Erie, PA Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)
Key Facts
- Removal deadline
- 3 hours after snow/ice stops
- Fine
- $300 per offense
- Jail alternative
- Up to 90 days
- Repeat offense
- Maximum penalty applies automatically
- Who's responsible
- Ground-floor occupant, or owner if vacant
- Adopted
- Ord. 7762, Jan. 26, 1934
Summary
Erie property occupants must clear snow, ice or sleet from the sidewalk in front of their premises within three hours after it stops falling, under a 1934 ordinance still in force. Ice too hard to remove safely must be sanded, and violators face a $300 fine per offense.
It shall be the duty of the occupant of any dwelling, tenement, store, storehouse, shop, garage, factory or other building fronting on any paved or unpaved sidewalk in any public street or around the public parks in the City...to remove or cause to be removed all snow, ice or sleet from the sidewalk, whether paved or unpaved, in front of the respective premises within three hours after the same shall have ceased to fall or form thereon, unless such ice or snow is so hardened or frozen that it cannot be removed without injury to the sidewalk, in which case the walk shall be kept sprinkled with sand or sawdust to make the surface of the sidewalk safe, but the ice must be removed as soon as it is possible to do so. ... Whoever violates any of the provisions of this article is guilty of a summary offense, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of $300 or imprisoned not more than 90 days or both. Upon each succeeding offense, the violation shall be subject to the maximum penalties.
Full Breakdown
01, adopted in 1934, places the clearing duty on the occupant of any dwelling, store, shop, factory or other building that fronts a public sidewalk, plus whoever cares for a church, school or public building on the same block. Where a building holds two or more ground-floor occupants, each must clear the sidewalk in front of their own portion plus half the space between them and the next occupant. Corner-building occupants must also clear the side street frontage for the depth of their occupancy. Vacant lots and vacant buildings are not exempt: their owners carry the same three-hour duty.
If ice is frozen so hard that removing it would damage the sidewalk, the code allows spreading sand or sawdust to keep the surface safe, but the ice itself still has to come off as soon as it becomes possible to remove it. Nonresident owners must have an agent handle removal; if nobody does, the City removes the snow itself and bills the property owner for the cost. 02 separately bars shoveling snow or ice from private property or a driveway onto the public roadway.
All snow cleared from a sidewalk must be thrown toward the outside of the walk and into the roadway, not piled to block the walk itself.
Violations & Fines
Violating Article 717, whether by missing the three-hour window or dumping shoveled snow into the roadway, is a summary offense under § 717.99 punishable by a $300 fine or up to 90 days in jail, or both. Each succeeding offense after the first is treated at the maximum penalty automatically, so repeat no-clear complaints on the same block escalate quickly rather than resetting.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to shovel snow off my sidewalk in Erie?
Who is responsible for clearing snow at a corner building or a vacant lot in Erie?
Can the City bill me for removing snow I didn't clear?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Erie
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