(a) Legislative findings.
(1) During significant winter storm events, Montgomery County’s sidewalks often become impassable and covered in piles of snow that are pushed aside from the road as a result of County and State snowplows. The scope of the problem is prevalent on Montgomery County’s busiest roads, where sidewalks are often within an arm’s reach of traffic.
(2) These blocked sidewalks often persist for days following the end of a snowstorm, creating a significant pedestrian safety hazard that often forces pedestrians to walk in a lane with oncoming traffic.
(3) County law allocates the responsibility of property owners to clear snow on a public sidewalk fronting their property within 24 hours of the end of snowfall. However, such clearing rarely occurs due to a variety of reasons, including the difficulty of removing the large piles of compacted snow and ice created by plow trucks.
(4) The County, in its current operation, clears sidewalks in urban districts and approximately sixty (60) miles of sidewalks with no adjacent residential or commercial property owner outside of such areas.
(5) Snow-covered and icy sidewalks adversely affect essential workers and commuters, who often travel by foot or public transportation, and must walk along high-traffic roads to get to bus stops and retail stores.
(6) It is in the best interest of the County to adopt fair, reasonable and equitable legislation to address safety hazards and increase walkability access on sidewalks for pedestrians during winter storms.
(b) (1) Definitions. In this Section:
(A) Commercial property means real property that either:
(i) is not designed for or intended for human habitation; or
(ii) contains a multi-family dwelling of four or more units.
(B) Residential property means real property containing either:
(i) a single-family dwelling; or
(ii) a multi-family dwelling of three or fewer units.
(C) Department means the Department of Transportation.
(D) Non-buffered Sidewalk means a sidewalk along a roadway that does not contain a grass strip or other physical separation between the sidewalk and the adjacent curb or road edge.
(E) Orphan sidewalk means a sidewalk either abutting a State or County road and be located:
(i) adjacent to a vacant lot;
(ii) an overpass with no adjacent commercial or residential property adjoined; or
(iii) behind a residential or commercial property that is not directly accessible from the owner’s property and is separated from the sidewalk by a fence, guardrail, or change in elevation grade.
(2) A person is responsible for removing snow and ice on any sidewalk, sidepath, other areas intended for public pedestrian access, or parking area on or adjacent to property that the person owns, leases, or manages, to provide a pathway wide enough for safe pedestrian and wheelchair use. For purposes of this Section, commonly owned property between a single-family residential lot and a common sidewalk or sidepath is considered part of the lot if the intervening common property includes a sidewalk, sidepath, or driveway that serves only that lot.
(3) Except as provided in paragraph (5), each owner, tenant, or manager is jointly and severally responsible for clearing snow and ice from the property and complying with Section 31-26A(d).
(4) The requirements of this Section do not apply to:
(A) an unpaved sidewalk;
(B) a private sidewalk or parking area on the property of a single-family residence;
(C) a public sidewalk or sidepath behind a single-family residence that is not directly accessible from the owner’s property;
(D) a sidewalk that:
(i) is at least 25 feet from vehicular traffic;
(ii) serves only pedestrian destinations that are also accessible by another sidewalk that this Section requires to be cleared;
(iii) was not routinely cleared of snow and ice after August 1999; and
(iv) is not the primary route for pedestrian access to a winter recreational facility open to the public; or
(E) any non-buffered sidewalk or path as specified under Section 49-17(j), regardless if the private property is fronting or abutting the sidewalk.
(5) (A) An individual who lives in a multi-family dwelling is not responsible for removing snow and ice from a common sidewalk, sidepath, or parking area.
(B) A homeowners’ association, as that term is used in State law, is not responsible for removing snow and ice from a sidewalk or sidepath adjacent to a single-family residential lot, if the lot owner is responsible under paragraph (1) for removing snow and ice from that sidewalk or sidepath.
(c) If ice or hardpacked snow is impossible or unreasonably difficult to remove, the person is responsible for applying sufficient sand, other abrasives, or salt to provide safe pedestrian use.
(d) The person is responsible for removing snow and ice within 24 hours after the end of the precipitation that caused the condition. If a snowplow redeposits snow or ice on a sidewalk, sidepath or other area intended for pedestrian access after a person has complied with this Section, the person is not responsible for clearing the area until 24 hours after the snowplow redeposited the snow or ice.
(e) The County Executive must designate a department to enforce this Section and may designate other County employees or contractors to enforce this Section.
(f) The Executive may order a different deadline or conditions for removing snow and ice during or immediately after a severe or unusual storm or other public-safety condition.
(g) In addition to any other remedy or penalty for a violation of this Section, the County may clear the snow and ice and charge the responsible property owner for the cost, which the County may collect in the same manner as property taxes.
(h) Violations.
(1) A violation of this Section is:
(A) on or adjacent to residential property, a class C violation; and
(B) on or adjacent to commercial property, a class A violation subject to a civil penalty of $250 for an initial offense, with penalties for repeat offenses according to Section 1-19.
