CHAPTER 12.28
SNOW REMOVAL
Sections:
12.28.030 Provision of snow removal service on the City’s streets.
12.28.040 Responsibility of property owners to maintain sidewalks.
12.28.050 Emergency conditions.
12.28.010 Purpose.
This Chapter establishes the City’s policy and level of service with respect to the clearance of snow and ice and maintenance of the City’s streets during the winter months. The normal logistics of maintenance will be modified by varying severity of storms, winds, temperature, other weather conditions, equipment limitations, trained personnel available and budget constraints. Persons using the City’s streets are advised that travel conditions are hazardous and severe weather conditions may overwhelm the time, equipment and personnel services assigned to the maintenance of the City’s streets during the winter months. Some storms may be so severe that, in the professional judgment of the Maintenance Supervisor or his designate, maintenance of the City’s streets may be suspended. (Ord 08-248 §1 (Ex A))
12.28.020 Level of service.
Clearance of snow or ice and maintenance of the City’s streets during the winter months is primarily for the benefit of the City’s residents. Each storm has individual characteristics and must be dealt with accordingly. The City’s existing operable snow removal equipment will be utilized for this purpose. All maintenance of the City’s streets during the winter months shall be accomplished within the budget established by the Council. The rental of equipment for the maintenance of the City’s streets during the winter months is not anticipated. The portion of the City’s streets may have upon them snow and ice in a compacted condition. These conditions may be continuous, or they may be more concentrated on hills, in valleys, curves, and/or intersections. The entire width of the City’s streets may not be cleared of snow, ice, compacted snow and ice, or frost. Snow cleared from the City’s streets may be removed by persons other than the City. Snow should be expected to accumulate adjacent to the traveled portion of the City’s streets to the extent that a motorist’s sight distance in any direction may be greatly reduced or impaired. Snow removed from intersections may be piled in corners in unequal heights. The motorists are responsible for driving their vehicles during these conditions with additional caution and watchfulness, especially in respect to the surface of the street, and reduced or impaired visibility. With respect to streets which may have only one lane open, motorists should exercise extreme watchfulness and caution, and reduce their speeds accordingly. No additional warning or regulatory signs will be placed on the streets that warn of impaired sight distance, visibility at intersections, road blockages, one-lane conditions, or that the street is slick or slippery, or what the advised speed should be. (Ord 08-248 §1 (Ex A))
12.28.030 Provision of snow removal service on the City’s streets.
A. General. The removal of snow and ice from the City’s streets, and other maintenance of the City’s streets during the winter months shall be accomplished according to the Maintenance Supervisor’s professional judgment.
B. Priorities and standards. In exercising this professional judgment, maintenance of the City’s Streets should accomplished by considering the following order of importance, with the initial goal being to open such streets to accommodate two-lane traffic. It is not the policy of the City to provide a "dry" pavement condition:
1. Emergency Routes
2. School Bus Routes
3. Downtown and Primary Routes
4. Avenues
5. Residential
C. Hours of Operation. The truck mounted snow plows and spreaders will not normally be in operation between the hours of 5:00 pm and 5:00 am. The trucks may be called off the road if weather conditions reduce visibility to hazardous working conditions, in the professional judgment of Maintenance Supervisor or his delegated representative.
E. After roads have been plowed as provided in this section, intersections, hills and curves may have salt, sand or other abrasive materials placed on them. These intersections, hills and curves will not be resanded, resalted or have other abrasives replaced on them between storms. This sequence of service shall be performed only between the hours of 5:00 am and 5:00 pm each day, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays observed by the City. (Ord 08-248 §1 (Ex A))
12.28.040 Responsibility of property owners to maintain sidewalks.
A. Legislative Policy. Accumulations of snow and ice on public sidewalks within the City are detrimental to the public health, convenience, safety and welfare of the residents of the City, and to visitors to the City during the winter months. As set out in Chapter 12.21, it is the duty of persons owning and occupying premises adjacent to sidewalks to maintain such sidewalks, and its is reasonable and necessary that persons owning and occupying premises adjacent to sidewalks make all reasonable efforts to clear the sidewalks which they control of snow and ice in a prudent fashion so that those public rights-of-way remain accessible and safe for their intended public use. This section is for the benefit of the general public and no specific duty to particular persons is created hereby.
