Lakewood, NJ Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)
Key Facts
- Deadline
- 12 hours after snow stops or ice forms
- Excluded hours
- 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
- City remedy
- Public Works removes it, cost becomes a tax lien
- Fallback penalty
- Up to $1,000 fine or 90 days jail, § 1-5.1
- Thin-ice rule
- Must sand or salt if too bonded to shovel
Summary
Lakewood Township, Ocean County, gives property owners 12 daylight hours to clear sidewalk snow and ice. Miss the deadline and Public Works removes it for you and puts the bill on your tax lien, on top of any separate fine.
Every owner or occupant of any house or other building, any owner or occupant of any multiple family dwelling, store, apartment, or commercial or industrial building, and any owner of a vacant lot shall remove snow or ice from the sidewalks in front of or adjacent to such buildings or lot within 12 hours after the snow ceases to fall or ice is formed. The hours from 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. shall be excluded in computing the 12 hours during which snow must be removed.
Full Breakdown
1 requires every owner or occupant of a house, multiple-family dwelling, store, apartment, commercial or industrial building, and every owner of a vacant lot, to remove snow or ice from the sidewalk in front of or adjacent to the property within 12 hours after the snow stops falling or the ice forms. " Owners of multi-building apartment projects on one parcel must clear snow and ice from both the streets and sidewalks of the project on the same 12-hour schedule. 1(c) requires the surface be covered "with fine sand, salt or other material suitable to prevent slipping" instead.
2 lets the Public Works Director have the snow or ice removed directly; the Director certifies the cost to the Township Committee, which charges it against the abutting land as a lien added to and collected with the property's next tax bill. 5.
Violations & Fines
No sidewalk-specific fine is set in Chapter 20, so an uncleared walk exposes the owner to the Revision's general penalty under § 1-5.1: a fine up to $1,000, up to 90 days in the County Jail, or up to 90 days of community service, plus the lien Public Works places on the property for its own removal costs. Section 1-5.5 makes each day of an uncleared sidewalk a separate violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to clear my Lakewood Township sidewalk after it snows?
What happens if I never shovel my sidewalk?
What if the ice is frozen too solid to shovel?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lakewood
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Snow & Sidewalk Clearing in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle snow & sidewalk clearing.