If you’re a landlord or a property manager in Boulder County, you’re responsible for snow removal on the property you own. This applies to residential, commercial, and industrial properties. Failure to remove snow from the sidewalk could result in a $100 fine for a first offense, or up to $1000 or 90 days in jail for repeated offenses. You’ll also need to remove snow from driveways, rooftops, parking lots, and other places where it accumulates during the winter.
This helpful snow removal checklist can help you plan for the coming winter, which is projected to be cold and snowy.
Snow Removal Checklist: Pre-Season Preparation
Here’s what you’ll need to do before and during the winter.
- Establish a plan. How will you handle snow removal? Are you doing it yourself, or are you hiring contractors? When will snow and ice be removed, and how soon after snow falls?
- Put out weather mats. Place weather mats near all entrances to the building, for a distance of about forty feet. This should catch snow and water while both entering and exiting the building.
- Check weather mats periodically. You’ll need to check the weather mats occasionally to make sure that they haven’t started to curl, which creates a tripping hazard.
- Notify tenants that they should inform you of any snow or ice hazards. Put out a bulletin, newsletter, or email message informing your tenants asking tenants or residents to inform you of any snow or ice hazards that they observe on the property. You can also put up a sign asking the same of visitors to the building.
- Consider hiring a contractor. Manual snow removal can be tedious, physically demanding, and potentially dangerous for people with heart conditions or other physical health issues. You may want to consider hiring snow removal contractors to take care of it for you, ensuring that your property is in compliance with local ordinances. Before hiring a company, make sure they have the right equipment, scheduling availability, experience, and references to meet your needs. They should also be properly licensed and insured. If you choose, you can get estimates from more than one company before you make a decision.
- Create a contract for your snow removal company. You and your contractor will need to sign a contract that ensures that they provide the services you need safely.
- Keep a record of snow and ice removal activities. You should keep a record of when snow and ice have been removed from the property. This can help protect you against injury claims or other legal issues, as well as helping you create and maintain a standard operating procedure that you can keep using in the future.
Checklist for Handling Incidents
If an incident occurs on a property you own, you can use this brief checklist to ensure that you handle it correctly.
- Fill out an incident report. You can find forms online, or create your own, to use to record incidents that occur on your property. These should include the date; the location; the nature of the incident; the name and contact information of the injured person; and any first aid measures that were taken on the scene.
- Report the incident to your attorney. Your attorney can help you file a claim and handle the legal aspects of the incident.
- Take photographs with digital camera. It’s important to get photographic documentation of the scene of the accident. This can help protect you if there’s a lawsuit.
Snow Removal Contractors in Boulder County
Looking for reliable local snow removal contractors? At General Services corporation, we provide snow removal services for homeowners and property managers throughout Boulder County. To find out more, or to schedule snow removal, call us any time.
