[bestfurryfriens]

We have had close to 3 feet of snow. On top of that, the snow from the street was plowed up onto my sidewalk. There is literally nowhere to put the snow from the sidewalk. The sidewalk is in between the street and a five foot retaining wall. In my community, only a handful of the homes have sidewalks, probably less than 5%. We moved into the house before the sidewalks were installed. Our property line is probably five feet back from the sidewalk.

I think it would be fair if all of the homes or even most of the homes in the community had sidewalks, we could all be responsible for our own. But I think the township should have to be responsible for the sidewalk in this case. True?

[ScottGem]

Generally, the homeowner is responsible for clearing the sidewalk in front of their homes and can be fined if they don't.

[bestfurryfriens]

I know is true in the city nearby. But my neighbor said that
1. we are grandfathered because the sidewalk was not there when we moved in and
2. because only a minute portion of the community has sidewalks, it creates unfair burden on us and therefore is the responsibility of the township and
3. we were never notified that it is our responsibility ( I also do not recall any notification and when they were installing the sidewalks I asked the township guy and he said it had not been decided yet). We may have been notified since then and we both missed it.

Is this true? And if you answer yes or no, are you an attorney who is an expert in these matters?

[Clough]

Hi, bestfurryfriens!

In the city where I live, we aren't required to keep our sidewalks cleared of snow. However, in a city that's right across the river, people are required to keep their sidewalks clear of snow.

It would be best to be calling city officials to find out what the requirements are.

Thanks!

[ScottGem]

I know is true in the city nearby. But my neighbor said that
1. we are grandfathered because the sidewalk was not there when we moved in and
2. because only a minute portion of the community has sidewalks, it creates unfair burden on us and therefore is the responsibility of the township and
3. we were never notified that it is our responsibility ( I also do not recall any notification and when they were installing the sidewalks I asked the township guy and he said it had not been decided yet). We may have been notified since then and we both missed it.

Is this true? And if you answer yes or no, are you an attorney who is an expert in these matters?

Whether any of that is true or not, I couldn't tell you without knowing what municipality you live in. While I believe in the large majority of cities, especially those in the snow belt, do require homeowners to clear their sidewalks, the laws do vary. I will address each point:

1. This is possible, but only if you owned the home before sidewalks were put in. When you sell the home, the grandfathering will no longer apply.
2. I would doubt if this was true. I think it creates an unfair burden on the community to treat people differently. Either you are required to clear or you aren't.
3. Were you ever notified that its illegal to jaywalk? Governments do not always individually notify citizens of changes in the laws. So the fact that you didn't get notification doesn't mean anything.

So the bottom line is to contact the town's department that deals with snow removal and ask. If they say you are responsible ask for a cite of the exact regulation that says so. I will point out that I doubt if any town has the budget or manpower to clean off sidewalks. The only advantages of the laws stating its not the homeowner's responsibility would be a) they can't fine you for not doing it and b) you would have no liability if someone gets hurt because you didn't do it.

Finally, one does not need to be a member of the bar to know the laws and the way governments work in certain matters.