City Attorney Explains Laramie Snow Removal Laws

As we work our way further and further into winter, snow shoveling can become a monotonous task with one storm after another pounding southeast Wyoming. At times it can be tempting to get a little lazy and skip snow shoveling for a day especially in the bitter cold, but you could be taking a big risk by doing so. These days it seems like people will do anything to stir up a lawsuit whether it is spilling hot coffee or slipping on your icy sidewalk. We dug in to take a look at the City Of Laramie's ordinances and talked with the city attorney to help us decipher them. They can be pretty confusing and blurry, but here is what we found.

The City of Laramie's ordinances that pertain to snow removal are as follows:

12.08.010 Snow, Ice & Debris - Deposit Upon Right-Of-Way

No person shall cause or permit snow, ice or other debris to be deposited upon a public right-of-way. Any such deposit shall be prima facie evidence that it was so placed by the owner, occupant or manager of the adjacent tenements or grounds.

12.08.020 Snow, Ice & Debris - Removal From Sidewalks

All persons shall keep the sidewalks in front of and adjacent to the tenements or grounds owned, occupied or managed by them clear of ice, mud, dirt, rubbish or filth. After any fall of snow, such persons shall cause the snow to be immediately removed from such sidewalks.

From our talks with the city attorney, Dave Clark, basically these ordinances restrict people from depositing any debris on the sidewalk that would make it unsafe for the public. If there is debris deposited on the sidewalks adjacent to your property it is your responsibility to remove the debris; the ordinance here says remove immediately, but come on here we all know that isn't practical. When asked about this, the city attorney said that in terms of law it would be interpreted a little differently if a case went to trial. They would look to see if the snow was removed in a reasonable period of time and not necessarily immediately as the ordinance reads. The City of Laramie gives some leeway when issuing tickets and warnings for ordinance violations along the same lines. They don't expect you to shovel at three in the morning even though their ordinance would indicate otherwise. Typical you will recieve a door hanger warning from the city if there is a complaint about your property. You then have 48 hours to rectify the conditions on your property. Non-compliance can then result in a citation from the Laramie Police Department. In short clear your snow in a reasonable amount of time and you will be just fine.

That's all great and wonderful, but I know that sometimes when I shovel there will still be icy patches in places on the sidewalk or snow melts and freezes the following night creating and ice skating rink right where everyone is walking. I asked Dave about this situation and here is briefly what he had to say. Public right-of ways are the land owner's responsibility even if they have cleared snow and debris recently. If someone comes walking along and falls on your property even after you have shoveled you may still be at fault. If a case like this did go to court they would determine the amount of damages and then assign a percentage of fault to each party. In essence you want to do everything you can to reduce your percentage of fault in this situation. If you can show that you shoveled or noticed that there was ice on your property and sanded or salted it, there is a lesser chance of you paying damages. If your fault is determined to be less than 50% you would not be held liable for paying any damages. If the person who fell on your property were goofing off or running and it can be proved then it would put them at a greater degree of fault. Dave Clark said that the clearest case to consider when looking at this matter involves Pinnacle Bankin Worland, WY. If you are interested in seeing what happened there give it a read. In the end there is no clear cut rule that you can abide by to guarantee you are protected, but you can mitigate the risk by being vigilant in ways such as shoveling snow, paying attention to dangerous conditions on your property and dealing with conditions in a reasonable manner.

In general the City of Laramie has expressed that compliance with clearing snow has steadily increased over the years, especially since they started the door hanger program. Most problems are with rental properties where the owners are out of town. If you are a landlord you might consider delegating snow shoveling to the tenants directly in their lease to release yourself from any liability.

If you do have questions the city will be paying attention to the Facebook comments below so fire away. You can report violations of the ordinances to Brian Forester at city code enforcement by calling (307) 721-5285. Please understand that these are the laws and scenarios that were conveyed to us and they should no be taken as legal advice. You should consult an attorney if you find yourself in a legal matter pertaining to this issue.

You can listen to Dave Clark on Laramie Live below.