Village of Cayuga Heights Engineer’s Office
836 Hanshaw Road
Ithaca, NY 14850
Office Hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Brent A. Cross, Zoning Officer
Phone: (607) 257-5536
Fax: (607) 257-4910
bcross@cayuga-heights.ny.us
The Village Engineer’s Office is the place to find out information about the Village’s infrastructure which includes streets (including drainage), water/sewer systems, and wastewater treatment plant. The Engineer’s Office is also the host of the Code Enforcement Department. Click here for the Code Enforecment Department page.
All work done in the Village Right-of-Way (ROW) is subject to approval by the Village Engineer. This includes the work done by the private individuals as well as the work done by the Department of Public Works. The following explanation is intended to help clarify the relationship of responsibility between the Village and homeowner on improvements in the ROW:
- Streets: The DPW is responsible for construction and maintenance of the road system in the Village, of which there is approximately 21 centerline miles. In general, the basic Village Street design is approximately 18’ wide pavement with a 1’-2’ shoulder and open drainage ditches. Some locations have different physical features that dictate the need/type of curbing, drainage, striping, and shoulders.
- Sidewalks: The Village has sidewalks serving approximately 50% of the Village streets, mostly in the southern end known as the “Old Village”. With a few existing exceptions, the policy is to maintain sidewalks only on one side of a street. The DPW is responsible for construction and maintenance of the sidewalks. They also provide snowplowing service to assist the neighbors in cleaning the sidewalks in the winter, but ultimately the responsibility of sidewalk safety is up to the homeowners.
- Water and Sewer Service Laterals: The Village provides the water and sewer mains in the street, but each homeowner is responsible the service lateral to/from the main, including the tap into the main pipe. When a leak occurs, the DPW will be responsible for locating and repairing, unless it is determined that the leak is associated with the service lateral. In such cases, the homeowner is required to hire a contractor to make the repairs at their expense.
- Lawn Edge: The property owners are responsible for the maintenance of the part of their lawn that is located in the ROW, sometimes known as the “tree lawn”. This usually involves simply mowing the lawn up to the shoulder/curb of the road. In some cases, landscaping or other improvements can be made, but are subject to approval by the Village Engineer.
- Other Improvements: Property owners who wish to make other improvements in the ROW such as fences/gates, signs and trees are required to obtain a “lease” agreement from the Village that allows for the removal of the improvement by the Village in the future
2023 MS-4 Report
