Montclair Snow Shoveling: Who Is Responsible, When Does It Need To Happen?

MONTCLAIR, NJ — As the winter months close their icy grip on the Essex County region, many Montclair residents will find themselves facing one of December’s most-dreaded chores: shoveling snow.

Here are a few points to keep in mind as you grab those shovels, Montclair. According to the township code:

• Every owner, lessee, tenant, occupant, or other person having charge of any building, lot of ground or premises in the Township abutting or bordering upon any public street in the Township shall remove or cause to be removed all snow, slush and/or ice from the abutting sidewalks of any such street within 12 hours of daylight after the same shall fall or be formed thereon or, in the case of ice which may be so frozen to the sidewalks as to make removal impracticable, shall cause the same to be thoroughly covered with sand, rock salt or similar material within the same period.
• Removal of any slush and/or loose, granular, or packed snow should be conducted along the full paved width, or a minimum of 48 inches wide, of such sidewalks and in a manner that ensures the orderly flow and safety of pedestrian traffic upon such sidewalks.
• Removal of any ice should be conducted along the full paved width, or a minimum of 48 inches wide, of such sidewalks and in a manner that ensures the orderly flow and safety of pedestrian traffic upon such sidewalks. In the event of ice that may be so frozen as to make removal impracticable any owner, lessee, tenant, occupant or other person shall be deemed to be in compliance with this subsection if such ice is made level and completely covered with sand, sawdust, rock salt, or other appropriate traction-producing material to prevent slipping and shall, as soon thereafter as the weather shall permit, thoroughly clean such sidewalks.
• Any property whose sidewalk leads to a crosswalk shall remove snow, slush and/or ice so as to give clear path of access to the crosswalk.
• No owner, lessee, tenant, occupant or other person, having charge of any building or lot of ground in the Township abutting on any street, shall throw, place or deposit any snow, slush and/or ice into or upon any street, or against a fire hydrant or on the loading or unloading areas of any public transportation systems in the Township, except such as falls upon or is formed upon that portion of the property so abutting said street lying within the sidewalk lines thereof. No snow or ice may be deposited on the land of another owner, tenant, or occupant unless said owner, tenant, or occupant has agreed to accept same. No person shall authorize or permit removal of snow, slush and/or ice and its depositing upon any street, or against a fire hydrant or on the loading or unloading areas of a public transportation system in the Township.
• Any owner, lessee, tenant, occupant or other person who violates any provision of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine according to the following schedule: (1) For first offense, $100. (2) For the second offense and each additional within a six-month period from the date of the previous offense, a fine of not less than $200 nor more than $500.

Link to the full township code for snow and ice removal here.

• See related article: Could Robot Snowblowers Mean The End Of Winter Shoveling? [VIDEOS]

Photo: Flickr Commons

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