O'Fallon, MO Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)
Key Facts
- Who must clear
- Commercial property owners only
- What must be cleared
- Snow, ice, debris, obstructions
- Deadline in the code
- None stated; judged case by case
- Maximum penalty
- $500 fine or 3 months jail
- Continuing violation
- Each day is a separate offense
- Governing section
- O'Fallon Code § 215-205
Summary
O'Fallon Code § 215-205 requires every commercial property owner in the city to keep the sidewalk along or abutting the business clear of snow, ice, debris and other obstructions and to keep it safe for pedestrians. The rule does not set a fixed number of hours to clear a walk and does not reach single-family or other residential lots. Because the section carries no fine of its own, violators are punished under the Code's general penalty provision.
All commercial property owners within the City limits shall keep sidewalks along or abutting their property clear of snow, ice, debris or other obstructions, and shall cause them to be safe for pedestrian use.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4860992; v58 updated 2026-05-14; through 05-14-2026).
Full Breakdown
205, adopted by Ord. No. 763 §§ 2-3 on February 8, 1980 and carried into the 2008 recodification, sits in Chapter 215's article on offenses concerning public safety. Its text is narrow and specific: commercial property owners must keep sidewalks along or abutting their property clear of snow, ice, debris or other obstructions and cause them to be safe for pedestrian use. Two limits matter for anyone checking compliance. First, the duty runs only to commercial property owners, so a homeowner whose sidewalk is not cleared is not answerable under this particular section.
Second, the ordinance sets no clock: it does not say 'within 24 hours of the last snowfall' or any comparable window, leaving Code Enforcement and the Police Department to judge case by case whether a walk has been left unsafe for pedestrians for an unreasonable time. 00, imprisonment of up to three months, or both. Subsection (B) of that general penalty makes every day the violation continues a separate offense, so an ice-covered storefront walk left unaddressed over a multi-day cold snap can generate a new citation for each day it remains hazardous. Owners who dispute a citation answer in O'Fallon Municipal Court rather than through the administrative hearing that Chapter 215's noise sections use.
Violations & Fines
A Police Officer or Code Enforcement Officer who finds a commercial sidewalk blocked by snow, ice or debris cites the owner under § 215.205; because that section has no stated fine, punishment follows the general penalty in § 100.010(A): up to $500.00, up to three months' imprisonment, or both, with each additional day of an uncleared walk charged as a separate offense under § 100.010(B). Cases are heard in O'Fallon Municipal Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do O'Fallon homeowners have to shovel their sidewalks?
How soon must a business clear its sidewalk after snow falls?
What can happen if a business ignores repeated snow complaints?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in O'Fallon
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