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Home My Public Portal About09-24-2013 Public Works Committee Report_201309191431072990Town Council Town of Watertown Committee on Public Works, Meeting September 17, 2013 Report: September 24, 2013 The Committee met Tuesday September 17th at 5:00 pm in the Council Chambers. Present were: Cecilia Lenk, Chair; Stephen Corbett, Vice -chair; and Vincent Piccirilli, Secretary. See below for list of other attendees. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss plowing of private ways. Mr. Mee presented a draft of proposed DPW regulations governing the plowing of private ways which was reviewed by the Committee (amended copy attached). There were two key points of discussion, the first being the issue of parked cars. Mr. Mee said that narrow private ways cannot be safely plowed by the DPW if there are cars parked on the way. Since the Town cannot enforce a parking ban on private property, the residents must take responsibility to move their cars, or the way may not be plowed. This means neighbors must self -police themselves. Mr. Mee also noted that plows cannot sit around and wait for cars to be moved, and that residents must move their cars from the way during a snow event. The second key issue is snow storage. Mr. Mee said plows will drive straight into a dead-end private way, and while snow is generally pushed to one side, a significant amount could be deposited at the end. This means that property owners at the end of the way must designate a location for the snow to be pushed, or driveways at the end of a way could be blocked. It will be the responsibility of the property owner to remove this snow, not the DPW. The Committee voted unanimously to endorse the proposed DPW regulations, as amended. The Committee next began reviewing a list, provided by Mr. Mee, of each private way and whether it will be plowed by the DPW, using the criteria set forth in the regulations. The Committee had several questions, and Mr. Mee will get answers to discuss at the next meeting, which will be scheduled for October 1st at 4:30 pm. The meeting adjourned at 6:00 pm. Report prepared by: Vincent Piccirilli List of other attendees: Gerald Mee, DPW Superintendent Mary Haley, DPW Clerk Steven Magoon, Director of Community Development and Planning Council President Mark Sideris Town Councilor Anthony Palomba 2 residents of private ways Page 1 of 1 Page l of 2 DRAFT POLICY FOR Snow Plowing of Private Ways 9-1-7-f3 In accordance with Town Council Resolution R-2013-63 dated September 10, 2013, the Public Works Department may impose regulations for snow and ice removal from private ways for the purpose of public safety access. A. Eligibility of Private Way: For a private way to be eligible for plowing by the Public Works Department, the following criteria must be met. 1. The private way and accessed properties may not be under single ownership, including a master deed as a condominium complex. 2. The private way may not provide access exclusively to non-residential properties. r— shad vIaf be_ 3. The private way n i within a commercial parking lot. 4. The private way shall be open to the public and shall not have any signs which say private property, resident -only parking, no trespassing, or the like, with the exception of a municipal street sign designating it as a private way. 5. The private way must be paved with a minimum width of 12 feet. 6. The private way must be maintained in good repair at all time by the responsible owners or abutters. B. Parking Restrictions: r!f or The Town of Watertown winter parking ban)la snow emergency parking ban shall not be enforced by the Town of Watertown onprivate ways; however it shall be the responsibility of the responsible owners or abutters to insure that adequate passage for public safety and public works vehicles is maintained at all times on the private way. as c fjerv4,:reo( to1 DPW C. Snow Storage: Under Watertown Ordinance 96.25, no snow shall be plowed onto or deposited on a public way, therefore the owners or abutters of a private way shall be required to provide adequate storage for snow plowed from the private way, which may include storage of snow on the abutting properties. C:\usersWwner\Downloadslsnow Plowing Reguations Revised91613 (1).Doc Page 2 of 2 D. Opting Out: .cl.¢l S A petition igned by 50% or more of property owners or abutters on a private way, whose property access is on the private way, will be considered by the Public Works Department for exclusion from municipal snow and ice removal. E. Municipal Snow and Ice Removal Procedures: 1. Private ways shall be plowed once during the course of a given storm and again at the end of a storm prior to the close of Public Works snow plowing operations. 2. Private ways shall not be cleared curb to curb / edge to edge. The plowing of private ways shall be done solely for the purpose of public safety equipment access. 3. Private ways shall not be plowed to 100% clear surface or clear to black pavement, as the purpose is to maintain access for public safety equipment. 0.1acliJ 4. The Public Works Department s I not plow any private way if there is a motor vehicle parked on the way or if any other type of obstruction is present. It is the responsibility of responsible owners or abutters to keep the roadway clear of vehicles to allow safe operation of public works vehicles. 5. Deicing of private ways will be addressed in the same manner as described under ,- -1E4etviR9-\'t h . L +lnv'v c'l E6 9 doe, Ve- . 6. The Public Works Department shall not provide any type of snow removal work or any repositioning of snow prior to, during or after any snow event. 7. Private ways shall have sufficient capacity to store snow on the private way from the snow plowing operation, and snow may be plowed by the Public Works Department onto abutting properties. 8. Due to the fact that many private ways are narrow dead -ends, the Public Works Department cannot take any responsibility for moving snow that is plowed in front of any driveway or parking area. The purpose of this program is to provide snow removal for public safety vehicle access, and the removal of snow from parking areas is the responsibility of the property owners or abutters. C:\Users\Owner\DownloadA5now Plowing Reguations Revised91613 (1).Doc