The city posted a notice, tailored towards removal of the recently accumulated snow and ice, to the city of East Lansing's Facebook page on Tuesday morning.

The East Lansing Department of Public Works, or DPW, assigns a crew whose responsibilities are to plow snow off of state highway lines and major streets, residential street stops, hills and corners, followed by residential streets, alleys and cul-de-sacs.

Salt is applied to ice as needed on state highways and in critical areas, such as stops, hills and corners.

Depending on the severity of the conditions, DPW crews may also treat ice on local or residential streets.

The city states that property owners are responsible for clearing the sidewalks adjacent to their property in order to keep the community safe and walkable. This includes residents, business owners, landlords, renters and any other property owners.

In addition, the city may assess the property owner with the cost of the removal if the condition is not remedied within 24 hours of the abatement notice, as well as up to $90 in fines.

A city ordinance requires a timely removal of property-adjacent snowfall. Each day a sidewalk is not maintained constitutes a separate offense.

• Snow that accumulates before noon on a sidewalk must be cleared by midnight the same day.
• Snow that accumulates after noon on a sidewalk must be cleared by midnight of the following day.
• For snow showers that occur on more than one consecutive day, snow must be cleared by the above times or within 48 hours after the first snowfall began, whichever is sooner.
• Ice should be cleared or an abrasive (salt, sand, etc.) should be applied within 12 hours of formation.

The East Lansing Prime Time Seniors' Program has a Snow Removal Help page featuring a number of resources for community members who are unable to do the removal themselves.

Citations will also be issued directly to the property owner. Tenants should still clarify with their property owner who is responsible for the removal, as their property owner could still bill the tenant for the citation costs.

Leaf service extended

The city also posted a second notice assuring residents that the DPW will still be collecting leaves on the city's west side as scheduled.

However, due to the snow event, it has been decided to extend these collections for a fourth week. The west side includes the west city limits at Coolidge and west roads to Abbot Road.

This will be scheduled to go over the Thanksgiving holiday, dependent yet again on the future weather and any other winter-related problems that could potentially prevent it from occurring.

For the included residents, leaves need to be raked to the curb at 7 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 25 to ensure they are picked up.

Residents are reminded that leaves should not be raked into the roadway. Roadway flooding is most often caused when drainage structures are clogged with leaves.

DPW officials will be evaluating the snow melt and leaf drop conditions over this next week before making any decisions regarding the city's eastern side, which includes the east city limits at Park Lake Road to Abbot Road.

At this time, the final scheduled week of collection for the east side is the week of Nov. 18.

For east-siders, leaves need to be raked to the curb at 7 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 18 to ensure they are picked up.