Are You Legally Required to Shovel Your Sidewalks in New Jersey?
Make sure you're up to date with New Jersey's snow removal laws before the winter snow gets here.
If you've been keeping up with the news, you've heard about the major Pre-Christmas storm hitting the country. Some parts of the US are getting buried under snow.
While snow is on the forecast for today, December 23rd, here in New Jersey, it thankfully doesn't look to be as serious as what the rest of the country is experiencing. As you know, New Jersey's weather can be unpredictable, so fingers crossed that the snow passes us by.
But, we've still got the entire winter season ahead of us, which means plenty of opportunities for bigger snowstorms. Most of us know that you must remove any snow or ice on your car before driving, but are there any laws regarding snow removal on your property?
In short, yes - New Jersey does have laws surrounding snow removal, but they vary by town. Most Ocean County towns require homeowners to remove snow if their sidewalks are in pedestrian-heavy areas.
Are NJ snow removal laws enforced? An article from NJ.com states that warnings for snow removal violations are more common than fines. In my opinion, it's better to be safe than sorry.
Towns like Toms River, and Barnegat give fines for violation of snow removal laws. According to Barnegat Township's website, you can be fined $250 per day, and/or imprisoned for up to 90 days for failure to remove snow. In Toms River, the rules are a little less harsh. Per Toms River's website, violators can be fined $100 or more for the first offense and $200 for subsequent offenses, but they can't receive more than $1000 in fines.
Obviously, there are too many towns in Ocean County, and in the state of New Jersey to list here. In order to be sure of your town's snow removal laws, do your research. If you google your town name and snow removal laws, you should find more information.