Richland, WA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Richland Municipal Code § 10.04.040(R) declares a nuisance out of any object that interferes with, obstructs, tends to obstruct, or renders dangerous the passage of persons or vehicles on a public park, street, sidewalk, alley, highway, or other public area. The section gives concrete examples: basketball hoop standards, street hockey goals, and nonoperational or abandoned vehicles or parts left in a state of partial repair, though the list is not exclusive of other discarded personal property. This nuisance is separate from the sidewalk maintenance duty in § 10.04.040(A), which references Chapter 12.16 RMC for physical repair of sidewalks, and from the tree-and-fence obstruction rule in § 10.04.040(B), which cross-references Chapter 12.11 RMC; § 10.04.040(R) instead targets objects a resident places or leaves in the right-of-way.

As with the rest of Chapter 10.04, enforcement runs through the Title 10.02 compliance process: Development Services attempts voluntary correction first, and ignoring a final order draws a civil penalty under § 10.02.050(E) of $50 to $500 per violation per day, capped at $5,000 for all offenses, with the daily figure doubled for a repeat violation at the same address. A third violation of the same section at the same location within two years becomes a criminal misdemeanor under § 1.30.010.