Residents’ complaints triggered new policy

By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
LAKE ORION — The Lake Orion Village Council voted 6-0 Jan. 13 to adopt a revised snow plowing and salting policy that could affect how residents’ streets are plowed. Council Member Nancy Moshier was absent.
The council authorized village administration to discuss with homeowners or homeowners’ associations a fee-for-service agreements, or special assessments, to provide snow and ice removal on streets if residents want the Department of Public Works to provide the service.
A policy review committee made the recommendation to the council. The committee was created when residents of Longpointe Drive addressed concerns over the old policy. The committee consisted of Council Members George Dandalides, Alex Comparoni and Michael Lamb, who made the motion to form the committee on Dec. 9.
“We met with residents of Longpointe, we met with the three council members that helped us out, we fielded concerns, we answered a lot of questions, we updated the policy, we brought it back to the committee, we answered a few more questions and everybody thought it was a fair policy,” Public Works Director Wesley Sanchez said.
“We put that revision to the revised policy together, sent that back out (and) everybody was happy with it, and that’s what you’ll see in the meeting packet tonight,” Dandalides said.
The policy applies to all public roads, parking lots and sidewalks maintained by the village. It states the Department of Public Works will monitor weather forecasts and road conditions during a snow or ice weather event. Additional information on road conditions is provided by the village police department and communication with neighboring road agencies.
Road prioritization
The policy lists eight objectives, one being prioritizing emergency routes for police, fire and EMS vehicles defined where the vehicles are dispatched from.
Also included is a list of prioritizing roads based on road classification.
Primary routes are emergency routes for police, fire and EMS vehicles, and include major streets and collector roads. They are also roads with inclines or hills that require additional attention for safe travel.
Secondary routes are residential streets with moderate traffic. Longpointe Drive is now considered a secondary route, according to Council President Teresa Rutt.
Tertiary routes are cul-de-sacs, alleys and roads with low traffic volume.
The lowest priority are public sidewalks and pathways next to municipal buildings and high pedestrian areas.
Guidelines and procedures
For less than two inches of snowfall, primary routes and school bus routes will be plowed and salted as needed during a storm.
The second guideline, for two-to-three inches of snow, states primary routes will be prioritized and plowed 24/7 with secondary streets plowed edge-to-edge after primary routes are cleared. The final category, for three or more inches, states primary roads will remain the focus with additional resources deployed. Local road clearing operations will also require more time and may engage private contractors. Snow emergencies may also be declared.
Resident responsibilities and available actions
The policy states property owners are responsible for clearing snow and ice from sidewalks adjacent to their properties within 24 hours of snowfall.
On-street parking is prohibited during snow emergencies, and village plows will not remove snow deposited at entrances of private driveways.
The village’s call-in procedure asks residents provide their name, address and a call back number with an area of concern. Residents can call village offices during normal working hours at 248-693-8391 extension 100, and Oakland County Dispatch outside of normal working hours at 248-858-4951. Normal business hours are Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The policy will be reviewed annually and updated as necessary to reflect best practices and community needs, according to village documents.