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Gene Kennedy reporting Snow removal was the order of the day for many of us. You shovel it before you leave and then after you get home from work.
But an ordinance in Cottonwood Heights requires you to speed things up. In that city, by law, you have to clear your sidewalk an hour after it stops snowing. But now, after some questions from KSL, city leaders admit they may be asking too much of residents.
Lynn Kirchoff started shoveling her sidewalk at 6:00 tonight, after she got home from work. Technically, under Cottonwood Heights' city ordinance, she should have started earlier.
"Really? I didn't know about that," she said.
One council member, Don Antczak, was caught off guard, too. "Well, I didn't realize it was just one hour after the snow stops," he said. When we asked him if he knew about the ordinance, he replied, "Well, I had to vote and pass on it, but I didn't realize that was in there."
City ordinances got passed in one lump when Cottonwood Heights became a city in 2005. Still, the city informed residents about the snow removal policy last month in a newsletter. The only exception to the one-hour rule is if it snows overnight. Then you have to shovel by 8 a.m!
Eyewitness News visited the homes of several city leaders in Cottonwood Heights. The mayor had his sidewalk shoveled in time. So did council member Gordon Thomas. He was still digging out when we arrived.
"When it snows all day you have to do it several times," he told us.
That's an option on a federal holiday when city offices are closed and you're home. But what about those who work all day?
Lynn Kirchoff said, "Yeah, logistically you have to have clear passageways for people to walk, etc. But at the same time, it has to be somewhat reasonable."
Salt Lake City, Murray, Taylorsville, Sandy, and Draper all give residents 24 hours to clear snow from the sidewalk. Cottonwood Heights may be re-thinking its one-hour policy.
Mayor Cullimore said, "I think giving people 24 hours is a little more reasonable." He suspects that will happen now.
City leaders admit the ordinance isn't really enforced. To their knowledge, no one's been cited, and no one could tell us what exactly the fine is for violating the ordinance. City leaders say for the most part, code enforcers only target repeat offenders.
