Bloomington, IN Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)
Key Facts
- Clearing deadline
- 24 hours after snow/ice stops
- Downtown min. path width
- 54 inches (or full walk width)
- Citywide min. path width
- 36 inches
- First violation fine
- $50
- Third+ violation (12 mo.)
- $150
- Enforcing dept.
- HAND
Summary
Every owner of property abutting a sidewalk in the City of Bloomington must clear snow and ice within 24 hours after it stops falling or accumulating. Downtown sidewalks need a wider cleared path, and HAND fines repeat violators up to $150 within a year.
(a)It shall be the duty of every owner of any premises abutting a sidewalk in all parts of the city to remove, or cause to be removed, all snow and ice from the sidewalk to allow safe and reasonable travel on said sidewalk within twenty-four hours after snow or ice has ceased to fall or in any way accumulate.(b)In the downtown snow removal area, the minimum clear width of the path shall be the lesser of fifty-four inches or the full-paved width of the sidewalk, while in the remainder of the city the minimum clear width of the path shall be thirty-six inches. ... (c)Schedule of Fines. The initial penalty or fine for all violations of this chapter shall be fifty dollars. A second violation of this chapter in any twelve-month period shall be subject to a penalty or fine of one hundred dollars. A third and all subsequent violations of this chapter in any twelve-month period shall be subject to a penalty or fine of one hundred fifty dollars.
Full Breakdown
010(a) puts the clearing duty on every owner of premises abutting a sidewalk anywhere in the city, requiring removal, or having it removed, within twenty-four hours after snow or ice has ceased to fall or accumulate. Subsection (b) sets the minimum cleared path width at the lesser of fifty-four inches or the sidewalk's full paved width inside the defined downtown snow removal area, and thirty-six inches everywhere else in the city. Subsection (c) draws that downtown boundary street by street: College Avenue and Walnut Street from 3rd to 10th Street, Gentry Street between 4th and 5th, Morton Street from 5th to 10th, the 3rd and 4th Street cross-blocks near Walnut and College and Gentry, the 5th through 10th Street segments between Walnut and Morton, and Kirkwood Avenue from Indiana Avenue to Rogers Street.
Subsection (d) shifts the duty to the purchaser once a recorded sales contract transfers the abutting premises, treating that purchaser as the owner for clearing purposes even before the deed itself changes hands.
Violations & Fines
Under § 6.07.020, HAND, its assistant director, a neighborhood compliance officer or another director's designee issues a written notice of violation to the property owner stating the location, the nature of the violation, and the fine, served in person, by mail, or posted on the property. The fine schedule in subsection (c) runs fifty dollars for a first violation, one hundred dollars for a second violation, and one hundred fifty dollars for a third or later violation within the same twelve-month period, August 1 through July 31. The fine is paid at HAND, can be contested in Monroe County Circuit Court, or appealed in writing to the board of public works within seven days of the notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do Bloomington property owners have to clear sidewalk snow?
Does downtown Bloomington have a wider sidewalk clearing requirement?
What's the fine for not clearing snow from a Bloomington sidewalk?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Bloomington
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