Marion, OH Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)

Section 660.05 of the Marion Codified Ordinances is a one-sentence duty followed by a penalty clause. It names two kinds of people, the owner and the occupant of abutting lands, so the text reaches both. It covers three things in the public way: sidewalks, curbs and gutters. Each must be kept in repair and free from snow, ice or any nuisance.

The code defines a sidewalk in § 301.37 as the portion of a street between the curb lines, or the lateral lines of a roadway, and the adjacent property lines, intended for the use of pedestrians. The ordinance assigns the clearing of that strip to the abutting owner or occupant. The history note ties the section to R.C. § 723.011, so it mirrors Ohio state law.

Section 660.05 prints no notice period, no number of hours after a storm and no stated standard for how clear the walk must be. Other sections of the same chapter do print periods: § 660.07(B)(1) allows a junk motor vehicle to remain no longer than ten days after receipt of written notice. The sidewalk duty is written as a flat command that no owner or occupant shall fail to keep the walk free from snow, ice or any nuisance.

Nearby sections add related sidewalk rules. Section 660.10(A) bars placing tacks, bottles, wire, glass, nails or other articles on a sidewalk that could damage property or injure any person or animal. Section 660.10(C) bars leaving merchandise, goods, material or equipment on a sidewalk so as to obstruct pedestrian traffic, and in no case shall the obstruction remain on the sidewalk for more than one hour. Section 660.11 separately makes it an offense to ignore a notice to construct or repair sidewalks, curbing or gutters.