Spring is finally starting to come around and with that we want to say a huge T H A N K Y O U to those businesses that assisted us in snow removal efforts by abiding by our Snow Removal Bylaw 09-21. A few highlights from our bylaw consist of the following:
- No person shall move snow onto any public roadway, pathway, or property.
- No person shall move snow, ice, or other debris onto any neighboring property, including public property.
When clearing snow, ice, or debris, into piles during the removal process:
- In commercial areas (C1, C2, C3, C4, C5 zones): piles shall not exceed two (2) meters in length or height for a period longer than forty-eight (48) hours and must not be placed within seven and one-half (7.5) metres of a roadway or adjacent property. Properties in this zone are exempt from the height and length requirement if they have installed an approved underground storm drainage system;
- In industrial areas (M1, M2, RW zones): piles shall not be placed within seven and one-half (7.5) metres of a roadway or adjacent property and must not be placed in public drainage ditches.
These guidelines are there for a variety of reasons, but most importantly they aid us during spring thaw and help alleviate drainage issues. Piling snow in drainage ditches or covering culverts stops the flow of water from draining easily. Piling snow on properties and not hauling it away causes issues for neighbors and takes longer for the area, roadways and other properties to dry. We provide free snow removal dump sites and encourage this to be the normal process for all businesses. Freeze and thaw temperatures can cause more ice and more difficulties in spring. Please help each other and us when doing snow removal and we thank those that did.
Still have piles of snow on your property? You are lucky you didn’t receive a fine, but perhaps you will move quickly and haul it away before it causes more issues in the days ahead. Next year we will be strongly enforcing these guidelines and we thank you in advance for helping us educate everyone on their role in snow removal.