(2) A person authorized to enforce this Section must not issue a citation for a violation unless the violation still exists 24 hours after a notice of violation. An authorized enforcement officer may issue the notice of violation to any person responsible under subsection (a) for clearing the snow or ice, or post the notice in a conspicuous place on the property where the violation exists.
(3) Each day a violation continues to exist is a separate violation, except for a violation on or adjacent to a single-family residential property.
(i) Sidewalk snow removal plan. The Executive must develop, update, and publish on the County internet site a sidewalk snow removal plan allocating available resources in a fair and equitable manner throughout the County that includes a:
(1) digital map of the County that shows who is responsible for clearing snow and ice on each sidewalk in the County;
(2) “major storm event”' communications plan that addresses notice to County residents of a major storm event and the sidewalk snow and ice removal requirements in this Section;
(3) targeted public education campaign about sidewalk snow and ice removal for owners of property in the County;
(4) designation of pedestrian priority routes for targeted education and increased snow and ice removal enforcement;
(5) public education campaign about how to request enforcement of this Section;
(6) plan to provide extended hours for County personnel who receive snow and ice removal complaints during a major storm event;
(7) plan for removal of snow and ice on publicly owned property:
(A) at bus-stops and Metro stations;
(B) near schools;
(C) along State highways;
(D) along the highest priority pedestrian routes;
(E) in urban districts; and
(F) used for hiker-biker trails; and
(8) plan for trash removal during a major storm event.
(j) Sidewalk snow removal - Required. The Executive must implement a plan and require the Department to remove or cause to be removed snow and ice accumulation from the last day of precipitation within the following designated areas:
(1) orphan sidewalks; and
(2) non-buffered sidewalks or paths within the nineteen (19) arterial roads prescribed below:
(A) MD-187 Old Georgetown Road between Arlington Road and Democracy Boulevard;
(B) MD-355 Wisconsin Avenue between Chestnut Street and Jones Bridge Road;
(C) Jones Bridge Road from MD-355 to Jones Mill Road;
(D) Middlebrook Road between Waring Station Road and MD-118;
(E) MD-97 Georgia Avenue between Blueridge Avenue and Glenallen Avenue;
(F) MD-97 Georgia Avenue between Hewitt Avenue and Bel Pre-Road;
(G) MD-185 Connecticut Avenue between the Matthew Henson Trail and MD-97;
(H) Randolph Road between Middlevale Lane and Rock Creek;
(I) MD-586 Veirs Mill Road between Galt Avenue and the Matthew Henson Trail;
(J) MD-320 Piney Branch Road between Sligo Creek and the Prince George’s County line;
(K) MD-193 University Boulevard between Carroll Ave (MD-195) and the Capital Beltway (I-495);
(L) MD-193 University Boulevard between Arcola Avenue and Amherst Avenue;
(M) Flower Avenue between MD-320 and East Wayne Avenue;
(N) Carroll Avenue between MD-193 and MD-320;
(O) MD-650 New Hampshire Avenue between the Prince George’s County line and Lockwood Drive;
(P) Lockwood Drive between MD-650 and 11431 Lockwood Drive;
(Q) Tech Road between Old Columbia Pike and Broadbirch Drive;
(R) Old Columbia Pike between Tech Road and Briggs Chaney Road; and
(S) Briggs Chaney Road between Robey Road and U.S. 29. (1979 L.M.C., ch. 42, § 2; 1980 L.M.C., ch. 54, § 2; 1983 L.M.C., ch. 22, § 54; 1985 L.M.C., ch. 31, § 30; 2001 L.M.C., ch. 6, § 2; 2001 L.M.C., ch. 26, § 1; 2007 L.M.C., ch. 8, § 1; 2014 L.M.C., ch. 33, § 1; 2016 L.M.C., ch. 40, § 1; 2017 L.M.C., ch. 12, §1; 2022 L.M.C., ch. 3, §1; 2022 L.M.C., ch. 31, §1; 2023 L.M.C., ch. 21
, § 1.)
Editor's note—Section 49-17, formerly Section 49-24A, was renumbered and amended pursuant to 2007, ch. 8, § 1. Former Section 49-17 was renumbered Section 49-10 pursuant to 2007, ch. 8, § 1.
2001 L.M.C., ch. 6, § 1, states: This Act may be cited as “The Pedestrian Winter Safety Act of 2001.” 2001 L.M.C., ch. 6, § 3, states: Enforcement. The County Executive must make the initial designation referred to in Section 49-24A(d), as amended by Section 2 of this Act, not later than 90 days after this Act becomes law [July 24, 2001]. Notwithstanding this 90-day deadline, any prior statutory or Executive designation of authority to enforce Code Section 49-24A remains in effect until the Executive makes the initial designation.
1980 L.M.C., ch. 54, § 1, states: It is the legislative intent of the county council that the policy established by this Act would also apply to all publicly owned property in the county and therefore the council requests that all public agencies in the county consider the adoption of this policy by appropriate procedures.