HomeMy WebLinkAbout10068-11 Amend Code- Ch. 18 Entitled Streets & Sidewalks Requiring the Removal of Snow & IceORDINANCE No. ++
Passed by the Common Council of t/ie Ciry of Sonth Bend, Indiana
January 10,
Attest:
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Attest: ____
Presented by me to the Mayor of the Ciry of South Bend, Indiana
January 11,
20 11
Ciry Clerk
Zo 11
President of Common Council
City Clerk
Approved and signed by me January 18 20 11
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Mayer
Substitute Bill No. 89-10
Ordinance No. ~UV~°~ '~
AN ORDINANCE OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND,
INDIANA, AMENDING VARIOUS SECTION CHAPTER 18, ARTICLE 1 OF THE SOUTH
BEND MUNICIPAL CODE ENTITLED STREETS AND SIDEWALKS REQUIRING THE
REMOVAL OF SNOW AND ICE AND AMENDING SECTION 2-213 ENTITLED
SCHEDULE OF ORDINANCE AND CODE VIOLATIONS
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND INTENT
The South Bend Common Council notes that the current regulations dealing with the
removal of snow and ice on sidewalks were last amended in 1982. Since that time, it has become
apparent that safety concerns require that those regulations need improvement.
The following ordinance is designed to assist in the safe passage of pedestrians when using
sidewalks located within the City of South Bend, so that snow and ice would be removed in a
routine and timely manner. The proposed changes include provisions for limited exceptions to
address potential hardship situations for individuals who have been issued a valid mobility
handicapped parking permit by the Board of Public Works. In limited situations, the ordinance
would enable the Board of Public Works to coordinate with the Community Campus Advisory
Coalition (CCAC) for the development and implementation of a volunteer student program who
may assist in removing snow and/or ice for such individuals experiencing a hardship and having
such a permit.
The Common Council has received complaints with regard to potential unsafe areas because
of snow and ice, especially in highly traveled areas near schools and libraries throughout the city.
The proposed regulations would be in addition to the regulations codified in the Soutlr Bend
Municipal Code in Chapter 20, Article 7 which address snow removal conditions when declared by
the Mayor.
This ordinance is believed to be in the best interests of the public health and safety interests
of the South Bend residents and visitors to the city..
~ai~, GYe~~e~~~~e, G~ i~d~=fhrr~a~~ by the Common Council of the City of South Bend, Indiana,
as follows:
Section I. Chapter 18, Article 8, Sections 18-7, 18-8 and 18-12 of the Sotrtlt Bend Municipal
Code are hereby amended to read in their entirety as follows:
Sec. 18-7. Removal of Snow and Ice From Sidewalks Required.
(a) It shall be the responsibility of the property owner or the occupant of any building
abutting or adjacent to any public sidewalk bordering such property to remove any snow and/or ice
which accumulates on such sidewalk or which obstructs such sidewalk to the full paved width of the
Snow and/or Ice Removal Ordinance
Page 2
sidewalk within twenty-four (24) hours after such snow and/or ice has fallen or accumulated
thereon.
(b) (~} In the event that an owner or occupant who has been issued a citation for failure to
remove snow and/or ice as required in this Article, the City may, after determining that the area
needs immediate attention, remove or clean such snow and/or ice or cause it to be removed. The
owner or occupant shall be responsible for all costs incurred for such removal. If the owner or
occupant fails to pay the costs within thirty (30) days of the date of invoice, the outstanding balance
shall incur interest fees often percent (10%) per annum. If the outstanding balance is not paid in full
within sixty (60) days of the date of invoice, the City Attorney's Office shall take legal action to
recover and collect the same, with reports of such action being sent to the Ordinance Violations
Bureau on a regular basis.
Sec. 18-8. Limited Exceptions-Volunteer Snow Removal Program Authorized for
Individuals Issued a Valid Mobility Handicapped Parking Permit or Those
Having a Disability Determination by a State or Federal Asency.t
(a) Any property owner or occupant who lives in a residentially zoned area which abuts or
is adjacent to any public sidewalk which borders such property and who has been issued a valid
mobility handicapped parking permit by the Board of Public Works pursuant to Article 9 of Chapter
20 of the South Bend Municipal Code or any individual who provides written verification of
disabilityissued by the Social Security Administration or the State Medicaid Eli i_~y Office may
qualify for a hardship exception to the requirements of Section 18-7 of this Code.
(b) The Board of Public Works or its authorized agent shall coordinate with the Community
Campus Advisory Coalition (CCAC) for the purposes of coordinating a volunteer student program
to assist in the timely removal of snow and ice from sidewalks located as further addressed in this
paragraph. The addresses which have a valid designation of a space for parking privileges
authorized under the City's Mobility Handicapped Parking regulations codified in the South Bend
Municipal Code in Sections 20-110 through 20-113.4; and any addresses of individuals who have
provided appropriate written verification of disability issued by the Social Security Administration
or the State Medicaid Eli tg'bility Office to the Board of Public Works shall be considered for
qualifying for a hardship exception, once the volunteer program becomes effective.
Sec. 18-12. Enforcement and Penalties for Failure to Remove Snow and/or Ice.
(a) The Police Department, Department of Code Enforcement and other officials designated by the
Board of Public Were Safety shall enforce the provisions of this Article. When any authorized
~ Indiana Code § 36-9-6-6 addresses the powers of the Board of Public Works over sidewalks.
Snow and/or Ice Removal Ordinance
Page 3
enforcement official finds that a violation of Section 18-7 has occurred, an ordinance citation shall
be issued to either the property owner or occupant resulting in a fine of not less than fifteen dollars
($15.00) for the first violation, and not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for each violation
thereafter.
