Harrisburg, PA Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)

Section 3-357.3 of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Harrisburg, Removal of snow and ice from sidewalks and points of egress (amended 4-8-1997 by Ord. No. 3-1997), puts the duty on the owners, tenants, occupiers and all others having charge, control or supervision of any vacant lots, lands, houses, stores, buildings and all other premises fronting on any public street or highway in the City. A landlord, a store tenant and the owner of an empty lot are all named, so a vacant property carries the same duty as an occupied one.

The deadline is 24 hours after the snow, ice, hail or sleet has ceased to fall or to be formed. The clock starts when the precipitation stops, not when it begins. The cleared area must include the sidewalk in front of or along the property and a structure's primary point of egress to the public sidewalk, in a continuous path not less than two feet six inches in width.

Subsection B limits the ice duty to ice that forms ridges or mounds or is of such formation as to be an obstruction and renders the sidewalk dangerous to public travel. A violator is liable, in addition to the Chapter 3-399 penalties, for all damages sustained by any person by reason of the neglect or failure to comply, which exposes a property owner to injury claims on top of the citation.

Two neighboring sections govern where the snow goes. Section 3-357.4 makes it unlawful to dump within the lines of any cartway snow, ice or refuse gathered from beyond the lines of a public highway. Section 3-357.5 bars depositing snow or ice cleared from an adjacent sidewalk in the cartway, except where the sidewalk is three feet or less in width. The cartway is the portion of a highway between the curblines under § 3-357.1.