The sidewalk duty, the overnight parking ban and the rule against pushing snow into the road each come from a different level of government here, and the dates do not line up. This page puts them side by side, quoting the ordinance wherever the text is published.
Traverse City Snow Plowing is a referral service. The rules below are summarized for owners; the snow work itself is done by independent contractors under their own names and insurance, and this site does not plow, shovel or salt.
Snow rules here come from four levels: the city, the county parking ordinance, the two Leelanau villages, and state law. Most townships add nothing of their own.
| Jurisdiction | Sidewalks | Overnight parking | Snow into the street | Penalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Traverse City | Occupant clears the abutting walk (Sec. 668.11); deadline not published | Nov 16 – Apr 14, 3–6 a.m., any street or alley (Sec. 410.04(d)(i)); tow | City asks residents not to push or place it in the street or alley | Civil infraction; tow |
| Grand Traverse County roads (Ord. No. 12) | No county provision | Dec 1 – Mar 31, midnight–8 a.m., and in snow emergencies | No provision in the ordinance | $25 / $50 / $75 / $100 + costs |
| Garfield, East Bay, Acme, Peninsula | No township ordinance found | County Ord. No. 12 on county roads | State law | County / state |
| Village of Suttons Bay (Ord. 12 of 2004) | No hours deadline in the ordinance | Dec 1 – Mar 30, 2–6 a.m. (§3) | Banned from private property onto street, walk or right-of-way (§4) | Up to $500 per day |
| Village of Northport | Ord. 57 “Sidewalk” (text not reviewed) | Not reviewed | Ord. 62 “Snow in Right of Way” (text not reviewed) | Not reviewed |
| Other Leelanau townships | None found | None found | State law | State |
| State of Michigan (MCL 257.677a) | — | — | No depositing on any roadway, or piling so it blocks sight lines | Up to $100 |
“The removal of snow and ice from private property and the sidewalk abutting or crossing private property shall be the responsibility of the occupant of such private property.” — Traverse City Code, Sec. 668.11
A violation is a civil infraction. The city’s pages publish no deadline in hours, no fine amount and no clear-and-bill charge. The city also plows sidewalks on seven routes, at about $188,000 a year, but that does not lift the occupant’s duty, and in a major storm reaching every sidewalk takes five to six days.
In July 2026 commissioners weighed the program’s future, and several asked for stronger enforcement “particularly in downtown areas and for second homes,” with an ordinance review before winter. On September 16, 2026 the city chose seasonal crews rather than new hires for 2026–27. No ordinance change had been reported at the time of writing. An owner away all winter should have the public walk in the contract.
“From November 16 through the following April 14, vehicles found parked on any street or alley between the hours of 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. may be towed away at the owner’s expense.” — Traverse City Code, Sec. 410.04(d)(i)
It is a blanket rule with no alternate-side system. Downtown streets never allow parking between 3 and 6 a.m. at any time of year, and cars left in surface lots can be towed so the lots can be plowed.
The city asks residents to avoid pushing or placing snow into the street or alley and to keep it on the tree lawn or their own property. City plowing takes MDOT trunklines and emergency routes first, then major and local streets, then alleys, so an alley-access garage is the last thing reached.
Grand Traverse County’s Winter Parking Ordinance No. 12, effective November 27, 2021, applies to county roads and their shoulders. Parking is banned December 1 through March 31 from midnight to 8:00 a.m., and during declared snow emergencies. Fines step up from $25 to $50, $75 and $100, plus costs. The ordinance says nothing about where plowed snow may go; that is left to state law.
Garfield, East Bay, Acme and Peninsula townships. No township snow, sidewalk or winter-parking ordinance turned up in any of the four. East Bay refers snow removal to the county road commission, and Acme’s own FAQ says the township has no authority over public roads. In all four the roads belong to the Grand Traverse County Road Commission, which plows state highways first, then primary, secondary, local, subdivision and gravel roads.
The county’s plow also leaves the ridge across the end of your drive; the road commission says some snow inevitably ends up there and suggests piling your own snow to the right of the drive as you face the road. The county plow berm, explained.
§4: “No person shall deposit on any public highway, street or alley, sidewalk, or right-of-way thereof, snow or ice which has been removed from private driveways or private property.”
§7: “a fine of not more than Five Hundred and 00/100 ($500.00) Dollars. Each day this Ordinance is violated shall be considered a separate new violation.”
This is the one local ordinance that names the plow contractor’s own mistake and prices it by the day. Section 3 bans parking from December 1 through March 30 between 2 and 6 a.m., and vehicles may be towed. The ordinance sets no sidewalk hours deadline.
Northport’s ordinance list includes Ord. 62, “Snow in Right of Way,” and Ord. 57, “Sidewalk.” The published copies are image scans whose text was not reviewed for this page, so only the titles are reported here; ask the village office for the current wording.
No snow ordinance was found for Elmwood Charter Township, which is in Leelanau County despite sitting next to the city, or for Suttons Bay Township, Leland, Glen Arbor, Empire or Bingham. There the Leelanau County Road Commission and state law govern. The road commission also plows M-22 and M-72 under contract with MDOT.
“A person shall not deposit, or cause to be deposited, snow, ice or slush on any roadway or highway.” — MCL 257.677a(4)
In plain English, the statute does three things. It bans putting snow, ice or slush on any roadway in Michigan. It bans piling snow onto or across a road or shoulder so that it blocks “safety vision,” a driver’s clear line of sight entering or leaving the road — the reason not to build a tall bank at the end of the drive. And it reaches whoever causes the snow to be deposited, so an owner who tells a contractor to push it across the road is exposed too. The fine is up to $100. The state and its subdivisions are excluded, which is why the county plow can put snow on your apron and you cannot put it back.
Michigan also requires drivers to stay at least 200 feet behind a working snowplow, with a $100 fine. Give the road commission trucks that room.
Both county road commissions help only when their equipment physically strikes a mailbox, not when snow or ice coming off the blade knocks it down. The Leelanau commission wants the face of the box at least 6 feet off the edge of the blacktop, or 1 foot behind the shoulder, and advises against plastic boxes.
Neither road commission plows designated seasonal roads from November through April, and Leelanau County has 63 miles of them. Neither publishes a list, so ask the road commission whether yours is one. Getting a seasonal or private road cleared.
Ordinances change. Check the governing body’s own page before relying on any of this, and see the full question list or the community pages for the rules where your property sits.
A contract that names the walk, the berm and where the pile goes keeps both you and the operator on the right side of these rules.
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