LightRoasted,
Your post is outstanding! You are exactly correct. Don't forget Leonardtown has a similar law which they have had for some time. Leonardtown is not a Lexington Park. For one, they are not an incorporated town. I wish they were. 2) They have many businesses right along sidewalks, whereas, it is in their own interest to keep the walks clear. In Lexington Park you can have private property with a nearby sidewalk. And the County forces you to keep it clear. The law is likely NOT to be challenged in Leonardtown since they have some vested interest in keeping their local businesses open. In Lexington Park, I have no doubt it will be at some point. However, for a court case to stand, you will have to show you incurred damages. If you clear the snow, the snow melts on to the sidewalk that you cleared and then becomes ice. Someone then slips on the ice before you had a chance to put down salt, wa-la, you have an incurred damage and a potentially significant law suite depending upon the injury. Or, if the person has a heart attack clearing the snow based on an illegal law that our County assumes is legal. You then have another law suit.
Remember, every single law is legal until it is challenged and overturn. Of course the sidewalk clearing law is ILLEGAL. I told the Commissioners this before it become law. They did it anyhow. I don't know what kind of legal counsel our Commissioners are obtaining. Are they told the truth or what the County lawyer thinks the Commissioners want to hear? You decide. If I am a County Commissioner I want the truth of what the laws of our State and Country say I can and can't do. I do not want to set the County up for litigation during or after I am a Commissioner. And this is exactly what will occur.