Chelsea, MA Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)
Key Facts
- Deadline
- Clear sidewalk snow within 24 hours of snowfall ending
- Ice duty
- Remove or treat ice so the walk is safe
- Roofs
- Same 24-hour deadline for sloped roofs (subsec. b)
- Citation
- Chelsea Code § 24-21
- Origin
- Code 1994 § 6-124
- Noncompliance
- City removes snow/ice, cost liened to tax bill
- Fines
- Issued under Sec. 1-8 noncriminal schedule
Summary
Chelsea property owners, agents or occupants must clear all snow from the sidewalk or footway fronting their premises within 24 hours after it stops falling, and remove or treat any ice so the walk stays safe. City Code § 24-21(a) sets the same 24-hour deadline for snow and ice sliding from a sloped roof onto a public way.
Sec. 24-21. - Snow and ice removal. (a)Sidewalks and footways. The owner, the agent thereof or the person having charge of any building or lot of land bordering on any highway, street, land, court, square or public place within the city, where there is any footway or sidewalk duly established, shall cause all the snow to be removed from such footway or sidewalk in front of such premises within 24 hours of the time it ceased to fall. Whenever any sidewalk or footway abutting on any building or lot of land shall be encumbered with ice, the owner, agent or person having charge of such building or lot shall remove the ice therefrom, or so treat it that it shall be safe and convenient for travel. ... (c)Failure to remove. ... if the person does not comply forthwith, the snow and/or ice may be removed at the expense of such owner and liened to the owner's tax bill as a municipal charge, in accordance with the provisions of M.G.L. c. 40, § 58. All fines and tickets for failure to remove snow and/or ice shall be issued pursuant to section 1-8.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 26).
Full Breakdown
Section 24-21, carried over from 1994 Code § 6-124, splits the duty across three subsections. Subsection (a) puts the clearing duty on the owner, agent or person having charge of any building or lot bordering a highway, street, lane, court, square or public place where a footway or sidewalk is established: all snow must come off within 24 hours of the time it ceased to fall, and any ice that accumulates must be removed or treated so the walk is safe and convenient for travel.
Subsection (b), covering roofs, extends the identical 24-hour window to snow and ice on a building's roof where the slope drains toward a street, lane, court, alley, square or public place, since roof-shed snow and ice onto a sidewalk creates the same hazard the section is written to prevent. c. 40, § 58, Massachusetts's general municipal-lien statute. c. 85, § 5 as the state authority letting Chelsea require removal by abutting owners in the first place.
Violations & Fines
A property owner who fails to clear sidewalk snow or ice within 24 hours, after inspectors or police attempt notice, faces removal by the city at the owner's expense, with that cost liened to the owner's tax bill as a municipal charge under M.G.L. c. 40, § 58. Fines and tickets for the failure are issued separately under Section 1-8's noncriminal schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to shovel my Chelsea sidewalk after it snows?
What happens if I don't clear my sidewalk in Chelsea?
Does the snow removal rule cover roofs as well as sidewalks?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chelsea
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Snow & Sidewalk Clearing in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle snow & sidewalk clearing.