Blue Hill, NE Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Section 6-103 of the Blue Hill Municipal Code flatly bans obstructing or encumbering streets, alleys or sidewalks with fences, gates, buildings, structures or anything else. The same section separately treats overgrown trees and shrubs as obstructions when they sit on the lot line, partly on public ground, or close enough to interfere with a public improvement or to send roots into utility wires or pipes; the owner or occupant has a standing duty to keep that growth trimmed and pruned. When growth is left contrary to the section, the City Council may pass a resolution ordering the owner or occupant to remove the obstruction within five days of being served a copy.

If the resolution isn't followed, the city can remove the growth itself and charge the cost to the owner as a special assessment for improvements, or collect the cost through a civil suit filed in the city's name against the owner or occupant. Non-resident property owners must be sent notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address on the current tax rolls before any special assessment is levied. This obstruction rule sits in Chapter 6, Article 1 (Municipal Property), and works alongside the separate overhanging-branch clearance rule at Section 6-104 and the street-tree planting standards at Section 6-105, which govern trimming heights and where new trees may go rather than what counts as an unlawful obstruction in the first place.