Are Residents Putting Snow on Your Town Highways?
What Can Municipalities Do To Prevent Residents from Moving Snow From Their Walks and Driveways Into the Highway?
Vermont law prohibits people from placing “obstructions” or “encroachments” within town highways that would hinder or prevent public travel or injure or impede a person traveling on the highway. 19 V.S.A. § 1105. Even more broadly, 19 V.S.A. § 1111(b) prohibits the “deposit[ing] [of] material of any kind within” town highway rights-of-way. While these laws do not specifically refer to snow, we think they are broad enough to include instances when private landowners are pushing or depositing snow into town highways.
Violators of 19 V.S.A. § 1105(b) can be fined up to $1,000 and be held personally liable for the actual costs of repairing any damage and reasonable attorney’s fees. Similarly, a violation of 19 V.S.A. § 1111(b) can incur a fine of $100 to $10,000 for each violation. A warning letter to the violator, describing the nature of the violation along with the potential penalties, may be enough to stop their practice.
More specifically, the act of dumping snow into a town highway, shoulder, or sidewalk is also a violation of state law under 23 V.S.A. § 1126a:
No person, other than an employee in the performance of his or her official duties or other person authorized by the agency of transportation (in the case of state highways) or selectboard (in the case of town highways), shall plow or otherwise deposit snow onto the traveled way, shoulder or sidewalk of a state highway or a class 1, 2 or 3 town highway.
Law enforcement officers may enforce this state law by issuing a civil violation complaint (i.e., a ticket). 23 V.S.A. §1013.
It may be more efficient, however, for towns to regulate snow removal and prohibit the depositing of snow on town highways by enacting a local highway or nuisance ordinance. In this way, towns may establish their own tailored violations and penalties and be in a better position to enforce the regulations.