Norwalk, CT Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)

Section 95-10E puts the duty on "each owner and/or occupant in possession and control, jointly, of every parcel of real estate abutting a public sidewalk, whether the parcel of real estate is occupied by a structure or not," requiring them to keep the sidewalk free of snow for its full paved width, or, for ice, to cover it with sand, salt, chemical ice melt or other suitable material and keep renewing that treatment as needed to keep the sidewalk safe. Section 95-10A through D first adopts Connecticut General Statutes § 7-163a, shielding the City from liability for sidewalk ice or snow injuries unless the City itself owns or controls the abutting land, and shifting that same duty of care to the abutting owner, who can be sued directly for an injury caused by a breach, within a two-year statute of limitations.

Section 95-10F sets the compliance clock: an owner or occupant is presumed not to have complied if snow or ice is not removed within 24 hours after the weather event ends, and failing to remove it is enforced by the Chief of Economic and Community Development, the Chief Building Official, or their designee, who may do the clearing and collect the expense from the responsible party "in an action of debt," plus a separate fine under § 90-4. Section 95-10G separately bars anyone from depositing, throwing, placing or strewing snow or ice onto any street, roadway or sidewalk in the City, itself fined under § 90-4.