Smithtown, NY Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)
Key Facts
- Who must clear it
- Business/industrial district frontage owners
- What must stay clear
- Snow, ice, dirt, obstructions
- De-icer restriction
- No salt or calcium chloride
- Fixed hour deadline
- None stated in the code
- Notice to cure
- 72 hours after mailed notice
- First-offense fine
- Up to $2,500 or 30 days
Summary
Smithtown's Property Maintenance Ordinance requires every property owner to keep steps, walks, driveways and parking areas safe to cross in normal weather, and specifically makes owners of commercial buildings and of land fronting a business or industrial district street clear their abutting public sidewalk of snow, ice and dirt. The code bars using salt or calcium chloride to do it.
All owners, occupants, lessors or persons having responsibility or control of all property within the Town of Smithtown, including, but not limited to, buildings, lots or structures used for residential or commercial purposes, shall maintain steps, walks, driveways, parking spaces and similar paved areas so as to afford safe passage under normal use and weather conditions. All owners, occupants, lessors or persons in control of all buildings or structures used for commercial purposes and the owners or occupants of lands fronting or abutting on any street or highway in a business or industrial district shall maintain and repair the sidewalks adjoining their lands and shall keep the sidewalk adjacent to such premises free and clear from snow, ice, dirt or other obstruction. No salt, calcium chloride or derivatives thereof or other corrosive materials shall be used.
Full Breakdown
Section 221-4A(6) sets two layers of duty. First, every owner, occupant, lessor or person with control of any property in Smithtown must maintain steps, walks, driveways, parking spaces and similar paved areas so they afford safe passage under normal use and weather conditions. Second, owners or occupants of buildings used commercially, and owners or occupants of land fronting or abutting a street or highway in a business or industrial district, must maintain and repair the adjoining sidewalks and keep them free and clear of snow, ice, dirt or other obstruction, and they cannot use salt, calcium chloride or other corrosive de-icers to do it.
The code does not set a fixed number of hours after a snowfall by which the sidewalk must be cleared; the duty is framed as a continuing maintenance obligation rather than a clock that starts at the last snowflake. Enforcement runs the same path as any other Article II standard: a mailed notice to cure under § 221-36B gives 72 hours to remedy the condition, and if the owner still fails to comply the Town Board can hold a hearing and clear the sidewalk itself, billing the cost to the property's tax bill as a lien.
Violations & Fines
A property owner who fails to clear an abutting commercial or business-district sidewalk, or who uses salt or calcium chloride to do it, violates § 221-4A(6) and is subject to the § 221-35A penalty: up to $2,500 or 30 days in jail, or both, for a first offense, and up to $5,000 or 60 days for a second or later offense, with each day of noncompliance a separate violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many hours do I have to clear snow from my Smithtown sidewalk?
Can I use rock salt to melt ice on my Smithtown sidewalk?
Does every homeowner in Smithtown have to clear the public sidewalk?
What's the fine for an uncleared business sidewalk in Smithtown?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Smithtown
New York rules heatmap·Compare Smithtown to another location·View the New York property maintenance overview
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Snow & Sidewalk Clearing in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Suffolk County handle snow & sidewalk clearing.