[Adopted 6-1-1992 ATM by Art. 37 as Ch. VI, Secs. 12 and 14 of the 1992 Bylaws; 5-10-2018 ATM by Art. 25]
A. 
Purpose. As pedestrians are safer when walking on sidewalks than when walking in the streets used by vehicular traffic, the purpose of this section is to cause owners of commercial and multifamily real property to remove the snow, slush and ice from sidewalks abutting their land so that such sidewalks are reasonably accessible by all persons, including elderly persons, persons using mobility devices, persons using carriages to transport children, and students walking to school.
B. 
Commercial property. Any owner of real property used wholly or in part for stores, offices, or other commercial spaces open to the public and abutting upon or contiguous to a sidewalk of a street, shall cause such portion of the sidewalk to be maintained in a nonslippery condition suitable for pedestrian travel by clearing it of all snow, ice and slush within 24 hours after the cessation of precipitation and shall maintain said portion of sidewalk in a nonslippery condition by application(s) of sand and/or melting agents as may be necessary.
C. 
Multifamily dwellings. The owner of any building designed or occupied as a residence by more than four families or which contains more than four dwelling units, as defined in the Zoning Bylaw,[1] and abutting upon or contiguous to a sidewalk of a street, shall cause said sidewalk to be maintained in a nonslippery condition suitable for pedestrian travel by clearing it of all snow, ice and slush within 24 hours after the cessation of precipitation and shall maintain said portion of sidewalk in a nonslippery condition by application(s) of sand and/or melting agents as may be necessary.
[1]
Editor's Note: See Ch. 190, Zoning.
D. 
Extent of clearing. Snow, slush and ice shall be removed from the sidewalk in such a way as to create a clear corridor at least 36 inches in width along the length of said sidewalk abutting such owner's real property or, if the sidewalk is narrower, over the full width of the sidewalk. This duty includes all ramps, regular access points to the street, and marked entries to the street where a crosswalk exists.
E. 
Penalties. The violation of any provision of this section is punishable by a fine of $200 per violation. Each calendar day that a violation continues shall constitute a separate violation.
F. 
Enforcement.
(1) 
Enforcement of this section shall, in the discretion of the enforcing official, be made the subject of noncriminal disposition proceedings commenced by the police per MGL c. 40, § 21D. This section may be enforced by either:
(a) 
The Director of Public Works or his/her designee; or
(b) 
The Police Department.
(2) 
If the Town shall have adopted MGL c. 40U, then any person who receives a notice of violation of this § 175-8 may appeal to the Municipal Hearing Officer, as that term is used in MGL c. 40U. The Municipal Hearing Officer shall be appointed by the Town Council.
[Amended 11-5-2018 RTM by Art. 17]
No person shall move or remove snow or ice from private lands to any public street, sidewalk or common land of the Town. The violation of any provision of this section is punishable by a fine of $300 per violation. This section shall be enforced by the Police Department.