Icy, snowy sidewalks are a nuisance to all students, especially students who rent houses.
According to East Lansing city ordinances, all sidewalks must be free of snow or ice, or a fine is assessed.
East Lansing renters: Keep those sidewalks clear to avoid a fine
East Lansing police Lt. Steve Gonzalez said once the snow stops falling, renters and homeowners have a 24-hour window to shovel and salt the public sidewalks in front of their houses.
“Enforcement officers will take a look at the condition of the sidewalk and, if it’s readily apparent that a homeowner or a resident has been trying to keep up with the shoveling, they’ll usually issue a warning,” Gonzalez said. “They generally will issue citations when it’s just clear that… no effort has been made whatsoever to clear the sidewalks."
Nursing senior Jessica Mckay who rents a house, said the ticket she received for not clearing sidewalks was $85.
“Which is a lot for college students,” she said.
For renters in Lansing, the failure to clear a public sidewalk can result in the city clearing it for the renter, which is a minimum fine of $149.
Mckay rents from an individual owner, but some renting companies, such as DTN Management Company, remove snow from the sidewalks of the houses they rent out.
“We’ll do the sidewalks up and down the street …but then the residents are responsible from their front door out to the sidewalk,” Colin Cronin, vice president of DTN, said.
Mckay said she and her roommate are responsible for shoveling the sidewalk, as well as the walk up to their house.
“Last time we got a ticket, it snowed like all night,” Mckay said. She added after the night of snowfall, they got a ticket at 8:30 a.m. for failure to remove the snow.
Gonzalez said East Lansing P.A.C.E. handles citations for snow removal violations, and they’re finding a lot of violations this year.
“There’s a new group of people that are new to the city and aren’t really, I guess, well-versed with some of the ordinances that apply to their properties,” Gonzalez said, referring to MSU students that move from dorms into rental houses. “Every year it’s kind of a new thing.”
Mckay said last year, the owner had maintenance workers remove the snow.
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“But they didn’t come this year, and then we got a ticket, so, we found out we were responsible,” Mckay said.
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