Boulder, CO Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)

Section 8-2-13 of the Boulder Revised Code places joint and several responsibility, criminal and administrative, on the private owner, the property manager, a lessee leasing the entire premises, or an adult occupant of a detached dwelling, duplex, triplex, or fourplex to remove snow, ice, and sleet from the public sidewalks and walkways abutting their property. The clock starts at the end of the snowfall or the formation of a snowdrift, and the law requires removal "as promptly as reasonably possible and no later than twenty-four hours" afterward.

Sidewalks up to five feet wide must be cleared their full width; wider sidewalks need only a five-foot clear path. The city manager is authorized to inspect for hazardous accumulations and, before billing anyone, must send at least one notice each snow season, which the code defines as October 1 through May 31, either by hand delivery, email, phone, or posting on the premises. After that first seasonal notice, the manager can order snow cleared without further individual notice once the 24-hour or 12-noon cutoff passes.

If the city ends up doing the work itself, it can charge the removal cost plus up to $50 in administrative costs to both the notified person and the owner, jointly and severally. An owner who was not directly notified may contest the charge at a quasi-judicial hearing under Chapter 1-3, where the city carries the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence; lack of prior notice is not itself a defense. Unpaid charges can be certified to the Boulder County Treasurer for collection alongside property taxes.

The city can pursue prosecution under subsection (a) and the cost-recovery track under subsections (b) through (e) at the same time; using one does not bar the other.