Title
Amending Chapters 106, 113, 170, and Appendix I Section 20 of the Legislative Code pertaining to snow removal and placement.
Body
SECTION 1
WHEREAS, during winter weather events, Saint Paul Public Works and Parks and Recreation Departments engage in plowing and anti-icing efforts to keep more than 1,800 lane miles of streets and bridges and hundreds of miles of bike facilities safe and passable; and
WHEREAS, clear city sidewalks are vital for the safety and mobility of our residents, businesses and visitors; and
WHEREAS, as an urban city, sidewalks, transit facilities, private parking lots, transit facilities are a necessity for our residents, businesses and visitors; and
WHEREAS, to allow city crews to safely and efficiently plow and clear the streets and bicycle facilities of snow and ice, the city needs to ensure that snow and debris from other public and private locations such as transit facilities, alleys, parking lots, driveways, sidewalks, etc. are not placed in the street rights of way; and
WHEREAS, Chapters 106, 113, 170, and Appendix I Section 20 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code govern activities associated with snow removal; and
WHEREAS, the Public Works Department and the Department of Safety and Inspections has found it necessary to update Chapters 106, 113, 170, and Appendix I Section 20 to bring the Code in line with current practices and protocols, and to better clarify snow removal expectations for Saint Paul residents and businesses; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Saint Paul does Ordain:
SECTION 2
• Sec. 106.01-Obstruction.
(a) Encumbrances or obstructions prohibited.
1. Purpose: The primary purpose of a public sidewalk or other right-of-way is to provide safe access to the public to travel from place to place. It is the intent of this ordinance to maintain that primary purpose at all times.
2. No person shall encumber or obstruct any sidewalk, lane, alley, public ground, public landing, wharf or pier, or other public place by placing thereon or therein any building materials, carriages, carts, wagons, sleighs, boxes, lumber, firewood, posts, awnings, signs, snow, or any other materials or substance whatever. No person shall operate a sidewalk café without a license and a right-of-way obstruction permit issued by City of Saint Paul. A sidewalk sign in compliance with subsection (d) may be placed upon the public sidewalk.
3. If the sidewalk is wider than sixty (60) inches, A minimum width of sixty (60) inches of clear, unobstructed pedestrian walk-through zone, exclusive of the curb, shall be maintained on the public sidewalk at all times.
4. Alleys shall be maintained by abutting property owners to be safe and passable including removal of snow and/or treating of icy conditions as appropriate. No snow from alleys will be deposited or placed in public roadways or sidewalks.
• Sec. 106.02. - Sweepings, etc., on sidewalks.
No person shall throw or deposit, or permit to be thrown or deposited, any snow, ice, dirt, paper, filth or the sweepings of any house, store, shop or office, or any other material, other than sand or ashes used for the purpose of preventing slipperiness, on or into any street, sidewalk, lane, alley or public ground of the city. No person shall sweep, push or in any manner whatsoever deposit any sweepings of the interior of any house, store, shop or office onto the public sidewalk fronting said premises, or into the street, alley or lane abutting said walk or premises.
(Code 1956, § 209.02; C.F. No. 97-601, § 1, 6-25-97)
• Sec. 113.02. - Snow and ice removal from sidewalks.
The owner or occupant of any building or lot abutting a public sidewalk is responsible for and shall remove any accumulation of snow and/or ice from said public sidewalk, including the pedestrian ramps in the public boulevard or on private property, within twenty-four (24) hours after the snow and/or ice has ceased to fall, gather or accumulate. Public sidewalks must be shoveled full paved width or a minimum of sixty inches if the sidewalk is wider than 60 inches. No snow or ice may be pushed, moved, or deposited in the street or alley.
(Ord. No. 17187, 11-27-84)
• Sec. 170.08. - Parkways.
(a) Signs on parkways restricted. No person, firm or corporation shall erect or construct or cause to be erected, constructed or maintained any board or structure of any kind for the displaying of any advertisement or advertising device upon any lot or tract of property fronting upon any park or parkway, with the exception of that portion of Ford Road between Prior Avenue vacated and Mississippi River Boulevard, for the purposes of ornamentation or otherwise, nor within a distance of one hundred fifty (150) feet from such park or parkway, except real estate signs erected on private property abutting upon a parkway, and except signs placed upon any store building, or in store windows abutting upon a park or parkway.
