Provo, UT Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)

Provo places the job of clearing sidewalk snow and ice on the property next to it, not on the City. 030(1) makes it the "exclusive obligation" of the owner, tenant or lessee of the adjoining property to remove debris, snow or ice from the contiguous sidewalk to the extent state law, the Provo City Code, or another local ordinance requires it, with all three potentially jointly and severally liable for resulting injuries. 040(2)(a) sets the trigger: it is unlawful to fail or refuse to remove snow or ice from the sidewalk once the average depth exceeds one inch, or whenever the accumulation presents an unreasonably dangerous condition regardless of depth.

Subsection (2)(b) separately bars pushing, piling or placing snow or ice so it unreasonably blocks a driveway or street, obscures a motorist's view, or otherwise creates a dangerous condition for pedestrians or vehicles, though this does not apply to the City's own snowplowing. 020 defines "debris" to exclude snow and ice themselves, since they get their own removal rule, and clarifies the duty runs only where a hard-surfaced sidewalk actually exists. 050, the City may remove it directly and bill the owner, tenant or lessee for the cost, with all three jointly and severally liable for that bill. 050 both specify that these duties do not create any new civil cause of action for damages beyond what the law otherwise provides.