Richland, WA Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)

Richland Municipal Code § 12.16.020, part of Chapter 12.16 governing cleaning and maintenance of sidewalks and rights-of-way, puts the duty to clear snow and ice from an abutting public sidewalk on the person or entity with charge or control of the premises, not on the city. The obligation is to remove snow or ice "within a reasonable time" after it forms or is deposited, rather than by a fixed hour or day count, so what counts as reasonable can turn on storm severity and how quickly conditions become hazardous to pedestrians.

This sits alongside the year-round duty in § 12.16.010 to keep the same sidewalk, planting strip, and right-of-way maintained in a safe condition and free of disrepair, so an owner who ignores accumulated ice can also be cited for failing to keep the sidewalk in a reasonably safe condition under that companion section. Enforcement runs through Development Services and the public works director, who field complaints about unshoveled frontages and can order the condition corrected. There is no separate snow-specific rebate or grace period built into this chapter; the sidewalk replacement rebate under § 12.16.015 applies only to physical sidewalk removal and replacement work confirmed as necessary by the public works director, not to routine snow and ice clearing after a storm.