March 15, 2026 | Mark Luis Foster

Beware the Ides of March. It brings snowstorms.

If you’re reading this from the quiet and comfortable confines of your HOA inside the metro area of Minneapolis-St. Paul, you’re watching snow-maggedon unfold through your living room or kitchen window. This storm has been hyped for quite a few days now, and at one point the south metro alone (where I live) was to expect some 32″ of snow, depending on who you following for “weather.” Fortunately this storm won’t dump nearly that amount, but it’s still a hard thing to swallow after a stretch of 50s and 60s with grass greening under our feet so early this year.

This storm brings to mind some excellent best practices for snow removal that we learned following some great presentations on the subject at our chapter meetings. I thought it timely to share it again below. No better time than the present while the snow whips across your roofline than to think about that snow clearing contract when it renews.

In the meantime, grab a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, sit back and enjoy the last gasps of winter. Soon we’ll be complaining about the heat and humidity!

SNOW CLEARING BEST PRACTICES FOR HOAs

Issues to consider when negotiating your next winter snow clearing contract.

Property Preparations

• Require a fall “walk around” with the vendor to discuss potential problem spots, point out required clearing areas (i.e. mailboxes, guest parking lots) to familiarize vendor of sensitive property areas
• Establish pre-storm communications requirements for residents
• Require curb flags or other markers to identify street boundaries and minimize damage prior to snow season
• Require salt barrels or access to salt supplies for residents’ use prior to snowfalls
• Require access to salt and/or sand around mailbox areas to reduce icing and improve traction and safety

Equipment

• Specify the type of snow removal equipment to ensure that the vendor’s equipment is large enough and powerful enough for efficient clear snowing results (e.g. mini front loaders versus skid loaders)
• Determine if vendor equipment stays on site during the season or is stored off property. Determine locations of storage, if so
• Consider requiring Polyurethane blades rather than steel blades to minimize damage to surfaces like driveways and aprons
• Watch for excessive fuel surcharging in contracts

Snow Clearing Events

• Negotiate a “snow cap” total that is above seasonal norms. Anything over the snow cap is considered beyond contract scope and can have a different negotiated price
• Clearly identify “trigger” snow events that require plowing; this is most often 1.5 inches
• Include snow drift removal that requires vendor to remove snow drifting from garage areas, streets and driveways
• Specify “open up” events, whereby the vendor must clear an 8–10-foot path down streets (if applicable) and one pass down driveways in snow events above a certain amount (e.g. 4 inches)
• Ensure that vendor cleans bottom of driveways after any city plowing is complete
• Make sure the vendor snows “curb to curb” but minimizes turf damage from plows
• Require that fire hydrants are hand shoveled at least two feet from hydrant base
• Require that mailboxes are properly cleared to ensure delivery of mail by USPS
• Negotiate a separate “nuisance snow” price that allows boards to request that the vendor clear the property under the normal trigger amount

Street Salting

• Specify liquid salt use at 10 degrees Fahrenheit and above; require use of salt pellets below 10 degrees Fahrenheit for maximum effect

Other Categories

• Pricing: Recommend inclusion of ala carte pricing that can be engaged by the association and/or by residents for extra services like additional shoveling, snowbank removal, extra salting, roof raking
• Turf Repair: Determine sod or seed for spring repair of turf damage from plows
• Irrigation Damage: Determine courses of action for damaged sprinkler heads from plows