Page 14 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, November 1, 2019 City considers tighter snow shoveling rules By Barbara Taormina W ith winter coming, the Ordinance Committee is recommending a change to the snow removal rules that would require commercial and residential property owners to work faster to clear their sidewalks. The ordinance now gives ~ LEGAL NOTICE ~ City of Malden Board of Health Public Hearing Notice is hereby given that a Public Hearing will be held at the Malden Senior Center, located at 7 Washington Street on November 6, 2019 at 6:00 pm to review and hear comments relative to a proposed amendment to its Board of Health Regulation entitled “Restricting the Sale and Use of Tobacco Products”. The proposed amendment would categorize mint, menthol and wintergreen as flavors and be subject to its current “Sale of Flavored Tobacco Products Prohibited” November 1, 2019 property owners 24 hours to remove snow, slush and ice from abutting sidewalks. The clock starts ticking after Public Works Director Bob Knox announces city crews are fi nished with their snow removal work. If the City Council approves the change, commercial property owners and those who own residential buildings with fi ve or more units will have 12 hours to clean sidewalks. The tighter schedule is meant to keep residents and children headed to school safer by keeping them off snowy streets. The 12-hour snow clock wouldn’t necessarily start ticking after the last fl ake has fallen. Plows might continue pushing back snow and clearing the roads for emergency vehicles for several hours after the snow stops, and Knox decides when the snow removal operations are over. Owners and caretakers of small multifamily buildings and homes will still have 24 hours to clear sidewalks, and no changes have been proposed to the penalties for those who fail to comply with the ordinance. Residential property owners will receive a written warning for the fi rst offense of the season, a $100 fi ne for a second off ense and a $150 fi ne for any subsequent off enses. Commercial and business property owners have a graduated penalty schedule that starts with $100 for the first snowy sidewalk, $200 for a second off ense and $300 for any further off enses. The rules now on the books require property owners to make every possible attempt to clear snow and ice from handicap ramps and entrances to crosswalks on abutting sidewalks. Ward 4 Councillor Ryan O’Malley, who proposed the snow ordinance changes, also wants to make clearing the ramps and crosswalks a requirement, with fi nes for those who don’t do the work. “The DPW clears the streets, but they don’t have the manpower or fi nancial resources to clear each ramp,” he said. “We’re asking property owners to clear the ramps leading to sidewalks.” But other councillors feel cleaning corners and ramps is too much to build into the ordinance. “I’ve seen snow piled six to eight feet high on those corners,” said Ward 2 Councillor Paul Condon. “To me it’s unfair. You have people who are 75 to 85 years old trying to adhere to a snow ordinance. It’s not right, you have to use common sense.” Knox said the DPW tries to help residents out with high banks of frozen snow, slush and ice, but their priority is clearing the streets. And there are other problems. Mountain Avenue resident Frank Cina, a member of the Malden Disability Commission who relies on a wheelchair to get around, said some residents clear a narrow lane on their sidewalks instead of the 36-inchwide path required by the ordinance. And that forces Cina and other disabled residents out into the streets. “I see it every year,” said Cina. “Homeowners have a responsibility, and they aren’t fully cleaning their sidewalks.” Ordinance Committee mem bers feel that the better way to deal with the crosswalks, ramps and sidewalk paths is to reach out to residents and make sure they are aware of the problem and the risks for residents and children. The committee feels that explaining the need for clearing the snow and stressing the importance of being good wintertime neighbors might solve the problem. “We don’t want to give anyone a ticket,” said City Council President Jadeane Sica. “We just want to make everything accessible for everyone.”
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