Santa Clara, CA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

010(a) makes it unlawful to place, or cause to be placed, any obstruction on a City sidewalk that impedes travel, whether partial or complete, including by displaying merchandise or piling boxes, and separately bars damaging or defacing a sidewalk with drawings, symbols, lettering or caricatures. 010(b) carves out a narrow exception: goods, wares or merchandise temporarily occupying the sidewalk during actual delivery or removal are not violations, provided they are cleared within twenty-four hours. 05 rule against obstructing the broader public right-of-way, which requires the City to give twenty-four hours' notice to remove an obstruction before a $500 infraction applies.

020 also matters for what counts as sidewalk space subject to the obstruction rule: on streets seventy feet or wider, the sidewalk space runs eleven and one-half feet from the outside curb edge to the property line, except in blocks where concrete curbs predate the section. Because the obstruction rule sits in the same chapter that assigns sidewalk construction, repair and maintenance duties to abutting property owners, a business or resident who blocks the walk with displayed goods can face both the obstruction citation and separate liability if the obstruction itself damages or interferes with the sidewalk's condition.