Mother Nature has been doing our dirty work long enough.

At least that’s what some folks in City Hall are beginning to think when it comes to the city’s sidewalk snow removal policy.

Among city leaders, talk is beginning to surface like snowmen on a cul-de-sac about stiffening the requirements for residents to promptly clear sidewalks of snow.

“It may be time for us to look at ways the city could clear those sidewalks that don’t get cleared otherwise and then charge the expense back to the property owners,” Mayor Sue Hack said Thursday as the city got belted with another batch of snow and ice.

The city already has a law on the books requiring snow to be removed or ice to be treated within 24 hours following the conclusion of a storm. But the finer details of the ordinance have a snow-angel feel: soft and fluffy. The ordinance gives everyone ticketed a five-day period to remove the snow before being hit with a modest $20 fine.

The result usually is that Mother Nature takes care of any snow removal by melting the snow during the five-day period. But that’s becoming a concern to city leaders because it leaves several days where walking in the city can be treacherous.

“We get complaints from people who are just trying to walk on their daily route to work,” said Brian Jimenez, the code enforcement manager for the city. “We get people who say they can’t safely get to their mailbox because sidewalks aren’t cleared in their residential area.”

Warnings, no action

Since 2003, the city has issued 684 warnings to people for not quickly clearing snow. That includes 126 warnings in January of this year alone. But there’s no record that any of the 684 warnings have ever turned into a ticket.

It’s unclear, though, whether a ticket would serve as much of a deterrent.

“Our fine appears to be very low,” Jimenez said.

Not so in some communities. A report by City Hall staff members found that in Madison, Wis., a first offense carries a fine of $109. Subsequent offenses during the same season come with a $172 fine. No warnings are given.

In addition to the fine, Madison residents could be billed for snow removal services – about $80 – if they don’t shovel their sidewalks by 8 a.m. the day after the ticket is issued.

Hack said she’s not sure she wants to get that strict in Lawrence, but she wants to look at ways to spur more shoveling.

“I think sidewalks are definitely an issue, but it involves a balancing act in how we deal with it,” Hack said.

Elsewhere

Ames, Iowa, requires residents to remove snow within 10 hours after the storm. If the snow isn’t removed, a warning is given allowing residents 24 hours to clear the snow. If the snow is not cleared after that warning, the city will remove it and bill the owner. The typical bill runs between $90 and $150.

Lawrence staff members found that several cities use a similar system. They also found that if people refuse to pay the snow removal bill, several cities will place those costs on the individual’s property tax bill.

Jimenez said he wants city commissioners to consider changing Lawrence’s ordinance to allow the city to do snow removal at locations where owners won’t comply with the ordinance.

City commissioners would need to determine whether snow removal could be done with existing staff members, or whether the service would be contracted out to a private vendor.

Another issue for commissioners is whether the snow removal ordinance should continue to be largely complaint driven. Currently, city inspectors don’t actively seek violations. Instead, they respond to specific complaints, and then will issue other citations for sidewalks that are not cleared around the area of the complaint.

Some communities, Madison most notably, have designated specific pedestrian corridors that get inspected after each snowfall.

One issue that commissioners may struggle to address is the common complaint of city snowplows throwing snow onto a recently shoveled sidewalk.

“I probably hear about that the most,” Hack said. “But I’m not going to blame public works for doing the job that they need to do. We would have terrible complaints if we didn’t get our roads plowed.”

Jonathan Douglass, an assistant to the city manager, said his research hadn’t found any cities that had come up with a good solution to that issue.

“The problem is that the snow has to go somewhere until it melts,” Douglass said.