Lexington, KY Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)

Section 17-31 of the Code of Ordinances puts the snow-clearing duty on the owner, occupant or anyone having care of a building or lot that abuts a sidewalk. The four-hour clock starts running after daylight following the end of a snowfall, and the same duty applies whether the snow or ice fell directly or slid off a building or structure onto the walk. The section also addresses ice separately: whenever a sidewalk becomes encumbered with ice, the responsible party must make it safe and convenient either by removing the ice outright or by covering it with sand or another suitable substance, without a fixed time limit for that half of the duty.

A violation is classified as a misdemeanor, not merely a civil infraction, and a conviction carries a fine of not less than five dollars nor more than one hundred dollars, with each day the sidewalk remains uncleared treated as its own separate offense, so a walk left icy through a multi-day cold snap can generate several citations rather than one. Adopted by Ord. No. 176-79 in July 1979, the section still carries an old cross-reference to weed removal in section 16-22, though that specific weed section has since been repealed and its subject matter moved into the nuisance provisions of section 12-2.