§ 69.10 Snow Removal; Emergency Route

1. Removal of Snow Procedure. The City will begin snow plowing or ice removal immediately after it has stopped snowing or sleeting. However, at the discretion of City officials, plowing of emergency routes may begin after sufficient notice has been provided as outlined below. The priority of clearing City streets shall be as follows: (i) the emergency route; (ii) the streets and intersections; (iii) the alleys; and (iv) the parks. The snow shall be pushed back as far as possible from the street edges to allow vehicles to park as close to the property line as possible. The snow plowing may create a snow pile in driveways that cannot be prevented, and the City shall not be responsible for the removal of this snow. Property owners should act responsibly as to the removal of the snow piled in their driveways by the City plows and should not push the snow back into the City streets where it will create a hazard as a compacted and frozen snow or ice patch. Sanding of icy streets will begin at the City’s discretion and sanding also may follow the plowing of snow from the streets.

2. Declaration of Snow or Ice Emergency. A declaration of a snow or ice emergency shall be determined by City officials on the basis of falling snow, sleet, freezing rain, or a forecast by the weather bureau or other weather conditions that make it necessary that motor vehicle traffic, including emergency vehicles, be expedited and that parking on certain streets be prohibited or restricted for snow plowing or sanding purposes. An emergency declaration shall take effect not earlier than four hours after it is declared, except if it is declared after 8:00 p.m., in which case it shall not take effect until at least 9:00 a.m. the next day. City officials shall give a written declaration to the Clerk, which states the beginning and ending times for the emergency declaration. It is provided, however, that the declaration may be cancelled or changed by the same procedure. The Clerk shall inform area radio and television stations and local newspapers as delineated by resolution of the Council and shall ask for a public service announcement. The City officials shall post signs on all "emergency routes" so designated by resolution of the Council. Emergency routes shall be posted at approximately two-block intervals as is possible along the emergency route. Public announcement method and emergency routes may be designated and changed by order of the Council from time to time as deemed necessary.

3. Parking of Vehicles on Streets During Ice or Snow Weather and Provision for Violation. In order to provide an emergency route during ice or snow storms, certain streets shall be considered as emergency routes and shall be designated by resolution of the Council. Designated emergency routes shall be the first streets to be cleared. Parking of vehicles on any City streets shall be prohibited four hours after a declaration of emergency, except if the declaration is after 8:00 p.m., in which case it shall not take effect until at least 9:00 a.m. the next day. On all streets where parking is allowed on both sides, vehicles shall be parked only on the even-numbered side of the street on even days of the month after 8:00 a.m. On streets where parking is allowed on both sides, vehicles shall be parked only on the odd-numbered side of the street on odd days of the month after 8:00 a.m. All other parking regulations and prohibitions shall remain in effect. Any vehicle found to be parked where not permitted during a declaration of emergency may be towed to a place where parking is permitted or to a designated place for storage, as determined by City officials. Such towing costs shall be assessed to the owner of the vehicle towed.

(Code of Iowa, Sec. 321.236[12])