B. General. It is the duty of all owners of property within the City, to remove snow and ice from sidewalks on or abutting their respective properties, and to maintain said sidewalks free of accumulated snow and ice pursuant to this section. This duty includes, but is not limited to, removing berms left across driveway entrances resulting from City plowing operations. This duty may not be avoided by the hiring of another party to accomplish the removal of snow and ice, and the owner shall be responsible for the actions of any other party they engage to remove snow and ice from their property.
C. Timing. Snow and ice removal shall be completed within 24 hours of the end of a snowstorm.
D. Placement. All snow or ice removed by owners or their agents or contractors from sidewalks, other private property (including without limitation driveways and parking lots), and/or the public right of way shall not be deposited onto any portion of the City’s right of way or sidewalk, or in a manner that will obstruct the City’s storm water drain system, or the vision of drivers.
E. Nuisance Declared. The accumulation of snow and ice on any sidewalk of the City, or the placement of snow or ice in violation of subsection (D) is declared to be a public nuisance.
F. Violations – Penalty. Every person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be deemed to have committed a civil infraction. Each day a violation exists within any calendar year shall constitute a separate violation of this chapter, subject to the imposition of civil penalties, as set out in section 1.01.118, as follows:
1. Failing to remove snow and ice: C-12 penalty; and
2. Failing to remove snow and ice within forty eight (48) hours after notice by the City: C-7 penalty.
G. Cost of City’s Removal of Accumulated Snow and Ice.
1. In addition to the civil penalties identified in subsection (F), if any Owner fails to remove snow and ice as required by this section, the City may cause the snow to be removed at the expense of the Owner. The approximate cost of the City’s removal of show and ice shall be established by the City Council from time to time in the City’s Rate Resolution
2. The civil penalties identified in subsection (F) and the City’s cost to remove snow and ice shall be billed to the Owner, or the occupant of the property, and shall be part of the Account of the Owner, or the occupant of the property, and collected pursuant to the utility billing and collection process established according to Chapter 3.05. If such fee is not paid within 30 days after billing, it shall become a lien in favor of the City against the property abutting the sidewalk, and shall be assessed against the property in the same manner as real personal property taxes are assessed and levied.
H. City’s Removal of Windrows Across Residential Driveways for the Infirm. The City may remove windrows left across residential driveway entrances resulting from the City’s snow plowing of streets for properties occupied by an inform person. Such removal shall be based upon an application therefore submitted to and approved by the Maintenance Supervisor. For purposes of this section, the term "infirm" means any person who is (a) over the age of sixty-five (65) years of (b) physically unable, in the exclusive determination of the Maintenance Supervisor, from engaging in the activity of removing said windrow.
I. Notice. Notice to the Owners and occupants of property will be given on or before November 15, through a posting in the City’s official newspaper. [consider: on the 15th day of each November, December, and January of each year. (Ord 09-267 §1 (Ex A); Ord 08-248 §1 (Ex A))
12.28.050 Emergency conditions.
The sequence of service stated in Section 12.28.030 may be superseded during "Emergency" conditions. An "Emergency" condition shall be considered as one where a loss of human life is probable, a serious injury or illness has occurred which requires a physician’s immediate attention, or extensive loss of property is imminent. An "Emergency" request from a physician, fire department, ambulance service, police department or sheriff’s office will be honored immediately, either during or after a snowstorm. "Emergency" requests from individuals should be verifiable as such and once confirmed will also be honored either during or after a snowstorm. (Ord 08-248 §1 (Ex A))
12.28.060 Requests for service in non-emergent situations.
Persons may request the provision of snow removal of particular streets for non-emergent but "out of the ordinary" needs, such as funerals, weddings, etc. Such requests shall be made to the Maintenance Supervisor during the hours between 8 A.M and 5 P.M., Monday through Friday (excluding holidays). (Ord 08-248 §1 (Ex A))
12.28.070 Damage to private property.
The City’s effort to remove snow and ice from the City’s streets takes precedence over accidental damage to privately owned fences, gates and abandoned or stranded vehicles. The City will exercise reasonable care to avoid damage to private property; but due to the conditions of winter, the City assumes no liability in the event of damage unless it can be established that damage was due to the City’s sole negligence in the removal of snow or ice from the City’s streets. (Ord 08-248 §1 (Ex A))