Champaign, IL Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Section 30-300 of the Champaign Municipal Code splits the prohibition into four parts. Subsection (a) bars any obstruction of a right-of-way unless the Code specifically authorizes it. Subsection (b) separately bans erecting or maintaining any building or structure, including fences, that encroaches on a right-of-way or other public property. Subsection (c) requires the person maintaining the obstruction to clear it within a 'reasonable time period set by the Director of Public Works' once the City gives notice, and makes that person liable for the City's repair or removal costs plus fines under Article IX of Chapter 30.

Subsection (d) lets the City remove the obstruction itself if the deadline passes, charging the responsible party for removal and storage of the materials, including an overhead charge the Finance Director calculates in writing; that bill is due within 28 days. Related sections in the same chapter narrow specific obstructions. Section 30-304 caps temporary deliveries left on a public sidewalk at four hours and requires at least four feet of unobstructed sidewalk width at all times. Section 30-305 treats unattended personal property left in the right-of-way as a public nuisance, presumed abandoned and subject to disposal, and limits attended personal property to four hours if it narrows the sidewalk below four feet.

Section 30-306 separately bars depositing harmful material, waste or glass on any public way. Together these sections give Public Works the tools to order removal of everything from a delivery pallet to an unpermitted fence encroaching on City right-of-way.