Fairfield residents urged to clear snow from sidewalks

FAIRFIELD - Fairfield code enforcement officer Scott Vaughan said he'd like to see a better commitment from the city's residents to clearing their sidewalks after a snowstorm.

The area received a couple large doses of snow and ice the week leading up to New Year's. The first was on Tuesday afternoon, and Vaughan said he saw a large number of residents in Fairfield had not shoveled their sidewalks by the following day. Property owners must clear the snow and ice from their sidewalk within 24 hours after snowfall stops, according to city ordinance.

Vaughan said that, if residents are unable to move the snow themselves, they need to hire someone to move it.

'It's no different from the way it was 20 years ago,” he said. 'The property owner has to take care of it.”

Vaughan said all sorts of people need a clear sidewalk to perform their jobs such as postal workers, meter readers and delivery drivers. And even people who are just out to walk their dogs deserve a clean sidewalk, too, he said. Vaughan remarked that first responders appreciate a clear sidewalk when they have to move a patient from a home into an ambulance.

'If we don't have clean sidewalks, it makes our job that much tougher,” said Vaughan, who is also Fairfield's fire chief.

If a resident is in violation of the snow removal ordinance, a city employee will leave a door hanger with the date and time they were there, and a note telling the property owner they have 24 hours to move the snow. If they don't comply, the city will do it for them and charge a minimum of $160.

'That's a pretty good hit,” Vaughan said.

The city's ordinance states that property owners must not move the snow onto the street or an alley, but rather keep it confined to their property, such as their lawn or right of way. Property owners are expected to put down salt or sand on their sidewalks if they are icy.