Proposed Snow Ordinance Clarifications

[somerville311.livejournal.com]

A recent story in the Somerville Journal summarized the proposed snow ordinance in ways that may have confused DSLJ readers about the actual provisions of the new law.

Some posters in that earlier thread have expressed a preference for a fine schedule that starts low and only escalates to high levels for repeat offenders. Except for the offense of shoveling snow and ice back into a cleared street, the proposed ordinance does, in fact, have an escalating fine structure. Here is a summary of the proposed fine structure:

Offense	Fine
Snow, Slush, and Ice on Sidewalks (Section 12-8 (a) or (b)) (Residential)	15t offense: $50.00 2nd offense: $100.00 3rd & subsequent offense: $150.00
Snow, Slush and Ice on Sidewalks (Section 12-8 (a) or (b)) (Commercial or Mixed Use)	1st offense: $100.00 2nd offense: $200.00 3rd & subsequent offense: $300.00
Snow, Slush and Ice on Sidewalks (Section 12-8 (c)) (Removal from privately-owned property onto street)	$300 per offense

Some posters have expressed a concern that the new time limits might force business owners to turn out in the middle of the night to clear snow and ice from walkways. This is not the case. The actual language reads as follows:
(b) Requirements for ice. No owner or manager of a (i) commercial building, estate, or land abutting on a sidewalk, (ii) residential building containing four (4) or more units, or (iii) mixed use building, estate, or land abutting on a sidewalk shall place or suffer to remain in place any ice upon such sidewalk for more than four (4) hours, except that no violation shall be deemed to have occurred before 9 a.m. or after 5 p.m., unless the business is open to the public during those hours. Removal of any ice shall be in a manner consistent with the requirements of the preceding sub-section, except that any such owner or manager shall be deemed to be in compliance with this paragraph if such ice is made level and completely covered with sand, or other appropriate material to prevent slipping. Each consecutive day that a violation exists shall be considered a separate offense. Unless otherwise provided herein, no owner or manager of a residential building, estate, or land abutting on a sidewalk shall place or suffer to remain in place any ice upon such sidewalk for more than twelve hours if the ice forms during the daytime, or after the next succeeding 1:00 p.m., if the ice forms during the night.

In other words, the clock starts running at 9 a.m. and owners of businesses and/or multi-unit residential buildings have at least four daylight hours to deal with ice or snow before any tickets can be issued.

Some posters have expressed the hope that special arrangements are made to provide support for senior or handicapped residents. Through the Council on Aging, the City already provides shoveling assistance to shut-ins and the elderly. For more information, please call 311.

Finally, some posters have suggested that this measure is part of a larger campaign to increase local revenues in the face of massive cutbacks in state aid. While the need for additional revenue has been an element in policy-making in other areas of municipal fee and fine enforcement, the proposed changes in the snow ordinance arise entirely from complaints made in the past (in some cases by the aldermen themselves) that current fines and enforcement policies have not ensured adequate levels of compliance. Some posters here seem to echo these concerns.

We hope this additional information is helpful.

Comments

[valadil.livejournal.com]

For comparison's sake, what's the current policy?

[ron_newman]

Thanks. Now what will the city do to ensure that its own sidewalks are cleared promptly, such as the one on Day Street next to the metered parking lot? For years I've had to bother my alderman about this after each big storm -- first Jack Connolly, then Rebekah Gewirtz.

Just asking

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

Who do I fine when the city plows the street multiple times, and each time dumps huge amounts of snow and ice on my sidewalk and driveway????

[mrcairo.livejournal.com]

And no provision for fining motorists who clear off their car by shoveling it onto my freshly cleared sidewalk, as seemed to happen frequently in my area last year. :(

[fishkiss56.livejournal.com]

What about residential buildings with less than 4 units?

[tequilamckngbrd.livejournal.com]

I can picture the people handing out the tickets now... carrying snow shovels to shovel snow onto a shoveled sidewalk and then handing out a ticket.

How can they expect to enforce someone to pay a fine if there's no evidence that you did or didn't shovel the snow, and to what acceptable levels?

