Shelby County, TN Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Sec. " The chapter treats several related encroachments as separate offenses. Sec. 38-65 bars obstructing a gutter adjoining a sidewalk with dirt, gravel, sand, a bridge or anything else that would block the free flow of water. Sec. 38-66 makes it an offense to let a gate or door swing outward over or across a sidewalk or driveway, except where state law requires it. Sec. 38-67 bars letting water or other liquid run or drip from a building onto or across a sidewalk; any water carried to the street must run through an enclosed pipe or tile built into and kept in repair beneath the sidewalk, and stormwater from downpipes must be piped or guttered under the sidewalk to the street gutter rather than crossing the walking surface, though runoff directed to an alley may flow across the alley's surface.

A related cross-reference in the code sends removal of vegetation and debris obstructing rights-of-way to Chapter 16, Article IV, and links residential-street parking obstructions to Sec. 24-191. These obstruction sections sit in the same Article III of Chapter 38 that imposes the sidewalk repair and cleaning duty on abutting owners.