NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letter to the editor. Send letters to editor@newcanaanite.com to have them published here.
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Here we go again . . .
On Monday, July 15, the Town Council’s Bylaws & Ordinance Committee will convene its second meeting (in three weeks!) to consider a proposed change to the Town’s ordinance that would require abutting residential property owners, rather than the Town, to remove snow and ice from and take on liability for public sidewalks.
When the Town proposes things for a vote during July, that often means that even the Town itself understands that whatever it is proposing will not be popular with voters. It’s the summer, and many residents are away or otherwise occupied, which makes July an ideal time to have votes when not many residents are paying attention.
But here’s what is going on:
- In the mid-2000s, the Town decided it wanted to become a “walking town” and install sidewalks wherever possible.
- To get residents behind that goal, the Town changed its ordinance (prior to a contentious sidewalk-installation referendum) that put the burden of sidewalk snow removal and liability on the Town rather than on sidewalk-abutting residents.
- But now the Town is saying that that onus is too expensive, even though it has yet to identify how much exactly sidewalk-snow removal costs the Town each year.
- The Town seems to be saying that rather than having all residents share the cost of this lofty town-wide “walking town” goal, only those homeowners whose properties abut town sidewalks should have the financial responsibility of snow removal and potential liability
Residents whose properties abut sidewalks or have families that use them should attend the subcommittee meeting on Monday, July 15 at 7:00 p.m.
Or tune in via Zoom:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83930496987?pwd=hSTDbtMMOyaD9bqrxcwBaUDSCB3YWM.1
Meeting ID: 839 3049 6987
Passcode: 777849
Perhaps at that time we can get some real info as to which residents with abutting sidewalks will be required to provide snow removal and shoulder its attendant liability. We’ve been told some residents within a certain distance to the schools will not, but have yet to see which houses are on which list. By the way, was there walk-to-school grant dollars used for the Main Street expansion?
Neele Stichnoth
Perhaps an easy solution is to ‘grandfather’ the existing network and set up the proposed new rules for any sidewalk network expansion. Will not help expand our sidewalk network but expect neither would these proposed changes.
On July 1, 2024 I posted a comment under a well-written New Canaanite article on this very topic. My comment was:
“Why are we scheduling this important meeting during July 4th week when many residents are away?
Yes, Neele, here we go again…….
My comment this time is, “Why is the Town again scheduling these important meetings when many families are away?”
Has the Town notified all homeowners,with abutting public sidewalks, of this proposed change in the ordinance?
Betty right on you & Neele. Wanabees working the system. I’ll never forget what Rick C on Main said. Travesty.
Exempt sidewalks on residential South Ave and residential Main St, while requiring the rest of us, including yours truly, to clear. Let’s show some decisiveness, Town Council.
If the rationale for this change is economic, the costs and benefits should be made transparent. It seems unlikely that the cost of having one man in a Bobcat clear a sidewalk is greater the collective cost of all homeowners individually contracting to have the same sidewalk cleared in small, lot front increments.
1. If the town does it, it’ll be done right.
2. It’s the town’s property.
3. The town decided to put in the sidewalks.
4. Homeowner insurance does not extend to town property.
5. If it’s not done right the town will be sued and that could cost the town more.
6. It says something about the full-service nature of our town that we take care of our roads, sidewalks and leaves at a high level.
As an aside, summer is when the town council takes up this kind of thing. Now that the public can attend meetings remotely, and the NewCanaanite informs us of pressing matters, anyone who cares can attend.
I agree with John Engel. The Town should do sidewalk snow removal because they will do it right and walking on snowy/icy sidewalks will be safer. Homeowners often don’t clear their sidewalks and people are forced to walk in the street or navigate the ankle-breaking ice.
But please, stop looking for conspiracies and fixing blame. It’s unnecessary and
unbecoming.
When do you intend to publish Part#2 of the Bliss Estate article in “Now and Then”?. I’ve been waiting for over a year. Thank you.
Hi Meg, thank you for reaching out on this. The first part was published Jan. 18, 2024, the second part Jan. 25. Thank you for reading the New Canaanite. We love the NCM&HS local history feature.