GARDEN CITY, Mich. – Garden City has put some teeth in its ordinance which requires homeowners and businesses to clear snow from sidewalks.
As of now, if a home or business has not cleared snow from sidewalks 24 hours after a snowfall, a warning can be issued.
If the snow is not cleared within another 24 hours, the city will demand a fee for removal of that snow.
Justice Jenkins is an 84-year-old Garden City homeowner, and he approves of the ordinance.
"There are so many people who can't do it but people who can do it, they are not doing it," Jenkins said.
Justice Jenkins has a good neighbor. Robert Meledy was out shoveling Jenkins' sidewalk Tuesday because he feels it is the neighborly thing to do.
Garden City police chief Robert Muery said the city will not be targeting people like Justice Jenkins.
"The 84-year-old grandmother who expected her grandson to come by and shovel the snow and he didn't show up, that's not the person we're going after. It is the businesses that have chosen to ignore us, it is the absentee homeowner who is not responding to us," Muery said.
If a business or homeowner ignores the warning and Garden City clears the sidewalk, the bill will be $200 for a residence and $300 for a business.