Pottstown, PA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Section 214, adopted with the 2018 sidewalk ordinance and amended by Ordinance 2228 on October 10, 2023, sets a default rule that a public sidewalk exists for pedestrian passage and nothing else. Any other use, merchandise displayed outside a storefront, a sidewalk sale, a dumpster or construction materials staged on the walk, outdoor seating, a newsstand, is unlawful unless one of two paths clears it. The first is authorization already built into the Borough's Code of Ordinances, which the section specifically points to Chapter 27, Zoning, for; the outdoor dining exception carved into Section 209 is an example of a use the code pre-authorizes elsewhere.

The second path is a standalone permit issued by Borough Council itself, and Council does not act alone: it acts only on the recommendation of three officials together, the Chief of the Police Department, the Borough Manager, and the Director of Licensing and Inspections, or their designees. That three-way recommendation requirement means a single department cannot green-light a sidewalk use on its own; enforcement input from police sits alongside administrative and code-compliance review before Council votes. The 2023 amendment tightened this from the original 2018 language, reflecting the Borough's continuing efforts to manage curbside vending and outdoor business uses along Pottstown's commercial corridors as sidewalk cafes and retail displays became more common downtown.