(b) Each day that a violation is in effect shall constitute a separate offense for which a
citation maybe issued.
(c) In addition to the citation procedure, the City Attorney's Office shall be charged with
recovery and collection of any costs incurred by the city from such violator(s) as further addressed
in Section 18-7 of this Code.
Section II. The "Schedule of Ordinance and Code Violations" set forth in Chapter 2, Article
19, Section 2-213 of the South Bend Municipal Code is amended to read as follows:
18-7 Snow and/or ice removal from sidewalks $15.00/$25.00
~ Statistical Compilations des on the status of any ordinance citation issued for a type
of violation listed in paragraph (a) of this section, which is referred to the City Attorney's Office,
shall be summarized in a report on the last business day of each month. Said report shall provide as
much statistical information as possible citing the South Bend Municipal Code Section violated, the
type of violation, the amount of the unpaid penalty, the action taken by the City Attorney's Office,
and the current status of amount collected, whenever possible. Said report shall be filed with the
Ordinance Violations Bureau in the Office of the City Clerk and sent to the Chairperson of the
Council's Health and Public Safety Committee.
Section III. Severability. If any part, section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase in this
Article is for any reason declared to be unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, such decision shall not
affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Article.
Section IV. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage by the
Common Council and approval by the Mayor and legal publication.
Coun~mber Ann Pu~l~b,~ V'
Health a is afety o rttee
~Gnci~dmber Thomas LaFountain, Chairperson
Personnel and Finance Committee
Snow and/or Ice Removal Ordinance
Page 4
~ ~ ~i 9
Council Member Al "Buddy' irsits, CCAC Chairperson
South Bend Common Counc
John oorde, City Clerk
~~-P~~~z~ by me to the Mayor of the City of South Bend, Indiana on the l~ day of
~,~~ 2010, at ~ ~ :.flC~ o'clock Q .m.
Janic Talboom, Deputy City Clerk
c~/~~i~~~e~a~za/~r,~~~e~l by me on the
at / : '~S' o 'clock ,p . m.
l~ day of !~- ~ti. , .2~6~" z o ~/
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Stephen J. Luc e
Mayor of the City of South Bend, Indiana
1 st READING ~LIS -~~
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PUBLIC HEARING ~,-
3 rd READING 1,~~, ~-~~ ct S S u.~a .~ ~ I~ ~,
NOT APPROVED
REFERRED
PASSED ~ - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ li- S S u-~°5~-i ~.~t' ~-(.~
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J~P.~ - 5 2011
JOI~i?J V40?0'~
CITY CLEk{~, S0. Fl~s`+a, iN.
TO THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SOUTH BEND:
Your Committee of the Whole, to whom was referred:
BILL NO.
89-10 A BILL OF THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, AMENDING VARIOUS
SECTIONS OF CHAPTER 18, ARTICLE 1 OF THE SOUTH
BEND MUNICIPAL CODE ENTITLED STREETS AND
SIDEWALKS REQUIRING THE REMOVAL OF SNOW AND
ICE AND AMENDING SECTION 2-213 ENTITLED
SCHEDULE OF ORDINANCE AND CODE VIOLATIONS
Respectfully report that they have examined the matter and that in their opinion,
this bill is being recommended to the full Council with no recommendation.
Timothy A. Rouse
Chairperson, Committee of the Whole
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WI1 \ ~\EACE/j l
~+~ ~' -: a Common Council
1865 R 441 County-City Building • 227 W. Jefferson Blvd
South Bend, Indiana 46601-1830
Derek D. Dieter January 5, 2011
President
Oliver J. Davis The South Bend Common Council
Vice-President 4th Floor County-City Building
South Bend, Indiana 46601
Ann Puzzello
Chairperson, Committee Re: Substitute Bill No. 89-10
(574) 235-9321
Fax (574) 235-9173
TDD (574) 235-5567
http: //www. southbendin. gov
of the Whole Snow and Ice Removal Regulations
Derek D. Dieter Dear Council Members:
First District
Henry Davis, Jr. We have received recommendations from the City Administration which would
Second District further strengthen and improve our proposed snow and ice removal regulations filed
on November 7, 2010.
Thomas LaFountain
Third District We are therefore filing Substitute Bill No. 89-10 which include changes as follows:
Ann Puzzello Sec. 18-7 Strikes paragraph (b) regarding sand and/or salt and re-letters (c) to
Fourth District (b)
David Varner
Fifth District Sec. 18-8 Adds to the limited exceptions individuals who provide written
verification of disability issued by the Social Security Administration
Oliver J. Davis or the State Medicaid Eligibility office
Sixth District
Sec. 18-12 Changes Board of Public Works to Board of Public Safety
Al "Buddy' Kirsits Adds that the ordinance citation shall be issued "to either the property
At Large owner or occupant"
Timothy A. Rouse
At Large
Sec. 2-213 Clarifies that the report is a statistical compilation with additional data
being provided whenever possible by the Legal Department
Karen L. White
At Large We believe that through good public awareness campaigns which focus on the public
safety concerns and the need to remove snow from public sidewalks, that pedestrian
safety will be enhanced. We seek your support. Thank you.
Sincerely,
~ _ /
'v
Council Member A uzzello, Vice-Chairperson
Health and Public Safety Committee
January 5, 2011 Cover Letter to Substitute Bill No. 89-10
Page 2 ~ „ O~~
Council Member Thofhias LaFountain, Chairperson
PersoL~%~ ncJ,Fj~minittee
Council Member Al "B dy" Kirsits
Community/Campus Advisory Coalition Chairperson
Attachment
J A?.i~ - 5 2011
d0}ii: VOGRG~ „1 IN.
CITY CLEi~~, `~'~• ~`'"`'