This is ridiculous. I know I won't be paying any fines, and I hope anyone that gets fined fights it.

Confused

[wallacestreet.livejournal.com]

So now I'm confused. The revision doesn't seem to apply to 1- 2- or 3- family houses, only commercial and 4+ unit buildings, right? Where does that leave the majority of residences in Davis Square (i.e. 1- 2- and 3-family houses)? Am I reading this wrong?

[chumbolly.livejournal.com]

It's interesting that the fine for shoveling into the street is only if you shovel from private property. Of course, while homeowners are required to clear the sidewalk as if they owned it, sidewalks are not private property, so I guess that means I can shovel the sidewalk snow into the street with abandon. Sweet!

More seriously, I own a house on a street corner, and clearing the massive mound that gets plowed up onto the corner so that the sidewalk is passable is the hardest part of my shoveling. Since the city is revisiting the shoveling ordinance, it would be lovely if they would also revisit the practice of making sidewalks impassable by blocking each corner. And if I get fined as a result of a plow berm on my corner, I'm going to go completely mental.

Also, I predict that giving the Parking office the ability to issue snow tickets will result in some serious butt hurt. Their arbitrary enforcement of parking regulations (which are relatively clear-cut) suggests that any determinations on whether a sidewalk is properly cleared (which seems pretty subjective) is sure to cause frustration. I appreciate the effort to make the sidewalks more passable and safer, but the city really should proceed with caution and prepare for, and have a plan in place, to deal with lots of frustrated and confused taxpayers. Read: do not repeat the fiasco that happened when the city suddenly decided to issue trash citations. The scene down at the court house after that happened was pathetic and embarrassing for the city.

[squirrelitude]

This clears up a lot, thank you!

[chenoameg.livejournal.com]

The current ordinance allows snow to be shoveled into the street in daylight hours when the temperature is above 40F.

This is incredibly useful to actually _MELT_ the snow during an extended period.

Does the new ordinance change that allowance?

[xuth.livejournal.com]

So Somerville Municipal Ordinances Chapter 12, Article I, Sec 12-9 which is not referenced in the above table is what covers shoveling snow onto the streets and does have a provision for doing so if "said snow or ice is broken up and spread evenly, to a thickness of no more than three inches, during daylight hours, when the mean temperature for that day is above 40 degrees Fahrenheit." I presume this is unchanged?

Also, I read the new ordinance very differently from the way the OP is posting regarding when "the clock starts running". It says that no one listed "shall place or suffer to remain in place any ice upon such sidewalk for more than four (4) hours" but it's only a "violation" if during the hours of 9 and 5. Thus if snow fell at 3am, at 7am you've still let the snow remain on the ground for 4 hours but you're not yet in violation. At 9am you've let the snow sit for 6 hours and it's between 9 and 5 thus I read it as you are in violation.

Maybe the OP is in agreement with the intent of the rule but it's certainly not what is written as I parse it. This is very different from the previous wording which says that you can't have snow/ice on the sidewalk for more than six hours between sunrise and sunset on any given day.

As to plows dumping snow on the sidewalk on the corners, one year I carved a tunnel through the plowed snow on the sidewalk on the corner of my street that I could walk through while standing up straight (I'm 6' tall). Snow was packed to 7.5' deep on my neighbors sidewalk. Is it reasonable to be expected to clear this?
Where should the snow be put?

[squonk.livejournal.com]

Some posters have expressed the hope that special arrangements are made to provide support for senior or handicapped residents. Through the Council on Aging, the City already provides shoveling assistance to shut-ins and the elderly.

I am sure you meant to say "residents with disabilities," and I am ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE that you did not mean to say "shut-ins" AT ALL.

God, I have never been so grateful to have moved to Cambridge.

[tt02144.livejournal.com]

This would make a lot more sense if the city actually KNEW what their own regulations were. I live on a street which only allows parking on one side all of the time. It is the even side of the street. In such cases, parking on this street is supposed to remain on the even side, as opposed to suddenly moving all cars to the odd side just for a snow storm. More than once, the city came down the street and ticketed every single car for being parked on the wrong side of the street. The height of idiocy!