With snow in the forecast for Thursday, Lancaster city wants residents to clear out the debris from the two previous storms.
The city has done its part to clear what snow it could; now city officials are calling on residents to remove the chairs, benches, trash cans and other items they placed in the street.
Those items commonly are used to claim street-side parking spaces, but placing them in the street is against city ordinance.
Public works crews have been lenient in enforcing the law. They will begin enforcement this week, said Pat Brogan, chief of staff of Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray.
Removing the chairs and other items is particularly important with the snow predicted for Thursday, Brogan said. They can interfere with snow plows, Brogan said.
Although it is too early to accurately predict the track of the storm, meteorologists are calling for a "plowable" snow to fall Thursday and Friday. The forecasts vary from three inches to a foot.
Lancaster spent nearly $396,000 removing the snow from the two storms early this month, Gray announced at Tuesday's City Council meeting. Much of that cost was paid to private contractors who loaded snow along the city's streets and hauled it away.
The city hopes to be reimbursed for as much as $175,000 of that cost if a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency is approved.
Gray praised the cooperation of city residents, public works employees, police, firefighters, the Lancaster Parking Authority and everyone who helped clear the streets during the two snow emergencies.
Also on Tuesday, City Council members voted to:
• Apply for a $500,000 state grant on behalf of the Housing Development Corp.'s South Square project in the 100 block of South Queen Street.
Plans call for renovation of 10 older apartment buildings and construction of new apartments at a cost of nearly $15 million.
• Approve the placement of a plaque on the base of the Soldiers & Sailors Monument in Penn Square to commemorate the Revolutionary War. The plaque, expected to cost about $5,000, will be funded by the Lancaster County Chapter, Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution.
• Honor the late John A. Jarvis for his contributions to the city. Jarvis, the former headmaster of Lancaster Country Day School, died in November. He helped found the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County and the Hourglass Foundation and served on the board of directors of the city's 250th anniversary celebration.