Two inches is the number this metro runs on. It is the depth at which most cities here ban street parking, the depth at which Cleveland starts plowing, and the depth at which a residential contract normally triggers. In Strongsville it fires automatically, with nobody having to declare anything.
| City | Section | Trigger | Enforcement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strongsville | § 452.13 | Over 2″ in 24 hours, anywhere in the city | Automatic — no Mayor’s order needed. Vehicles may be impounded, plus fines under Chapter 450 |
| Solon | city policy | Over 2″ | Citywide ban implemented; police may ticket or tow |
| Mentor | city policy | Over 2″ | Formally announced by the city |
| Shaker Heights | city policy | Over 2″ on residential streets | Automatic. In a declared emergency, all street parking prohibited — ticket and tow |
| Lakewood | § 351.18 | 4″ or more | Ticket first, then tow |
| Cleveland | snow ban declaration | Declared, not depth-automatic | Red-and-white “Snow Ban” signs; violators cited and towed |
| Cleveland Heights | general ordinance | Not a snow rule — overnight parking prohibited 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. year-round | Applies whether or not it has snowed |
| Westlake | — | Could not be verified | No trigger depth is published here |
Codified Ordinance § 452.13 is unusually well drafted for this purpose. Whenever snowfall accumulates at any location within the city exceeding two inches within the previous 24 hours, that condition is deemed an “excessive snowfall” and vehicles must be removed from the street. There is no announcement to miss and no Mayor’s order to wait for — the ordinance does the declaring.
That matters practically. In a city where the ban is announced, you can check a website. In Strongsville the obligation exists as soon as the snow does, and non-compliant vehicles may be impounded and removed by order of the Police Department in addition to the fines under Chapter 450.
Lakewood is the metro’s outlier at four inches or more — double the local norm. On a two-inch night, a Lakewood street stays legal while a Solon street does not.
Cleveland Heights is the opposite trap. Overnight parking there is prohibited 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. year-round, and that is a general ordinance rather than a snow rule. It catches people who assume the restriction only applies in winter, and it catches contractors scheduling an overnight route.
This is also a scheduling fact worth handing your operator. A city with a 2-inch ban has an empty street after a storm, which is the easiest condition to clear a driveway apron in. A city with no ban, or a 4-inch one, does not.
Tell whoever quotes you which city the property is in. The ban trigger changes when it is sensible for them to arrive.
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