Chapter 8.45
SNOW AND ICE NUISANCES
Sections:
Article I. General Information
8.45.041 Criminal enforcement.
8.45.045 Summary abatement—Costs and expenses.
8.45.050 Sections of Chapter 7.80 RCW adopted by reference.
Article II. Depositing Snow or Ice on County Roads Prohibited
8.45.070 Depositing snow or ice on county roads prohibited—Exceptions.
Article III. Removal of Snow and Ice from Sidewalks
8.45.090 Owners of real property responsible to remove snow and ice from sidewalks.
Article I. General Information
8.45.010 Short title.
This chapter shall be known and may be commonly referred to as the “Chelan County snow and ice nuisances code.” (Res. 2022-76 (Exh. A), 8/2/22; Res. 2015-14 (Exh. A)(part), 1/27/15: Res. 2013-45 (Exh. A)(part), 6/4/13: Res. 2013-17 (Exh. A)(part), 2/12/13).
8.45.020 Definitions.
In this chapter:
(1) “County road” means a right-of-way over which the public has a legal right of passage, and over which an automobile can be driven, and is not designated as a state highway, and is outside the boundaries of a city or town.
(2) “Person” means and includes one or more persons of either sex, natural persons, corporations, partnerships, associations, joint stock companies, societies or all other entities of any kind capable of being sued. (Res. 2022-76 (Exh. A), 8/2/22; Res. 2015-14 (Exh. A)(part), 1/27/15: Res. 2013-45 (Exh. A)(part), 6/4/13: Res. 2013-17 (Exh. A)(part), 2/12/13).
8.45.030 Jurisdiction.
This chapter shall be operative on county road right-of-way in Chelan County, state of Washington. (Res. 2022-76 (Exh. A), 8/2/22; Res. 2015-14 (Exh. A)(part), 1/27/15: Res. 2013-45 (Exh. A)(part), 6/4/13: Res. 2013-17 (Exh. A)(part), 2/12/13).
8.45.040 Public nuisances.
Violations of this chapter are detrimental to public health, safety, and welfare and hereby declared to be public nuisances. Chelan County may abate nuisances under this chapter by any lawful means and may recover costs of abatement and place liens upon real property as authorized by state law. (Res. 2022-76 (Exh. A), 8/2/22; Res. 2015-14 (Exh. A)(part), 1/27/15: Res. 2013-45 (Exh. A)(part), 6/4/13: Res. 2013-17 (Exh. A)(part), 2/12/13).
8.45.041 Criminal enforcement.
Nothing in this chapter shall supersede any action for violation of state criminal law. (Res. 2022-76 (Exh. A), 8/2/22).
8.45.045 Summary abatement—Costs and expenses.
(1) Violations of this chapter are deemed to be public safety emergencies for which the county engineer and the county sheriff are each independently empowered to determine the existence or imminence of the hazard and to take summary action, as either may determine reasonable, to abate such nuisance.
(2) The person creating, causing, or committing the nuisance shall be solely responsible for the costs and expenses to abate the nuisance.
(3) The county may recover its expenditures to abate a nuisance described in this chapter. (Res. 2022-76 (Exh. A), 8/2/22; Res. 2015-14 (Exh. A)(part), 1/27/15).
8.45.050 Sections of Chapter 7.80 RCW adopted by reference.
The following sections of the Revised Code of Washington (“RCW”), as now or hereafter amended, are hereby adopted by reference as part of this chapter in all respects as though such sections were set forth herein in full: RCW 7.80.005, 7.80.010(1), 7.80.020, 7.80.030, 7.80.040, 7.80.050, 7.80.060, 7.80.070, 7.80.080, 7.80.090, 7.80.100, 7.80.110, 7.80.120, 7.80.130 and 7.80.160. (Res. 2022-76 (Exh. A), 8/2/22; Res. 2015-14 (Exh. A)(part), 1/27/15: Res. 2013-45 (Exh. A)(part), 6/4/13: Res. 2013-17 (Exh. A)(part), 2/12/13).
8.45.060 Severability.
If any provision of this chapter, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the chapter, or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances, is not affected. (Res. 2022-76 (Exh. A), 8/2/22; Res. 2015-14 (Exh. A)(part), 1/27/15: Res. 2013-45 (Exh. A)(part), 6/4/13: Res. 2013-17 (Exh. A)(part), 2/12/13).
Article II. Depositing Snow or Ice on County Roads Prohibited
8.45.070 Depositing snow or ice on county roads prohibited—Exceptions.
(1) No person shall by any means intentionally deposit, plow, shovel, throw, pile, scrape, put, place, or push snow or ice on, into, onto or upon (A) a county road, including the highway shoulder, or (B) a county road traffic sign, or (C) a fire hydrant in county right-of-way, in any manner that:
(A) Obstructs a county road; or
(B) Impedes or interferes with travel on a county road; or
(C) Endangers travelers upon a county road; or
(D) Interferes with maintenance of a county road; or
(E) Obstructs or hinders access to a fire hydrant in county right-of-way.
(2) This chapter shall not apply to:
(A) County road construction or maintenance operations, including removal of snow or ice from a county road; or
(B) A person performing construction or maintenance operations in a county road under the authority of a county-issued permit or utility franchise. (Res. 2022-76 (Exh. A), 8/2/22; Res. 2015-14 (Exh. A)(part), 1/27/15: Res. 2013-45 (Exh. A)(part), 6/4/13).
8.45.080 Violation—Penalties.
The following penalties shall apply to violations of Section 8.45.070:
(1) A first violation is a class 2 civil infraction with a penalty not to exceed one hundred twenty-five dollars, not including statutory assessments.
(2) A second violation within two years is a class 3 civil infraction with a penalty not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars, not including statutory assessments.
(3) A third violation of this chapter within a two-year period shall be designated a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in jail for a period not to exceed ninety days, or by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars, or both such fine and imprisonment. (Res. 2022-76 (Exh. A), 8/2/22; Res. 2015-14 (Exh. A)(part), 1/27/15: Res. 2013-45 (Exh. A)(part), 6/4/13).
Article III. Removal of Snow and Ice from Sidewalks
8.45.090 Owners of real property responsible to remove snow and ice from sidewalks.
Each owner of real property shall be responsible, within twenty-four hours of snow or ice falling or accumulating, to remove snow and ice from the full width of the sidewalk or sidewalks within the county right-of-way adjacent to the owner’s real property. (Res. 2022-76 (Exh. A), 8/2/22; Res. 2015-14 (Exh. A)(part), 1/27/15).
8.45.100 Presumption.
It shall be a rebuttable presumption that the owner of a parcel is the record owner indicated on the tax rolls of the county on the date the violation occurred. (Res. 2022-76 (Exh. A), 8/2/22; Res. 2015-14 (Exh. A)(part), 1/27/15).
8.45.120 Violation—Penalty.
A violation of Section 8.45.090 is a class 2 civil infraction with a penalty not to exceed one hundred twenty-five dollars, not including statutory assessments. Each day an owner does not comply with Section 8.45.090 shall constitute a separate violation. (Res. 2022-76 (Exh. A), 8/2/22; Res. 2015-14 (Exh. A)(part), 1/27/15).