During this past winter our current snow plow vendor was cited by the City of Brunswick for depositing snow on a driveway apron within our development, based on a complaint they received. The city ordinance reads as follows:

854.08 DEPOSIT OF SNOW AND/OR ICE.
(a) No person, company, contractor or private snow removal company or entity while in the process of snow plowing or
removal shall deposit or cause to be deposited any snow and/or ice that would obstruct, hinder, block or cause damage to
any public or private road, crosswalk, sidewalk, driveway or fire hydrant.
(b) City or state snow plow operations are exempt from this section.
(c) In addition to the penalty provided in this chapter, whoever violates this section shall forfeit any license issued
pursuant to this chapter.
(Ord. 77-11. Passed 10-24-11.)
854.99 PENALTY.

Whoever violates or fails to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
(Ord. 64-79. Passed 5-29-79.)

Over the past several years we have always contracted a vendor to clear the streets, salt when applicable, maintain the areas in front of all the mailboxes (including the ones on Judita) and ensure the streets are passible for our residents and also any emergency vehicles that need to get through. Any work that we contract with a vendor has a price tag attached to it. Unfortunately, until the citation was given to the vendor, we were not aware that the vendor was not in accordance with the City Ordinance, which we will need to follow going forward.

We began the process of bidding out the snow removal contract for the upcoming
winter season and budget for next year. Following feedback from the vendors we contacted, we realized that we are looking at a substantial increase in our budget, ultimately affecting dues.

Since the Ordinance as written does not specify how much snow/ice would be considered obstructing, hindering, or blocking a driveway it is uncertain what the tolerable level would be. The city Ordinance specifically exempts the City and State plows from the Ordinance, thus the City does not have to deal with this issue.

We also have the issue of the sidewalks, which we all know are right up against the street and according to this Ordinance would also need to be cleared by the Vendor. As a result an additional cost is coming in to play. According to the bids that we have received so far, we are looking at a potential increase in dues in the $80 to $120/ year per homeowner. We have been trying to work with the City to amend the ordinance due to the financial burden it places on the Association and ultimately the
Homeowners but have not had any success thus far. We are asking for your support by signing a petition to the City to review the current Ordinances relative to snow removal and either amend the current Ordinance to exempt any contractor hired by an Association to maintain private streets that the City will not maintain, or have the City take over the plowing for the private streets. We thank you for your consideration.