Arlington County still hasn’t issued any citations for slippery sidewalks following last week’s snowstorm, despite widespread complaints and lingering ice.
Limited staff and logistical challenges have limited the county’s efforts to answer more than 600 resident complaints after the snowfall, Rachel LaPiana, a spokesperson for the Dept. of Community Planning, Housing and Development, told ARLnow.
Instead of handing out fines, “the county continues to work with property owners on compliance with the Snow Removal Ordinance.”
“The County is working to safely address every complaint received as quickly as possible based on the staff available, and we appreciate the community’s continued patience,” LaPiana said.
Since 2010, the county has had the power to issue $50 to $100 citations to property owners who fail to clear their sidewalks within 24 hours of a snowfall of less than six inches, or 36 hours after a snowfall of more than six inches.
From the beginning, however, staff have promised to “try to give notification and warning” before fining people.
Today, the six county inspectors on staff — “who also must continue their regular, non-snow inspections,” LaPiana noted — have to inspect every location with a complaint to verify that a violation exists. First an inspector issues a warning, and then they must re-inspect the spot after 24 hours to see if the property owner has complied.
Only then will they issue a citation.
The county’s snow issue form indicates that county’s clean-up from the storm has been “completed” as of 1:54 p.m. yesterday (Monday). However, complaints to ARLnow about snow and ice on sidewalks — public and private — haven’t stopped.
An East Falls Church resident sent a tip yesterday evening about property owners in her neighborhood who “continue to fail to shovel the snow, and their sidewalks are now sheets of ice.”
“The County snow removal ordinance is a joke,” the tipster said in an email. “And residents know it and so they don’t shovel and the rest of us slip, slide and fall because of the bad behavior of these homeowners. County officials should be embarrassed that they don’t take action to make our sidewalks safe.”
While many sidewalks in East Falls Church are clear, ARLnow spotted several remaining ice patches this afternoon (Tuesday) — including a couple treacherous stretches across the street from the neighborhood’s Metro station.
Partly to blame for the slippery conditions, the county has said, is a bout of unusually cold weather.
“Multiple days of below freezing temperatures has made this event unique for recent years,” Katie O’Brien, a spokesperson for Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services, told ARLnow last week. “Usually, Mother Nature assists in helping melt snow and ice from streets and sidewalks.”
Problems are by no means isolated to Arlington, with residents of Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince George’s counties raising similar complaints days after the snowstorm’s last flakes fell.
Chilly temperatures are expected to continue this week, with the National Weather Service forecasting a high near 33 degrees today and scattered flurries tonight.
