Crews clearing sidewalks during a snow storm last winter. File photo by Ron Bailey.
Leonardtown, MD — With temperatures outside in the 90s it’s hard to conjure up concerns about shoveling snow. Such was the case Tuesday evening, July 28 when the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County held a public hearing on a proposed ordinance requiring adjacent landowners to shovel their sidewalks. Only two people spoke and the hearing ended quickly.
But those two speakers were clear – they didn’t like the proposal. Keith Harless spoke first. He noted that some of the sidewalks in Lexington Park don’t have homes or business adjacent but are along vacant pieces of property. “Expecting someone else to do it is not going to happen,” he said.
Harless suggested the county stash money away every year so that when it is needed the county could contract for snow removal. He noted that several of the sidewalks are heavily used and it was a safety issue to get the sidewalks cleared.
Businessman Mike Schwartz, owner of Mike’s Bikes on Great Mills Road, laid the problem squarely at the feet of State Highway Administration for dumping snow from the roads onto the sidewalks. He said the plowers should use more “common sense.”
“We have enough trying to run a small business without having the added burden we should not have to do.” Schwartz said. He added, “You are asking the people least able to do it, to do it.”
Schwartz noted that the commissioners were Republicans and shouldn’t be asking to add additional regulatory burdens on the public.
The proposed ordinance suggested by Director of Public Works and Transportation George Erichsen requires landowners adjacent to sidewalks to “remove or cause to be removed any snow, ice or frozen precipitation from the entire width of such sidewalk, including any adjacent driveway entrance, curb-cut or ramp, within 36 hours after the end of the precipitation that caused the condition.”
Failure to abide by the ordinance could mean the county would contract the work and bill the landowner. There is also a potential for up to a $100 fine. Erichsen said in a memo to the commissioners dated June 9, “Every attempt would be made to be reasonable in enforcing the ordinance.”
Leonardtown has a similar ordinance although their maximum fine is $1,000.
Sidewalk snow removal is expensive. Erichsen says there are 51 miles of sidewalk within the county roadway maintenance system and 17.3 miles within the state right-of-way. Cost of removal is estimated at more than $200,000 for each precipitation event.
Erichsen said in a Feb. 23 memo, “In St. Mary’s County our operational plan has historically relied on the willingness of our residents to clear the sidewalks in front of their homes, because funds and forces are not available for this service.”
The commissioners will hold the record open for additional public comment for at least 10 days before making a decision.
Contact Dick Myers at dick.myers@thebaynet.com