(b) Real estate signs. A sign not over nine (9) square feet in area, erected upon the particular lot or tract of property to be sold, may be erected, provided such sign is located at least fifty (50) feet from the inside gutter line of the parkway road.
If a particular lot or tract of property abutting upon a parkway is so situated that a real estate sale sign cannot be seen at a point fifty (50) feet from the parkway road, or if a tract of property is so large that one (1) sign would be inadequate, the owner or agent of said lot or tract of property may obtain, upon the approval of the director of parks and recreation, permission to place said sign, for a limited length of time, at a point closer to said parkway than as hereinbefore provided, or place more than one (1) sign upon the particular tract.
(c) Removal of signs. Signs in violation of the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) above may be removed at the director's direction and will be returned to the owner upon the payment of the reasonable cost of removing same. Signs uncalled for in thirty (30) days from the date of removal may be destroyed by the department of parks and recreation .
(d) Projections onto parkways. No sign, awning, frame, step, raised platform, door, porch, bay window, cornice or roof vault, cellar wall or cellarway, or line fence or any part of any structure hereafter erected on property abutting on a parkway shall be allowed to project over or under the line of said parkway.
(e) Snow removal. The owner or occupant of any building, lot or premises abutting on a parkway shall cause the sidewalk, including pedestrian ramps, in front of or adjacent to such building, lot or premises to be kept clean and all snow, ice or dirt to be removed therefrom in the forenoon of every day. Snow, ice, dirt and debris may not be put in the street, parkway, bikeway, or public sidewalk. The snow must be cleared to the end of the roadway or bikeway and shall not create a hazard or eliminate/diminish parking capability.
(Code 1956, §§ 117.20, 117.25, 121.01-121.03; C.F. No. 09-79, § 1, 2-11-09)
Appendix I. - Bus Stop Shelters or Bus Franchise[11]
• Section 20. - Maintenance.
The company, or owning agency/entity, will maintain all shelters and benches to the reasonable satisfaction of the director of public works as set out below. Maintenance includes cleaning and washing the entire shelter or bench inside and out; removal of graffiti, stickers, posters, notices and the like; removal of litter within fifty (50) feet of the company's, or owning agency’s/entities’, shelter or bench in an area between the public sidewalk right of way property line on the shelter or bench side of the street and the street curbline on the shelter or bench side of the street, weeds and grasses inside and adjacent to the shelter or bench; if applicable the company or owning agency/entitly shall repair and replacement of damaged or broken parts; the supply of replacement parts; replacement of burned-out lighting fixtures; the supply of electrical energy; and clearing snow from inside the shelter, and cleaning snow, dirt and debris in the area between the shelter or bench and the curbline as well as between the shelter or bench, and the public sidewalk. No snow, dirt and debris shall be placed on the street or public sidewalk. The company or owning agency/entity is not required to remove litter on any adjacent private property. The company or owning agency/entity shall clean and wash and remove graffiti, stickers, posters, litter and weeds at each shelter or bench at least once every week, or more frequently if required, to keep each shelter free of any noticeable accumulation of dirt, dust, marks, stickers, posters, snow, and litter or weeds. In addition, the company shall remove litter from specific shelter(s) or bench(es) on a complaint basis within twenty-four (24) hours of receiving notice from the director of public works or designee.
The company or owning agency/entity shall inspect each shelter or bench at least once every seven (7) calendar days for any damaged or broken parts or burned-out lighting fixtures if applicable and the company or owning agency/entity shall repair or replace damaged or broken parts and burned-out lighting fixtures if applicable within twenty-four (24) hours after the company or owning agency/entity becomes aware of the damage, breakage or burn-out.
(Ord. No. 17237, § 20, 5-9-85; C.F. No. 95-516, § 20, 6-7-95; C.F. No. 05-457, § 20, 6-8-05)