Union, NY Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)

Article V of Chapter 178 was adopted December 1, 1999 as L.L. No. 4-1999. Section 178-22 was amended March 16, 2016 by L.L. No. 2-2016, and § 178-26 was amended January 7, 2026 by L.L. No. 5-2026. Three groups carry the duty in the Town of Union outside the Villages of Endicott and Johnson City: the owner of a house or any other building, the owner or person entitled to possession of any vacant lot, and any person having charge of a church or public building. Each must keep the adjacent sidewalk, including curb-cut areas providing handicapped access, free from the obstruction of snow and ice.

The clock in § 178-26 is five hours from the time snow or ice is deposited or accumulates. A second trigger applies after notice: the accumulation must come off within one hour after notice from the Town Highway Superintendent, the Deputy Commissioner of Public Works for Codes and Ordinances, Code Enforcement Officers, Building Inspectors, Building Officials, or their authorized agents or designees. Notice is deemed given when it is affixed to any building on the property or, for vacant land, to the nearest utility pole. For vacant land the Town also makes a good faith effort to reach the owner by telephone or by affixing the notice to the owner's residence. Each twenty-four-hour period that the accumulation exists is a separate violation.

If the owner neglects removal, § 178-27 lets the Town remove the deposit, keep an account of the expense, and report it to the Town Board or Town Comptroller, who can assess the amount on the owner and add it to the next annual Town tax. Attorneys fees, engineering fees, consultant fees and court costs of enforcement also become the owner's obligation and a lien on the real property. Section 178-23 separately bars owners and occupants from letting snow, ice or water fall from a building onto a street or sidewalk, and § 178-24 bars depositing snow or ice in a street or highway. Section 178-29 adds escalating inspection fees for repeat notices within twelve months.