Edmonds, WA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Sidewalk Repair (2026)

050 states plainly that it is the abutting property owner's responsibility and duty to maintain, repair and reconstruct the sidewalk adjacent to their property. The only carve-out is for double-fronted lots along the city's higher classified arterials, where the city itself takes over maintenance, repair and reconstruction; the code lists the specific lots in Schedule I, covering stretches of 100th Avenue West (plats of Sea Crest, Michielli Park and Twin View Estates) and 76th Avenue West (plats of Dellwood Village and Helen McKinley Park). Outside those listed parcels, the duty runs with ownership of the abutting land.

040(B) reinforces the same rule for right-of-way improved with a sidewalk: the duty and expense of inspection, maintenance, cleaning, repair and renewal falls on the owner of the directly abutting property when the sidewalk was built by a developer, a local improvement district, or was already in place before the current owner purchased the property. That subsection also requires the owner to install and maintain barriers where the sidewalk sits more than two feet above or below the abutting property or the adjacent slope exceeds a one-to-one ratio, unless the elevation difference came from a city, county or state roadway project, in which case the project itself bears that cost. 080; no change or relocation can proceed without an appropriate permit.