Serving Proudly As The Voice Of Valley County Since 1913

City Snow Removal Ordinance Passes First Reading

The Glasgow City Council has advanced an ordinance to expand the city’s current snow removal ordinance to include measures for the city’s removal of snow from residential and business sidewalks and bill the property owners. Ordinance No. 973 passed unanimously at the council’s Dec. 21 meeting and will head to second reading in January.

The ordinance, according to council president Rod Karst, is modeled after the city’s weedy lot ordinance which was passed earlier this year. That ordinance aimed to encourage the grooming and maintenance of city lots by strengthening existing lot ordinances. Specifically, it allows the city to mow weedy lots after a certain period of notices to the property owner. Once the city has mowed the lot, a fee is sent to the property owner.

If the snow-removal ordinance passes the second reading on Jan. 4, it will operate with the same system as the nuisance lot ordinance on a shorter timeline. Property owners will have 24 hours after a snowfall to remove snow or they will be notified by the city of the violation by certified mail. If the snow is not removed in the allotted period, the city will remove it. If the property continues to not remove the snow, then the city can continue to remove it without notice.

The fees will begin at $200 for the first violation and will continue at increments of $100 to a cap of $500 for each continuing violation. The ordinance will go into effect 30 days after it is passed.

The amendment adds the following to Ordinance No. 899:

Sec. 17-24. Violations, work by city, penalties, collection.

. . .

(c) Notice Procedure.

(1) Written notice of violation shall provide at a minimum:

(a) The director of public works shall keep a record of the exact date of all work caused to be done in accordance with this section on account of the act or omission of each person;

(b) Name and address of the owner in violation of section 17-22 and 17-23 of this chapter;

(c) All owners of real property are responsible for removal of snow not later than September 30th of each year and are responsible for keeping the areas free of snow through April 30th of that year;

(d) Failure to remove the snow within twenty-four (24) hours will result in the city re-moving the snow and charging the owner costs of removal;

(e) Owner will receive only one violation notice per season, and the city will remove the snow as needed without any additional notice to the owner. Owner bears the cost of all snow removal performed by the city.

(2) Written notice of violation shall be served in the following manner:

(a) If the subject property is occupied by the owner, notice shall be either personally served on such owner or mailed to such owner at the owner’s last known address, by first class United States mail;

(b) If the subject property is not occupied by the owner, notice shall be mailed to the owner at the owner’s last known address, by first class United States mail;

(c) Such notice shall be deemed complete on the day of personal service or on the day such notice is deposited in any United States post office.

(d) Cost of Removal.

(1) The cost for removal is as follows:

(a) First time violation, two hundred dollars ($200.00) for the city providing removal of snow.

(b) Second time violation, three hundred dollars ($300.00) for the city providing removal of snow.

(c) Third time violation, four hundred dollars ($400.00) for the city providing removal of snow.

(d) On continued offences, the penalty will increase one hundred dollars, for a maximum fine of five-hundred dollars ($500.00) for the city to provide the removal of snow.

(e) All of which will be charged to the owner of the subject property

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 02/29/2024 19:45