Huntley Introduces Resolution to Allow City to Clear Snowy Sidewalks

“I can’t tell you how many seniors have told me that when it snows, they don’t leave their house because so many of the sidewalks don’t get cleared and they’re afraid of slipping,” Ward 1 Alderman Harry Huntley said.

The failure of some property owners to clear snow off city sidewalks along their property last winter has prompted the Annapolis City Council to consider adding fees for when the city may have to clear snow and ice-covered sidewalks.

Huntley, who introduced the bill, said that creating strong incentives for residents to clear sidewalks and providing adequate funds for the city to step in would help residents, especially older adults and people who use wheelchairs, to navigate in the winter.

The fees, according to a resolution introduced Monday, would be based on the length of the sidewalk adjacent to a property, ranging from a $200 fee for sidewalks 30 feet long or less to a $2,000 fee for sidewalk sections exceeding 250 feet long. The fees would be charged when and if the city clears that part of the sidewalk.

The fees would be an addition to the existing $100 fine for property owners who do not clear the sidewalk near their properties, an increase from the previous $25 fine . Property owners in Annapolis must clear the entire width of city sidewalks, or a four-foot-wide path for wider sidewalks directly next to their properties, within three hours of the snow or sleet ceasing to fall, unless the snow stops between 3 p.m. and 6 a.m. In that case, property owners have until 11 a.m. to clear the snow, sleet and ice.

Huntley said the fees and city clearing are the “option of last resort” for high-trafficked sidewalks. Ideally, the alderman said, property owners would clear their own sidewalks; or, for those unable to do so themselves, would have a friend or a hired helper clear the sidewalk.

Huntley said the proposed fee is reflective of what it would cost the city’s Department of Public Works to clear the sidewalks, adding that “nobody’s trying to make money off of this.”

The fee proposal follows a city resolution passed in July that clarified the city’s authority to clear city sidewalks when property owners fail to do so. The city can arrange for the removal of snow, sleet and ice by 8 a.m. the day after property owners receive notice from the city that they have not complied with the requirements, according to the passed resolution.

In January, Annapolis experienced more than 9 inches of snowfall in a single day, according to a city news release. The city then stayed cold for multiple days before the snow melted, which Huntley said led to him wanting to find a way to encourage property owners to clear the sidewalks, instead of just paying the fine.

Source: https://www.capitalgazette.com/2025/09/09/annapolis-snow-sidewalk-fees/