Hopewell Township officials delay vote on proposed snow-shoveling law

Committee members will confer with Police Chief Michael Chipowsky and township Engineer Paul Pogorzelski on the proposed ordinance.

By John Tredrea
   The Hopewell Township Committee again has postponed a public hearing and adoption vote on a proposed ordinance that would require snow to be removed from sidewalks within 24 hours of the time it has stopped falling.
   During its May 1 meeting, the committee decided to postpone the public hearing and adoption vote until May 15 at the earliest. During the postponement, committee members will confer with township police chief, Michael Chipowsky, and township engineer, Paul Pogorzelski, on the proposed ordinance.
   The proposed measure comes at the recommendation of Mr. Pogorzelski, who says failure to clear sidewalks of snow in the Brandon Farms development created a safety hazard this winter for children walking to and from Stony Brook Elementary School (which opened in September and is located off Stephenson Road in Brandon Farms).
   During the March 20 committee meeting, when the proposed ordinance was introduced, Mr. Pogorzelski said that, on a regular basis, "over a dozen" sidewalks used by school children, including kindergartners, had not been cleared after snowstorms. "It’s become a safety issue," he said.
   The township engineer said he’d always gotten quick action on clearing the sidewalks after contacting the homeowners association that runs Brandon Farms. However, he felt it would be best if the township had an ordinance requiring snow removal from sidewalks. Both Pennington and Hopewell boroughs have had such ordinances for years. The Hopewell Borough ordinance is enforced by the township police, which cover that borough. Pennington has its own police department.
   The proposed ordinance requires the owner or tenant of any property with frontage on any public street to remove snow from the sidewalk along that frontage within 24 hours of the time snow has stopped falling. The ordinance also applies to the owners of private streets and to property owners associations in charge of such streets. Under the proposed ordinance, the township could remove snow from the sidewalks of those who have failed to comply with the ordinance, then bill the property owner for the work. There is no schedule of fines in the proposed ordinance.
   The first postponement of the proposal was approved by the committee April 3, to give township officials time to confer with the homeowners association at Brandon Farms on the proposed measure.