Brooklyn Park, MN Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

City Code Sec. 02, PUBLIC NUISANCE PROHIBITED, states that whoever, by act or failure to perform a legal duty, intentionally interferes with, obstructs, or renders dangerous for passage a public street, highway or right of way, or waters used by the public, is guilty of maintaining a public nuisance. The section reaches beyond direct blocking: subsection (D) extends liability to anyone who permits real property under their control to be used to maintain a nuisance, or who rents property knowing it will be used that way, so a landlord who lets a tenant pile material in a right-of-way can also be cited.

The companion list in Sec. 03(F) separately names "any open well, pit, excavation, structure, barrier or other obstruction which endangers public health, safety, or welfare" as a specific public nuisance, covering hazards left in or near the right of way even when they do not fully block passage. Enforcement runs through the Health Authority process in Sec. 06, which lets the city order the owner or occupant to remove an obstruction and, if the order is not followed, remove it at city expense and assess the cost against the property.

Because the obstruction provision sits in the general nuisance chapter rather than a sidewalk-specific chapter, it applies to any public right-of-way citywide, including sidewalks, streets and public waters, and does not depend on the season or the type of material causing the blockage.