Skowhegan, ME Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)
Key Facts
- Daytime snowfall
- Clear within four (4) hours after snow stops
- Nighttime snowfall
- Clear before 10:00 A.M. next day, unless Sunday or a holiday
- Streets named
- Business parts of Madison Avenue, Russell, Water and Court Streets
- Ice
- Remove it or cover with sand, ashes or other suitable substance
- Forfeiture
- Not to exceed $100.00 per offense; each day separate
- Enforced by
- Skowhegan Police Department
Summary
In the Town of Skowhegan, Maine, the occupant, or the owner when there is no tenant, of property bordering the business sidewalks on Madison Avenue, Russell, Water and Court Streets must clear snow within four hours in the daytime or by 10:00 A.M. the next day after a night snowfall, and must remove or sand ice. The forfeiture is up to $100.00 per offense.
(a) The tenant or occupant of any store, shop, dwelling house, manufactory, hotel or other building or any vacant lot of land bordering upon any sidewalk on the business parts of Madison Avenue, Russell, Water, and Court Streets, and in case there shall be no tenant, the owner or any person having the care or control of any building or lot of land bordering upon the forenamed streets, after the ceasing to fall of any snow, if in the daytime within four (4) hours, and if in the nighttime before 10:00 A.M. of the following day, unless such following day be Sunday or a holiday, shall cause the same to be removed from such sidewalk. ... Such tenant, occupant or owner, whenever ice has formed upon any sidewalk, as aforesaid, shall cause the same to be removed or to be properly covered or strewed with sand, ashes or other suitable substance in such a manner as to render such sidewalk safe and convenient for foot travelers. (b) Any person ... violating any provisions of this section shall be punishable upon conviction by a civil forfeiture not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00) for any one offense. Each day of the violation shall constitute a separate offense.
Full Breakdown
Section 3 of the Skowhegan Streets and Sidewalks Ordinance puts the shoveling duty on the people who control the adjoining property. Under Section 3(a), the tenant or occupant of any store, shop, dwelling house, manufactory, hotel or other building, or any vacant lot of land, bordering upon any sidewalk on the business parts of Madison Avenue, Russell, Water, and Court Streets carries the duty. Where there is no tenant, it falls on the owner or any person having the care or control of the building or lot. The section names those four streets, so its deadline is tied to them.
The clock starts when the snow stops falling. If the snow ends in the daytime, the sidewalk must be cleared within four (4) hours. If it ends in the nighttime, the sidewalk must be cleared before 10:00 A.M. of the following day, unless that following day is a Sunday or a holiday. The section adds that no person shall be required to remove snow on Sunday. The duty also extends to snow falling from any roof onto the sidewalk, so a building owner answers for a roof slide as well as for the snow that lands from the sky.
Ice is a separate duty. Whenever ice has formed on one of these sidewalks, the tenant, occupant or owner must have it removed, or have it properly covered or strewed with sand, ashes or other suitable substance in such a manner as to render the sidewalk safe and convenient for foot travelers.
Enforcement sits with the Skowhegan Police Department or another official duly appointed and authorized by the Board of Selectmen (Section 2). Section 1 separately gives the Board of Selectmen authority to make regulations pertaining to public sidewalks as they deem necessary for the safety, convenience and protection of the public. The ordinance was adopted at a Special Town Meeting on 8/8/2000 and amended at a Special Town Meeting on 2/14/2012, and Section 3 carries a state law reference to the authority to provide for removal of snow and ice from sidewalks in 30-A M.R.S.A. §3001.
Violations & Fines
Section 3(b) provides that any person, firm, partnership or corporation violating the section is punishable upon conviction by a civil forfeiture not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100.00) for any one offense, and each day of the violation constitutes a separate offense. A sidewalk left uncleared past the four-hour or 10:00 A.M. deadline is a violation, and an icy sidewalk that has not been cleared or covered with sand, ashes or another suitable substance is a violation of the separate ice requirement. The Skowhegan Police Department enforces.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to clear my Skowhegan sidewalk after snow?
Which streets does the sidewalk snow rule cover?
Do I have to deal with ice as well as snow?
What is the penalty in Skowhegan?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Skowhegan
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