Novi, MI Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)

Novi City Code Sec. 21-126 puts the clearing duty on the occupant of a lot adjoining a street, or on the owner if the lot is unoccupied, covering the sidewalk to the front or side of the property, though never the rear. The 48-hour clock starts at the end of each snow accumulation of two inches or more, and it covers walks and ramps leading to a crosswalk as well as the sidewalk itself, from any source including drifting snow. Ice gets separate treatment: as soon as it forms on the sidewalk it must be treated with sand, salt or another substance to cut the slip risk, and the ice itself must be cleared within 48 hours of accumulating.

The section reaches beyond standard sidewalks to paved pathways at least six feet wide that run along the front or side of a lot, though a single-family lot next to one of those wider pathways only has to clear the portion in front of the lot, not the side. Because the section does not designate the violation as a municipal civil infraction, it falls under the Code's general penalty section, Sec. 1-11, which treats an undesignated ordinance violation as a misdemeanor prosecuted through the city's ordinance enforcement process rather than a civil infraction ticket.