Put snow on street, face fine in Mundelein

Mundelein residents and business owners can be fined up to $750 for dumping snow or ice onto the street or sidewalk under a newly adopted regulation.

The decision was prompted by this winter's significant snowfall -- and what some residents and business owners have been doing with that snow.

Primarily blaming private snow-removal companies, Mayor Kenneth H. Kessler complained that some sidewalks in town are topped by 12 feet of snow, rendering them impassable and forcing pedestrians onto the street.

Elsewhere, private plows pushed so much snow into roadways after one recent storm that the piles damaged village plow trucks trying to clear the streets for motorists, Police Chief Raymond J. Rose said.

The new ordinance is designed to prevent such damage and safety hazards, officials said.

"We're fighting mother nature and all the deposits of snow that keep being put in the street as well," Kessler said. "We just can't have people walking down Route 45 because the sidewalk isn't cleared."

The move was approved without opposition by the village board Monday night. It's effective immediately.

The rules prohibit people from shoveling, plowing or generally placing snow and ice from private property onto village streets, highways or sidewalks. It also forbids people from taking snow from their property and putting it on another property.

Snow on sidewalks and streets has been a problem in residential and commercial areas throughout the village this winter, Rose said.

Under the ordinance, police or village officials will notify property owners of violations and request the snow be removed. If the snow is not immediately cleared, the village can fine the property owners and charge them the cost of removing the snow.

Fines can range from $25 to $750.

Des Plaines, Geneva, Hanover Park, Lombard, Naperville, Schaumburg and Vernon Hills are among the suburbs with similar regulations.

Unlike snow-related rules in Des Plaines, Wheeling and other towns, the new ordinance does not require people to clear the sidewalks in front of their homes or businesses.

Terry Skriba, executive director of the Mundelein MainStreet downtown merchant group, supports the new law. She's particularly concerned about pedestrians who have to walk in the street because of blocked sidewalks.

"People have to take responsibility," Skriba said. "Either you do it right or you pay for it."

Village attorney Charles Marino acknowledged there are times property owners simply aren't able to comply with the regulation. In such situations, it's up to police discretion to decide whether fines should be levied, Marino said.