Anne Arundel County residents and business owners will soon face steeper fines for failing to clear snow from sidewalks in front of their properties.

The County Council passed legislation Monday night increasing fines to $50 — from $10 now — for residents who fail to clear snow from the sidewalk in front of their property within a day or two. For businesses, fines will rise to $125.

The measure also shifts enforcement authority from the Anne Arundel County Police Department to the county’s Department of Inspections and Permits, changing the penalty from a criminal misdemeanor to a civil offense under the county code.

It passed with a 4-3 vote along party lines, with Democrats supporting the bill and Republicans opposed.

County Executive Steuart Pittman asked the council to introduce the bill. He and other proponents described it as a common-sense policy aimed at boosting safety for school children, people with mobility issues and others who rely on sidewalks to get places.

The three Republicans on the County Council who voted against the measure said in previous interviews that they viewed it as government overreach, even if they agreed with the underlying intent.

Residents who testified at the bill’s public hearings largely opposed it, saying that its fines were unfair, that they were being held to a standard the county failed to follow with its own properties and that it could pit neighbors against each other.

“It’s not something that I believe we should be legislating,” Pasadena resident Paul Higgins told the legislative body Monday night.

He asked the lawmakers to vote it down, saying that the impetus should be on residents to do the right thing when snow falls.

“Help your neighbors. If they don’t do it, pick the phone up and call your neighbor next door,” said Higgins, a regular at council meetings.

Sarah Price, vice president of communications and government affairs of the Maryland Retailers Alliance, raised concerns Monday about fines being too much for businesses.

“We do have a concern about the impact it would have on business owners who may not be able to reach their businesses during a weather event,” Price said.

Proponents of the bill such as council member Julie Hummer, a Democrat who introduced the measure at Pittman’s request, didn’t share the concerns voiced by many.

Addressing Higgins, Hummer said she also hoped residents would help their neighbors.

“I think the increase in fine is minimal,” said Hummer, who represents western Anne Arundel. “The calling to complain about neighbors, that’s how it’s always been.”

It’s unclear whether police had been enforcing the existing laws. A Police Department spokesperson told The Banner its records division couldn’t retrieve statistics on snow removal charges.

It’s clear, however, that residents have complained about snow removal.

Council member Amanda Fiedler, a Republican who represents Severna Park and Broadneck, said the county fielded 150 complaints about snow on sidewalks last winter.

She questioned Pittman’s administration about how it planned to respond to complaints and whether the inspections and permits department needed more employees to be able to enforce the snow removal law.

A representative from that county agency said its three existing inspectors could handle the workload.

Fiedler said residents in her district “really felt frustrated” by the county’s effort to clear roads during consecutive snow storms last winter, despite her and others’ assurances that crews worked around the clock against treacherous conditions.

“I think that constituents feel that this bill is holding them to a higher standard than they received from the county last year,” Fiedler said.

The council added a provision to the legislation to make clear it also applies to sidewalks outside government buildings. Proponents noted that the legislation provides discretion to inspectors, who likely wouldn’t fine elderly or disabled residents.

It would give people up to 24 hours after a minor snow event to clear their sidewalks, and up to 48 hours if more than three inches accumulate. If, after a complaint, inspectors find that a property is in violation, they issue a warning and give the resident another 24 hours to clear the sidewalk. Only after the next day can a fine be issued.

The bill next heads to Pittman’s desk, where he is expected to sign it into law. The law takes effect 45 days after Pittman’s signature.