Snow season has arrived, and this winter Watertown residents will be required to shovel snow and ice from the sidewalks in front of their homes within 24 hours after the end of the storm. In future years failing to do so could result in a warning and fine, but this year the City will focus on educating rather than ticketing.
The City Council approved changes to the Watertown Snow Ordinance in January. City staff planned to use the remainder of the 2023-24 winter to educate residents about how the new residential snow shoveling rules work, but since then the area has not had a significant snowfall.
With this in mind, in the winter of 2024-25 the City will once again focus on education, said Tyler Cote, Watertown’s Community Engagement Specialist.
“We have the existing snow clearing ordinance in the business district in Watertown, which has been in place for a while, and this is really just adding on the small residential properties,” Cote said. “It applies to one, two, and three (unit) residences.”
Educational information will be going out in property tax bills, Cote said. Information will also be left at homes that do not clear their sidewalks within the 24 hour post-storm period. Warnings will be issued this winter, Cote said, but the main messages the City wants to send is for residents to be neighborly.
“What is the purpose of this ordinance? It’s really just for that safety piece. So, when kids are walking to school, they don’t have to go into the street. It’s if somebody struggles to move around, that they’re able to safely get from their front door to their car,” Cote said. “And Watertown is only four square miles. You can walk almost anywhere here in the city if you really want to, and we don’t want to make that more challenging to do so.”
The new residential section of the Snow and Ice Removal Ordinance requires snow and ice to be removed from sidewalks in front of residential properties within 24 hours of the end of the snow, sleet or freezing rain. The area cleared must be 42 inches wide or, if the sidewalk is narrower, the full width.
The Snow Ordinance includes fines for not clearing snow and ice from the sidewalk in front of the property. For “small residential properties” (one-, two-, or three-family homes) the first violation would get a written warning, a second violation gets a $50 fine, and $100 for a third and all subsequent violations in the same winter/snow season.
Information about the Snow and Winter Storms, including the start time of the 24 hour post-storm period, will be posted by the City at https://watertown-ma.gov/1390/Snow-and-Winter-Storm-Information-and-Up
The ordinance allows for the City Manager to give exemptions to residents who cannot comply with the snow removal requirement, “particularly for low-income, elderly, or disabled residents, or for other unusual circumstances,” the ordinance reads.
Exemptions will not be made this year, Cote said, but there are options for residents needing help. The Senior Center is accepting applications for people seeking help from volunteers to clear their sidewalks. Click here for information.
One way violations will be found is by Watertown’s Code Enforcement going out after storms. Another way that City officials will hear about non-compliant properties is from residents alerting them. This can be done through the City’s recently initiated 311 program.
“We will have an option right in 311 for people to submit those; that is called ‘residential snow and ice clearance,’ or something along those lines, and be able to submit that,” Cote said. “That won’t be opened until 24 hours after storms to be in accordance with our with the ordinance’s timeline as well.”
When an alert is submitted, a job ticket is automatically submitted to the Code Enforcement team, Cote said.
This winter, if the City Code Enforcement staff sees or hears about a home where the show has not cleared snow, they will leave information at the home.
“Even if it gets to a point where a warning is given to a property owner for not clearing snow, with that warning will come educational materials about this ordinance,” Cote said. “And we’ll have a little checklist of, ‘Here are things that in future years and future winter seasons, this would lead to a fine. And here’s a quick checklist that can help you ensure that you will not be subject to fines and future winters.'”
Even when tickets are issued in future years, Cote said that it is not the City’s goal to fine, it is to increase safety in our community.
“The goal of this ordinance really isn’t to be handing out fines and warnings to everybody in the city. That wasn’t the intent by the Council,” Cote said. “Looking back at the discussion that they had and then knowing just internally the way it’s talked about, our goal is to really just ensure that the community is safe and accessible.”
Cote also worked with Watertown Cable to put together an informational video about the new residential snow rules. Watch it below:
Excellent and easy to understand informational video. Enjoyable graphics, too. Great help for seniors and it will make walking my dog much easier!