Bergenfield, NJ Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)

Article III of the Streets and Sidewalks chapter, in force since 1975, puts the clock on snow removal at § 273-9: the owner or tenant of land abutting or bordering paved sidewalks of streets, avenues, highways and public places must remove all snow and ice within 24 hours after it has ceased to fall or form. Section 273-10 backs that duty with a municipal remedy rather than leaving it purely to fines: if an owner or occupant refuses or neglects to clear the walk, the Street Commissioner or other official in charge of the streets may have the snow or ice removed, and the Council ascertains the cost, which the Tax Assessor then certifies and adds to the next tax levy on the property, becoming a lien until paid.

A separate rule added in 1987, § 273-11, bars the reverse problem: no person, firm or corporation may cast or throw snow or ice onto a public street or thoroughfare, which keeps property owners from simply pushing their sidewalk snow into the roadway that Public Works has to keep clear for traffic. Violations of the article are enforced under the general penalty provision at § 273-12, which routes fines to Chapter 1, Article II rather than setting a chapter-specific dollar figure, so the standard municipal-court schedule for ordinance violations applies to a missed 24-hour deadline or to throwing snow into the street.