A. Removal Required: It shall be unlawful for any person to deposit, place or allow to remain in or upon any public right-of-way including, but not limited to, sidewalks, aprons and other paved areas, any material or substance including, but not limited to, snow and ice, injurious to person or property or which could cause, by its accumulation, injury to person or property.
B. Commercial Properties:
1. Every owner, lessee, tenant or occupant of any commercial property in the City that abuts any public right-of-way must comply with the following:
a. Snow and ice must be removed from any sidewalk abutting such property and any sidewalk ramps intersecting such sidewalks, creating a clear path at least thirty six inches (36") wide to allow pedestrian and wheelchair passage; provided, however, that all reasonable efforts should be made to clear a path the full width of the sidewalk.
b. Accumulations of two (2) or more inches of snow, as measured by the National Weather Service at O'Hare International Airport, and/or any amount of ice should be removed as soon as practicable, but must be removed within twenty four (24) hours after the weather event ends.
c. If snow or ice on the sidewalk is frozen so hard that it cannot be removed without damage to the pavement, then, within twenty four (24) hours after the weather event ends, sand, abrasive material or other products made for the purpose of mitigating slipping hazards and preventing the accumulation of ice must be strewn on the sidewalk abutting the property, and, as soon thereafter as the weather shall permit, the sidewalk must be thoroughly cleaned.
2. If the owner, lessee, tenant or occupant of any commercial property fails to remove or abate snow or ice in the manner, and within the timeframes, set forth in subsection B.1 of this section, in addition to the penalty set forth in subsection D of this section, the City may, but is not obligated to, proceed to have such snow removed, keeping an account of the expense of such removal. The City may charge the owner, lessee, tenant or occupant an amount sufficient to defray the entire cost of any work performed pursuant to this section, plus a twenty-five percent (25%) administrative fee, plus a minimum mobilization fee of two hundred and fifty dollars ($250.00), and if the amount so charged is not paid by the owner, lessee, tenant or occupant following a demand in writing by the City for such payment, the City may record a lien against the property or take such other action(s) as permitted by law and that the City Manager deems appropriate including, but not limited to, listing the costs with the Director of Finance as a fine or fee due to the City within the meaning of subsection 4-2-11C and section 15-7-8 of this Code.
C. Unlawful Deposit Of Snow: It shall be unlawful for any person or for any agent thereof, to:
1. Plow or otherwise remove accumulated snow from a private parking lot or drive and deposit same on a public right-of-way, including, but not limited to, sidewalks, aprons and other paved areas. For purposes of this section, "deposit" shall include any action to remove snow from a private lot, drive including, but not limited to, sidewalks, aprons and other paved areas, which results in the leaving of more than a negligible amount of snow upon the public right-of-way including, but not limited to, sidewalks, aprons and other paved areas.
2. Plow snow from a private driveway or parking lot and deposit same on a City street including, but not limited to, sidewalks, aprons and other paved areas, in such a manner so as to decrease the drivable width of any such street or decrease the width of any sidewalk, apron or other paved areas to such an extent as to render them unsafe or not passable by pedestrians.
3. Obstruct, harass, prevent or otherwise interfere with any employee of the City engaged in snow removal service or to obstruct, cause damage to or otherwise interfere with any City owned or leased vehicle used in conjunction with snow removal services.
4. Plow or pile snow onto any portion of a marked handicapped parking space on public or private property.
D. Penalties:
1. Any person violating subsection A or C of this section shall be subject to the general penalty set forth in section 1-4-1 of this Code.
2. Any person violating subsection B of this section shall be subject to a fine for each offense during the then-current winter season as follows:
a. For the first offense, a fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00);
b. For the second offense, a fine of five hundred dollars ($500.00); and
c. For the third offense, a fine of seven hundred fifty dollars ($750.00).
3. Each day that a violation of this section is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense. Citations for violations of this section may be issued to the owner of the property involved, to the industry or firm which acts as an agent for any such owner, and to a lessee, tenant or occupant of any commercial property involved. (Ord. M-2-19, 1-22-2019; amd. Ord. M-10-22, 4-18-2022)