Richmond city council is to explore a new snow removal bylaw that will include single-family homes, following widespread complaints that residents of such properties failed to clear their adjacent sidewalks, as is requested in the city’s Good Neighbour policy.
Existing bylaws only affect townhouse developments and businesses, who must remove snow and ice from sidewalks before 10 a.m. each day.
The move to address single-family homes comes after a three-week spell of cold weather and some snow in Richmond.
To Jan. 11, city spokesperson Ted Townsend said the city had issued 180 notices to property owners. By comparison, in Vancouver — where it snowed more and much of it stayed on the ground for long periods of time — city officials issued 1,700 warnings and took court action against 36 properties.
“We always try to address these issues with education and voluntary compliance first and that works in the vast majority of incidents,” said Townsend.
Coun. Linda McPhail said via Twitter that one of the aspects staff will address in a proposed bylaw is how properties without sidewalks should be cleared by residents.
