The village of Suttons Bay has the one local ordinance in this market aimed squarely at the plow’s own act. Snow cleared off a private drive may not end up on the street, the sidewalk or the right-of-way, and the fine can reach $500 — with every day counted as a new violation.
Traverse City Snow Plowing is a referral service. It connects Suttons Bay owners with independent operators; the plowing, shoveling and salting are theirs to do, under their own names and their own coverage, and this site performs none of it.
“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.”
Village of Suttons Bay, Snow Removal Ordinance No. 12 of 2004, §4Most snow rules in this area govern the homeowner’s sidewalk or the car on the street. This one governs where the blade puts the snow. Section 3 adds a parking ban on village streets from December 1 through March 30, 2 to 6 a.m., and vehicles may be towed. Section 7 sets the penalty: a fine of not more than $500, and each day the ordinance is broken counts as a new violation. The ordinance sets no sidewalk hours deadline.
In practice that means the snow from your drive has to stay on your property — beside the drive, in the yard, wherever the lot allows. On a small village lot room runs out in a heavy winter, so settle where the stacks go before December, not after the first storm. How this rule compares with the city’s and the state’s.
| Rule | Village of Suttons Bay | Suttons Bay Township |
|---|---|---|
| Snow onto street or right-of-way | Banned, Ord. 12 §4 | No township ordinance found |
| Overnight parking | None 2–6 a.m., Dec 1 – Mar 30 | No township rule found |
| Short-term rentals | 53 permits vs a cap of 45 | Capped at 150 |
| State law, MCL 257.677a | Applies | Applies |
The state rule matters on both sides of the village line. It bars depositing snow, ice or slush on a roadway and piling it so it blocks a driver’s sight line leaving a drive, with a civil fine up to $100 — and its phrase “cause to be deposited” reaches the owner who paid for the plow.
The Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station, near Suttons Bay and Bingham, holds a 1991–2020 normal of 112.9 inches a year, about 11 more than the airport in town. The Leelanau road commission describes the county’s average as 120 to 140 inches. Station by station.
Leelanau County is 91.6% owner-occupied, its median household income is $99,422, and 36.6% of its residents are 65 or older. About 39% of the county’s housing is not occupied year-round. So a Suttons Bay contract usually falls into one of three shapes: a year-round owner who would rather not run the snowblower, an empty second home that needs visits and proof, or a permitted rental with guests arriving on a schedule. The last two are covered on the second-home and vacant-property page; houses at the end of an unplowed lane belong on the seasonal-roads page.
Say whether the property is inside the village, and whether it is a home, a second home or a permitted rental.
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