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Streets & Alleys FAQ 2
Whose responsibility is it to remove snow and ice from a sidewalk?
The responsibility for keeping sidewalks
clear of snow and ice rests, by statute, upon the municipal board of
public works or the committee or officer designated to handle street or
sidewalk matters. See Wis. Stat. sec. 66.0907(5) and (10). This same
provision also recognizes, however, that the abutting property owner has
the primary obligation for shoveling sidewalks. With regard to
accumulations of snow and ice, Wis. Stat. sec. 893.83(1) provides that
"[no] action may be maintained against a city, village, town or county
to recover damages for injuries sustained by reason of an accumulation
of snow or ice upon any bridge or highway, unless the accumulation
existed for 3 weeks (case law establishes the three week period applies
only to "natural" accumulations and is inapplicable where the
municipality itself has created an "artificial" icy condition. The
courts have interpreted "natural" accumulations broadly to limit suits
against municipalities. Natural accumulations include snow piled on a
curb near the sidewalk after clearing, a buildup of ice from water which
flowed from properly working drains, as well as accumulations of snow
on uncleared areas. Artificial accumulations include ice formed due to a
city's failure to provide adequate drainage for a road; ice which
formed on a sidewalk where firefighters had discharged water, and ice
formed due to leaking from defective gutters and drainpipes). The term
"highway" includes sidewalks.
Additional language added to 893.83 by
2011 Wis. Act 132 provides that any "action to recover damages for
injuries sustained by reason of an accumulation of snow or ice that has
existed for 3 weeks or more upon any bridge or highway is subject to
sec. 893.80." Wisconsin Statute sec. 893.80(4) provides municipalities
with broad immunity for discretionary acts. Clearly, deciding how to
handle snow and ice removal involves the exercise of discretion. Major
weather events, like large snowfalls and icestorms, can command finite
municipal resources and wreak havoc on the municipal budget. With
constraints imposed by budgets, available manpower and equipment,
municipalities must decide how available resources are best allocated.
Which roads should be plowed first? How and when should sidewalks be
cleared? These decisions are largely discretionary because they involve
the exercise of choice or judgment.
Municipalities can enact ordinances
requiring abutting property owners to keep sidewalks free of ice and
snow, and can impose forfeitures on those property owners who fail to do
so. Additionally, if a municipality is required to clear an icy or
snowy sidewalk because the abutting property owner fails to do so, the
municipality can charge abutting property owners the expense of clearing
in front of the lot or parcel. The amount can be imposed as a special
charge for current services. If the amount is not paid, it can be placed
as a lien on the property. Although municipalities can enact ordinances
requiring abutting property owners to clear snow and ice from
sidewalks, they cannot shift liability to the abutting property owner.
See Hagerty v. Village of Bruce, 82 Wis.2d 208, 262 N.W.2d 102 (1978).