Springfield, OR Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Springfield Municipal Code section 5.052(1) makes it unlawful for any person to obstruct any highway, street, alley, sidewalk, gutter or drainage way or any other public way in the city by leaving merchandise, boxes, construction materials, household goods, or any other thing which may prevent free passage over the right of way. The rule reaches ordinary clutter, not just formal encroachments, so a business that stacks pallets on the sidewalk or a homeowner who piles debris at the curb during a cleanup falls within its reach unless an exception applies.

Section 5.052(2) carves out a permitted path for construction: anyone wanting to temporarily store articles in the right of way during construction must apply for a public right of way encroachment permit under Springfield Code sections 3.208 through 3.214 and pay a fee based on the city's average actual costs, set by council resolution. The director of public works approves both the size of the storage area and how long the articles may stay, and section 5.052(2) caps the footprint at one quarter of the pavement or travel portion of the right of way, measured curb to curb.

Even with a permit, section 5.052(2)(a)(iii) flatly bars any temporary storage on a sidewalk or behind a sidewalk, and permitted storage cannot alter drainage in the gutter. A violation of the base obstruction rule in section 5.052(1) is punishable as a non-criminal violation with a fine of up to $720 under SMC section 1.205, and because section 1.205(5) makes each day of a continuing violation a separate offense, an unpermitted pile of materials left on a Springfield sidewalk can generate repeated citations the longer it sits.