-12th grades) tlccg.com
United Methodist Church
Non-Denominational
334 Washington 541-942-3033
Church of Christ
Worship 10am
1041 Pennoyer Ave
umcgrove.org
541-942-8928
Preacher: Tony Martin
“VICTORY” Country Church
Cottage Grove Faith Center
Sunday Bible Study:10:00am
33761 Row River Rd.
Sunday Worship:10:50am & 5:30pm 913 S. 6th Street • 541-942-5913
Pastor: Barbara Dockery
541-942-4851
www.pennoyeravecoc.com
Worship Service: 10:00am
Lead Pastor: Kevin Pruett
www.cg4.tv
Our Lady of Perpetual Help and Message: “WE BELIEVE IN
MIRACLES”
Full Childrenʼs Ministry available
St. Philip Benizi
Services: 9:00am & 10:45am
Catholic Churches
CRESWELL:
1025. N. 19th St.
Creswell Presbyterian Church
Delight Valley
541-942-3420
75 S 4th S • 541-895-3419
Church of Christ
Father John J. Boyle
Rev. Seth Wheeler
33087 Saginaw Rd. East
Holy Mass:
Adult Sunday School 9:15am
541-942-7711 • Pastor: Bob Friend Saturday Vigil – 5:30 pm
Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am
Two Services:
Sunday – 10:30 am
9am - Classic in the Chapel
For weekday and Holy Day of website www.creswellpres.org
10:30am - Contemporary in the
Obligation schedule see website
Auditorium
OLPHCG.net
First Baptist Church
301 S. 6th st • 541-942-8242
Pastor: David Chhangte
Sunday School 9:30am
Worship Service 10:30am
Youth Wednesday 6:30pm
cgfi rstbaptist.com
Confession: 4 PM to 5 PM
Saturdays or by appointment
St. Philip Benizi, Creswell
552 Holbrook Lane
Sunday 8 am
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