Tonawanda, NY Property Maintenance: Snow & Sidewalk Clearing (2026)

Article I of Chapter 183, adopted in 1974 and amended in 2002, puts an ongoing maintenance duty on 'the owner or occupant of any premises adjoining any street where a sidewalk has been laid.' Section 183-5A requires that person to keep the sidewalk in good repair and free and clear of snow, ice, dirt and any other material, with the cleared path at least two feet wide for the entire length of the sidewalk fronting the property. The code does not set a fixed number of hours after a snowfall; instead, the duty is continuous, so the walk must be kept clear as conditions change.

Section 183-5B addresses ice too hard to chip away without damaging the concrete: the owner or occupant must spread ashes, sand, sawdust, salt or similar material to keep a safe two-foot path open, then finish clearing the walk as soon as the weather allows. Section 183-5C makes the owner and occupant jointly and severally liable, meaning either can be pursued for injuries caused by an unmaintained, unrepaired or un-cleared sidewalk. A separate provision, § 183-6, bars anyone from plowing, shoveling or depositing snow, ice or slush onto any street or other public place in the Town outside the Village of Kenmore. Enforcement runs through § 183-16, the article's general penalty section, administered by the same Code Enforcement Officer who handles the Town's other property-maintenance chapters.