Stricter Snow Shoveling Rules, COVID Resolution, Winter Sidewalk Cafes Top City Agenda

Traverse City commissioners will discuss a proposal tonight (Monday) to strengthen city rules requiring property owners to clear snow and ice from their sidewalks by adding a mandatory timeframe for doing so. Commissioners could also approve a resolution stating their support for local and state health measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 – a direct response to a resolution passed by Grand Traverse County commissioners last week denouncing state health orders – and allowing sidewalk cafes to operate during winter months to offer more flexibility for restaurants during the pandemic.

Stricter Shoveling Rules?
City property owners – who are required under current rules to keep the public sidewalks adjacent to their properties clear of snow and ice – could soon face a deadline for shoveling, with staff recommending adding a required timeframe to the ordinance.

Commissioners will discuss but not vote on the proposed policy change tonight, which could return at an upcoming meeting for formal adoption pending the board’s feedback. City Planning Director Russ Soyring says the current city ordinance is missing a provision spelling out when owners are responsible for getting the sidewalks cleared. “To assist with enforcement and the issuing of tickets it would be helpful to stipulate a reasonable time period of when the accumulation of snow and ice on public walks has to be removed,” he wrote in a memo to commissioners.

After researching ordinances in other communities, Soyring is recommending that commercial owners (or their building occupants) have four hours to remove snow and ice that accumulates during daylight hours. Residential owners or tenants would have 24 hours to clear sidewalks. If accumulation happens overnight, commercial areas would need to be cleared by noon the next day, with residential properties cleared within 24 hours. The sidewalks would need to be cleared at least five feet in width in order to provide enough clearance for pedestrians. Most residential sidewalks in Traverse City range in width from five to eight feet, while commercial sidewalks – like on East Front Street downtown – are between five and 11 feet, according to Soyring. Sidewalks would need to be maintained to a “non-slippery state,” with no more than two inches of snow remaining on them.

Even though sidewalk clearing is the responsibility of property owners, confusion has long persisted over the ordinance because of the city’s own contributions to clearing sidewalks, which has prompted some owners to mistakenly believe the city is responsible or will take care of it, according to Soyring. To help address the confusion, he is also recommending adding language to the ordinance that emphasizes that “property owners are not relieved of their snow removal responsibilities in areas where snow removal assistance is provided by the Department of Public Services.”

COVID-19 Resolution
Residents confusing the City of Traverse City with Grand Traverse County – two separate units of government that are sometimes mixed up because of their geographic overlap – caused city commissioners to receive upset emails after county commissioners Wednesday passed a resolution condemning the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) pause order, according to Mayor Pro Tem Amy Shamroe. Because of the confusion, Shamroe and Mayor Jim Carruthers requested a resolution be added to tonight’s meeting agenda affirming city support for “preventative measures to slow and stop the spread of COVID-19.”

Because the resolution is a last-minute topic addition, it will require the support of five commissioners to put it on the agenda for a vote. Shamroe says she believes commissioners will support it, as it is “affirming the practices we already have in place and have been following as a city.” The resolution outlines support for public health measures including MDHHS orders, which the document says are meant to save lives and speed up the time “within which businesses and organizations can welcome maximum numbers of patrons back into their establishments without concern for spreading a potentially deadly and potentially life-altering virus.” The resolution encourages mask wearing and social distancing, and for people to “treat each other with kindness and approach conversations in a way that creates openness.”

According to Shamroe, “recent actions by the county commission might leave some people in doubt as to where we as city commissioners are, and we wanted to reaffirm the city is following the rules set out by scientists.” Carruthers, who notes he is part of a joint operations center group of community leaders meeting regularly to manage the pandemic “wisely and with fact-based information,” echoes Shamroe’s comments in wanting to see a resolution passed to clarify the city’s position. “The decision by (county commissioners) completely defies reason and common sense around working together with our community to help slow and stop the spread of this virus,” he says. 

Sidewalk Cafes
Commissioners tonight will consider allowing sidewalk cafes to operate outside the normal time limit of April 1-November 1, providing city restaurants more opportunities to use igloos and other enclosed spaces for dining during the winter months. Many restaurants are already doing so on their private patio spaces, and City Clerk Benjamin Marentette says those “innovative approaches” could be made available to others by adjusting the sidewalk café ordinance. “Now, more than ever, the city needs to do all it can to provide additional opportunities to support our businesses that help make this community the gem that is,” he wrote to commissioners. If the change is approved, the duration of sidewalk cafe permits could be extended – and enclosed structures allowed – at the discretion of the city clerk.

Also at tonight’s meeting…
> Commissioners will receive a presentation from Grand Traverse and Leelanau County administrators, Cherry Capital Airport Executive Director Kevin Klein, and airport consultant Steve Baldwin on the airport’s new proposed governance model. Grand Traverse and Leelanau commissioners have given their approval for the airport to become an independent authority, with leaders in the process of pursuing the transition. 
> City staff will give an update on the Healthier Drinking Culture Initiative, an effort for which the city previously received a $100,000 grant develop a program in Traverse City to prevent binge drinking and alcohol overconsumption. The grant has paid for hiring a facilitator to develop and administer the program in collaboration with businesses that have liquor licenses in the city, including training businesses to foster more responsible drinking practices in their establishments. City staff will also provide a recap of an annual report on city operations called The Performance, which provides a snapshot of 2020 highlights. The report was bumped from last week’s agenda to tonight’s meeting.