Let it snow?

Well, that depends on how much sidewalk you have stretched before your house.

Durango municipal code mandates that city residents remove snow from any sidewalk abutting or adjoining their property within 24 hours of the end of a storm. A home in the center of a block has half as much sidewalk to clear as a corner home flanked by two sides of the street.

The code has a practical purpose, although it can arguably be impractical to enforce.

Last winter, when Durango was besieged by repeated heavy storms, the city’s code enforcement officers issued 259 warning of violation of the snow removal mandate. This winter, code enforcement has responded to 27 violations as of Monday.

But Code Compliance Officer Steve Barkley has never issued an actual citation over a violation in his 22 years on the job.

“Most people actually resolve it and take care of their sidewalk once they get the violation,” he said. “If they get a second one, we do some verbal education with them (and) reinforce that they need to take care of it.”

That approach typically works, he said, especially once homeowners learn that they could potentially be vulnerable to a lawsuit were someone to slip and injure themselves on a slick icy sidewalk.

Violations are almost entirely complaint driven. Barkley said the small code enforcement department does not have the capacity to go around looking for snow removal violations.

If officers actually issue a citation, the offender would have to go before municipal court where, theoretically, they could face up to $1,000 fine per day of violation and or 90 days in jail.

“You're not going to see that from our judges,” Barkley said.

If someone ends up in court, they would be unlikely to receive anything harsher than a $25 penalty.

Occasionally, officers will issue violations to someone who shovels snow into public property. Snow that accumulates on the sidewalk in front of private property should remain on the property, and not in the street, if possible.

Of course, sometimes the inverse happens.

“It's very difficult for our plow operators to control some of that snow rolling off and it does happen, off and on, mistakes happen and we bury a sidewalk,” Barkley said. “But hey, we’ll try to work with ya … and we’ll reach out to the street department and see if we can get somebody out there with a plow and pull (the snow) back off.”

Even when snow covering the sidewalk is not the city’s fault, Barkley said he tries to work with residents.

College students who leave rental properties for extended breaks from school tend to be frequent offenders, he said.

In those cases, Barkley and his fellow officers try to throw down sand for traction, or snow-melting chemicals if the sidewalk is in a high-traffic area as they attempt to contact the property manager or owner.

Elderly people also sometimes have issues clearing snow. Rather than penalize them, Barkley tries to connect older folks with volunteers at the Durango-La Plata Senior Center.

Barkley also said snow removal makes good work for kids looking to earn a few extra dollars.

Although the code leaves a 24-hour grace period in which residents can shovel, veteran Durango residents know it can take even less time than that for the snow to compact and refreeze as solid ice.

But that’s no excuse to leave treacherous sidewalks.

“As soon as it starts snowing, start shoveling,” Barkley advises.

Barkley’s attitude is less about penalization and more about safety, as evidenced by the hundreds of violations, nearly all of which were quickly remedied, logs show.

“One thing I guarantee to everybody? It will be gone by July 4 each year,” Barkley jokes.

Residents are invited to attend an Engage Durango Forum on Jan. 23 at 5 p.m. at the Durango Public Library, where the city’s public works director will give a presentation on snow removal and city staff will be available to take questions on the matter.

Snow removal violations can be reported to code enforcement at 375-4930 or online at durangogov.org/askdurango.

rschafir@durangoherald.com

This story has been updated to reflect that snow should not be piled in the street if possible, but it is not against city code to do so if necessary.