Medford, OR Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)

510, "Ice and Snow Removal," puts the clearing duty on whoever abuts the sidewalk, either the property owner or the occupant. The deadline is tight and tied to daylight rather than a calendar date: the owner or occupant must remove accumulated snow, and must make an ice-covered sidewalk safe either by removing the ice entirely or by covering it with a suitable material that allows safe travel, within the first two hours of daylight following the snow accumulation or ice formation. That phrasing means the clock does not start at the moment snow falls overnight; it starts when daylight begins, giving residents a defined window rather than an open-ended "promptly" standard.

The rule applies citywide to any sidewalk abutting private property, covering both residential frontages and commercial storefronts along downtown and neighborhood streets. It was last amended by Ordinance No. 2000-45 to update the penalty cross-reference to the current Chapter 5 fine schedule. Because Medford's Rogue Valley climate produces only occasional snow and ice events, code enforcement typically responds to sidewalk-hazard complaints rather than patrolling proactively, but the two-hour standard is what determines whether a complaint results in a citation.