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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 12/15/2009 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 137, 2009, AMENDING DATE: December 15, 2009 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY STAFF: Helen Migchelbrink FORT COLLINSCOUNCIL SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 137,2009,Amending Section 24-96 of the City Code Regarding Snow Emergencies. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Ordinance amends the City Code Section 24-96 to provide the City Manager with the authority to declare a snow emergency when conditions warrant. The current Code designates the City Engineer as the official with the authority to declare a snow emergency. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION Current City Code language contained in Section 24-96 designates the City Engineer as the official with the authority to declare a snow emergency when weather conditions dictate this action. A snow emergency is put into effect to assure that vehicles do not park on streets which had been previously designated as snow routes. The proposed change is to place authority for declaring and terminating a snow emergency with the City Manager in place of the City Engineer. The City Manager will rely on information collected and analyzed by the City Engineer. The change is, in part,to ensure that such declarations are well coordinated among all City departments and emergency services and communicated to the public, as well as elected officials. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. ORDINANCE NO, 137, 2009 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING SECTION 24-96 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS REGARDING SNOW EMERGENCIES WHEREAS , Section 24-96 of the City Code authorizes the City Engineer to declare the existence of a snow emergency to ensure that vehicles do not park on streets which have been designated as snow emergency routes ; and WHEREAS , the coordination of communications among City departments, the public, and elected officials will be enhanced by authorizing the City Manager instead of the City Engineer to declare the existence and termination of a snow emergency. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that Section 24-96 of the City Code is amended to read as follows : Sec. 24-96. Snow emergency. (a) Whenever the City ETfgineerManager, upon consultation with his or her staff, finds and so determines that due to falling snow, sleet, freezing rain or a forecast by the United States Weather Bureau of weather conditions that so warrant, the City EngineerManager is hereby authorized to declare the existence of a snow emergency. (b) The City ETfgineerManager shall provide announcements to local radio and television stations declaring a snow emergency to exist and to describe the action to be taken by the City. There shall be included in such announcement the time that parking prohibitions are to become effective pursuant to this Section. Where feasible, such announcement shall be disseminated to a newspaper having a general circulation within the City. (c) Upon the declaration of the existence of a snow emergency, parking of motor vehicles shall be prohibited on all streets designated as snow emergency routes . For the purposes of this Section, snow emergency routes shall consist of those streets or portions of streets within the City as designated in the Snow Removal Handbook of the City of Fort Collins . On each street or portion of street upon which parking is allowed and which is designated as a snow emergency route, the City Engineer shall post at reasonable intervals special traffic signs indicating by the appropriate symbol or wording that the street or portion of the street has been designated as a snow emergency route . There shall be no parking whatsoever on any roadway or contiguous shoulder of any state highway or connection link within the City during the times and at the places where snow removal operations are in progress . (d) Whenever any vehicle, except an emergency vehicle, is found standing, attended or unattended, upon a snow emergency route in violation of this Section, the City Engineer shall without delay and at the owner's expense take action to have the vehicle towed or otherwise removed from the snow emergency route . (e) Whenever the City EngineerManager finds that some or all of the conditions which gave rise to the snow emergency no longer exist, the City EngineerManager may declare the termination of the emergency, in part or in whole, effective immediately upon announcement. In the absence of any such announcement, whenever the entire roadway of any snow emergency route is substantially clear of snow from curb to curb, the snow emergency shall be deemed to be terminated, and the normally permitted parking of vehicles shall be automatically authorized. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 15th day of December, A.D. 2009, and to be presented for final passage on the 5th day of January, A.D . 2010. Mayor ATTEST : City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 5th day of January, A.D . 2010 . Mayor ATTEST : City Clerk