Amherst, NY Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Town Code § 7-4-3(A), part of the Outdoor Storage and Display section of the Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 203), governs businesses in nonresidential districts that put merchandise on display outside. Display is allowed only adjacent to the building wall and may extend no more than five feet from that wall, and it cannot occupy more than 30% of the linear building-wall distance facing a public right-of-way. The provision is explicit that a display cannot block windows, entrances or exits, and cannot impair the ability of pedestrians to use the building and sidewalk.

In the Neighborhood Business, Transitional Industrial, SC-3 and Center districts, § 7-4-2(C) additionally requires that all outdoor display be returned to a fully enclosed structure whenever the business is closed, so a sidewalk cannot be used as overnight storage. Separately, § 83-9-5(5-2) in the Buildings chapter bars anyone from plowing, shoveling, sweeping or piling snow, ice or other materials in or beyond a street right-of-way in a way that interferes with the safety and convenience of public travel, covering seasonal obstructions that outdoor-display rules do not reach. Enforcement of the zoning display standard runs through the Building Department's site-plan and code-compliance process rather than a fixed per-day fine schedule.