It has not been a typical snowy Minnesota winter, yet. However, we would like to take a minute to remind everyone about factors that may come into play during a snow event.
Trigger Depth
Most HOA contracts will state an accumulation total that must be met before snow removal services will commence. For most places, the trigger depth is between 1-2 inches of snow.
Accumulations
Your contract’s definition of “trigger depth” is extremely important. Depending on the wording, trigger depth can be met when all of the snow on the ground is at or above a certain amount. In other cases, trigger depth might only apply to “single-event” storms; this method disregards how much snow is already on the ground and only measures how much new snow has fallen. If the amount of new snow is less than the trigger depth, snow removal will not occur. It is important to know the difference between these plans and which one you have; if there are 5 consecutive snowstorms where less than 1-inch falls and you have a single-event contract, snow removal services will not be triggered. Most contracts are written “by event.”
Timing
The second most important clause of your contract is when the snow removal service must be completed. In most cases, “final cleanup” is required somewhere between 6 – 12 hours after the snow has stopped falling. In some cases, the timeline can change based on how much snow has accumulated. The more snow that falls, the more time is allowed for cleanup.
Open-ups
Open-ups are another clause in the snow removal contract that is put into action after the snowfall exceeds a particular total. For example, if 4 inches of snow has fallen and there is still a forecasted 4 inches, the snow removal company will perform an open-up. They will perform a single pass through the roadways with a plow so that vehicles can enter and exit the complex. One important section of the open-ups clause to look over is whether open-ups include driveways or just the main roadways. Typical language will state that an open-up will occur prior to ___ AM and/or after ___PM.
While we hope we don’t get any major snowfalls, it is always good to be prepared.