OXFORD VILLAGE – Only two people spoke at last week’s public hearing regarding a proposed amendment to the 41-year-old snow and ice removal ordinance that would impose drastically stiffer penalties for not clearing sidewalks in a timely manner.

Council voted 4-0 to approve the first reading of the proposed amendment. A second reading and council vote regarding possible adoption will take place at the 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14 meeting.

Kathy and Glenn Denomme, a couple that lives in the Oxford Lakes subdivision, both expressed concerns regarding the proposed language.

Kathy took issue with the proposed fines, which she viewed as excessive.

“$150 is a lot of money for a lot of people,” she said. “I just think that’s really stiff.”

Individuals who violate the proposed ordinance would face civil fines of “not less than $150 or more than $500, plus costs and other sanctions, for each infraction.”

“Each day that a violation continues shall be deemed an additional and distinct violation,” the language states.

Repeat offenders would take a big hit in the wallet under the proposed ordinance.

It states, “For a second offense in any three-month time period, the civil fine shall automatically be set at $200. For any additional offenses in any three-month time period, the civil fine shall automatically be set at $500.”

Enacted in 1977, the current ordinance imposes a fine of $15 for violations. Failure to pay the fine is punishable by a fine not to exceed $100 and the cost of prosecution.

Officials are hoping higher fines will compel folks who own and/or occupy residential and commercial properties to keep adjoining village sidewalks clear and safe for pedestrians.

Kathy told council she understands the current penalty is “probably outdated” and “rather low,” but she fears the proposed fines are too high and the punishment outweighs the crime.

“To me, it seems like you’re going to the other extreme and it’s more of a money-grab than trying to (change) people’s behavior,” she said.

To Kathy, a $50 fine “would probably wake a lot of people up.”

“I think it would be more reasonable,” she said.

She also believes a $150 fine “at most” for repeat offenders would be “more than substantial.”

Kathy fears “some people will have a hard time paying” fines that start at $150 and the village is “not going to be able to collect it.” She worries about the impact such high fines could have on people unable to shovel due to age or health issues, people who are out of town when it snows and folks who don’t get home from work until late in the evening.

“I’m hoping that whatever you do, you do (it) with some compassion for people,” Kathy told council.

Councilman Joe Frost agreed with her about the fines.

He thinks $150 or more for commercial properties that fail to shovel “seems to make sense,” but that same amount for residential properties “doesn’t make sense.”

“It is too high,” Frost said.

Under the proposed ordinance, whenever “naturally-falling” snow or ice ceases to “fall or accumulate during daylight hours,” it must be “removed from the sidewalks within 12 hours after the cessation.”

If the snow or ice ceases to “fall or accumulate during the nighttime,” it must be “removed from the sidewalks by 7 p.m. the following day.”

Oxford’s current ordinance states whenever snow falls or ice forms on the sidewalk, it must be removed “within 24 hours.”

Village President Sue Bossardet explained council is considering this ordinance change because “we’ve had a lot of complaints about people not shoveling their (side)walks.”

“We’ve had a real problem with some merchants downtown who do not shovel their (side)walks all winter” and as it melts and re-freezes over time, “pretty soon, (they’re) impassable,” she said.

According to Bossardet, there were instances last winter when mothers with children and babies in strollers were forced to walk in the street because the sidewalks were not clear.

“We just can’t tolerate that,” she said. “We just cannot have people letting their sidewalks get to the point where people are walking in the streets.”

The village president noted if anyone cannot clear their sidewalks due to health or physical issues, they should inform the municipality.

Glenn Denomme expressed his concern about the possibility of people being fined because they don’t get home until well after the 7 p.m. deadline mentioned in the proposed ordinance.

He noted he leaves at 4:30 a.m. to go to work in Detroit and Livonia and there are days during the winter when it takes him four hours to get home due to severe weather and road conditions.

“I drive home (riding) my brake pedal,” he said.

That kind of schedule doesn’t give him any time to clear snow without bothering his neighbors and generating noise complaints because it’s either too early or too late to run a snow blower.

“I’m not going to stay home from work to shovel the snow,” Glenn said. “So, you might want to look at the time (issue).”

Frost agreed the time aspect of the proposed ordinance should be adjusted.

“I think that still needs to be massaged,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s ready in its current form with the current time.”

Bossardet doesn’t see a way to come up with a time that will satisfy everyone.

“I don’t think that we’re ever going to agree on a time frame because the weather is unpredictable and it can snow at 6 a.m. and again at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.,” she said. “Where do you set that . . . clock at? I don’t know.”

Bossardet noted she doesn’t believe anybody from the village government is going to sit by a clock and record the time when the snow stops, so they can rush out to find violators.

“That’s not the intent of this ordinance,” she said.

Although she believes the village will be flexible and “work with people” when it comes to snow/ice removal, she also sees the need for an ordinance because “you have to start somewhere.”

“You can’t have an ordinance to cover every ‘for instance,’” she noted.

“I think there’s bigger issues that we need to (address) rather than snow (removal),” Glenn told council.

In addition to fines, the proposed ordinance would empower the village manager to have the snow or ice removed from a violator’s sidewalk and charge the owner or occupant for the work, “plus 15 percent for inspection and related costs.”

Conceivably, a violator could receive a civil fine and be obligated to pay the village to have his or her sidewalks cleared.

Under the proposed ordinance, the moving of snow or ice “into a roadway” or “within 3 feet of any fire hydrant” would be prohibited.

The proposed ordinance also prohibits moving and depositing snow “onto the shoulder of any roadway or any alley in a manner which obstructs the safety vision of the driver of a motor vehicle.”

“Safety vision” is defined in the proposed ordinance language as the “unobstructed line of sight which enables a driver of a motor vehicle to travel on, enter on or exit a roadway in a safe manner.”