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

Section 297-50 requires the owner, occupant or tenant of any premises abutting a street to remove all snow and ice from the abutting sidewalk or the portion of the right-of-way the public actually uses, within 12 hours of daylight after the snow falls or the ice forms; if the ice is frozen too hard to clear, it must instead be thoroughly covered with sand or ashes within that same 12-hour window. Premises used by the public or by business invitees carry the identical duty for the sidewalks, streets, rights-of-way and parking areas used in the business, under Section 297-50B.

Section 297-51 separately bars anyone from throwing, placing or depositing snow or ice removed from private property back onto a street; the purpose stated in the code is to stop people from casting their own accumulated snow into public sidewalks or streets. If an owner does not clear the snow or ice, or dumps it back onto the sidewalk or street, Section 297-52 lets the Director of Public Works have it removed and certify the cost to the tax collector. The City Council reviews that certification, and once approved, the cost becomes a lien and a tax on the abutting real estate, collected with interest the same way other municipal taxes are collected. Being fined for a violation does not excuse the owner from also owing that certified removal cost; the two remedies operate side by side.