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

Sec. 34-60 places the clearing duty on the occupant of any premises, or the owner if the premises is unoccupied, requiring the sidewalk in front of or adjacent to the property to be kept cleared of snow and ice, so far as practicable and reasonable, to facilitate pedestrian use. Where no sidewalk exists, the same person must clear a path free of snow and ice where a sidewalk would otherwise run. The 12-hour clock starts when the snow or ice falls or accumulates, not when a storm ends, so accumulation that continues over several hours resets the clearing window as it builds.

The section traces back to Code 1967 § 7-121 and was last amended by Ord. No. 1(b)(3)(e). This duty is distinct from the separate structural sidewalk-repair scheme in Secs. 34-52 through 34-54, which addresses disrepair and obstructions rather than seasonal snow and ice, and from the Sec. 34-2 prohibition on pushing or plowing snow from private property onto a public street or handicapped parking space. A related guarantee in Sec. 34-61 lets an owner get a sidewalk replaced once every ten years at city expense if tree roots from the public right-of-way caused the damage and the sidewalk was built to city standards and paid for by the owner.