Burlington, WI Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)
Key Facts
- Clearing deadline
- 18 hours after snowfall stops
- Duty holder
- owner, occupant, or person in charge
- Un-shovelable ice
- must be salted or sanded
- If not done
- City clears it, bills as special tax
- Amended
- 3-6-2018 by Ord. No. 2034(11)
Summary
Burlington property owners and occupants have 18 hours after snow stops falling to clear their abutting sidewalk under City Code § 274-9, and must salt or sand any ice that can't be shoveled. If it isn't done, the Department of Public Works clears it and bills the cost as a special tax against the property.
Duty of owner or occupant. The owner, occupant or person in charge of each lot shall remove or cause to be removed any and all snow and ice which has fallen or accumulated upon the sidewalk in front of the premises owned or occupied or cared for by him within 18 hours after cessation of the snowfall. When ice has so formed upon any sidewalk that it cannot be removed, the sidewalk shall be sprinkled with salt, sand or other ice-melting products so as to prevent the same from being dangerous. ... Removal by City. The Department of Public Works shall cause all sidewalks which have not been cleaned or sprinkled in the manner heretofore described to be cleaned or sprinkled upon the default of the person whose duty it shall be to clean or sprinkle the same, and the cost thereof shall be assessed and collected as a special tax against the abutting property.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4997580; v29 updated 2026-07-07; through 07-07-2026).
Full Breakdown
Section 274-9A puts the duty on the owner, occupant, or person in charge of each lot: remove or cause to be removed any snow and ice that has fallen or accumulated on the sidewalk in front of the premises within 18 hours after the snowfall stops. Where ice has formed so solidly it cannot be removed, the same subsection requires sprinkling salt, sand, or another ice-melting product so the sidewalk isn't left dangerous. If the 18-hour window passes without compliance, § 274-9B has the Department of Public Works clean or sprinkle the sidewalk itself, and the cost of that work is assessed and collected as a special tax against the abutting property, not as a court fine.
That City-cleanup remedy was amended in 2018 by Ord. No. 2034(11). The duty is separate from other abutting-owner obligations in the same chapter: § 274-6 covers keeping parkway grass and trees sightly, and § 274-3 covers structural sidewalk repair and its 50/50 cost split with the City, so an owner can be current on one duty and still be in default on another.
Violations & Fines
The Code's primary remedy for an uncleared sidewalk is City cleanup billed back to the property as a special tax under § 274-9B, not a criminal citation. Because Chapter 274 also carries a general penalty clause at § 274-12 tied to § 1-4, a property owner cited and convicted for defying the removal duty can additionally face the Code-wide forfeiture: $5 to $500 for a first offense and $10 to $1,000 for a repeat offense within a year, plus court costs, with each day of noncompliance potentially counted separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
How soon do I have to shovel my sidewalk in Burlington?
What if the ice is too thick to shovel?
What happens if I don't clear my sidewalk in time?
Is sidewalk snow removal different from repairing a cracked sidewalk?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Burlington
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