A local judge ruled last week that the City of Charlottesville does not have the legal authority to enforce a local ordinance that brings criminal charges against parties for not clearing their sidewalks of snow immediately, according to state code.
After this winter's barrage of snow storms in the area - which ultimately cost the University $1 million in dealing with the aftermath - some local residents and businesses had been facing fines for not shoveling their sidewalks within 12 hours after the snow ceased falling, City spokesperson Ric Barrick said. Violators were charged with Class One misdemeanors, whose punishments range from a $250 fine to a year in jail with a $2,500 fine.
State code, however, prohibits the city from making these charges.
"The charges that were brought were criminal charges ... that were dismissed because the city doesn't have the authority to prosecute criminally for that offense," said Andre Hakes, an attorney who represented one of the parties accused of violating the ordinance.
Although the ordinance affected residents in the past, this ruling marks the first time the issue has appeared before the courts.
"To date, this is the first that we have issued actual tickets," Barrick said, adding that city officials only issued warnings to possible violators before this February's storms. The citations that did appear in court were tossed out, and as a result, accused individuals will not have to pay the fines associated with the ordinance, he said.
The city government now is investigating other ways to ensure that residents understand it is their responsibility to clear snow from sidewalks, Barrick said. State code does allow localities to require snow removal in the same way that they can require trash removal, Hakes said, but the requirement must be a civil rather than criminal matter.
The city will have to keep this restriction in mind as it decides its next steps.
"The city attorney is meeting with the judge to go over exactly what the concerns were and to update him on the changes we were already thinking about making so that we can come up with a better ordinance that will have meat behind it but will also be acceptable to the court," Barrick said.
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