Grand Forks, ND Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Sidewalk Repair (2026)

Section 16-0212 sits in Article 2, Sidewalk Construction and Maintenance, and puts the repair duty squarely on whoever owns or occupies the abutting property, not on the city. Once the city gives notice of a defect, the clock is five days to fix it; failing that, the owner is exposed to a penalty for the initial neglect and a repeating penalty for each additional day the sidewalk stays unrepaired. Article 2 backs that duty with a permitting system: § 16-0213 requires anyone repairing, rebuilding, replacing, or constructing a sidewalk in the city to get a permit from the city engineer first, stating the location and scope of the work, with the permit expiring thirty days after issuance and a separate permit needed for each distinct job.

Permit fees are set by council resolution. Section 16-0216 makes clear the penalty for violating this article, including the repair duty in § 16-0212, is the general Code penalty fixed in § 23-0101, and it extends liability to the contractor or person named on the permit as well as the property owner, though an owner is only liable for violations tied to the sidewalk abutting that owner's own property. The city engineer also sets the construction specifications, grade, width, and materials, concrete or interlocking paver brick, that any repair must match under §§ 16-0202 through 16-0204, so a property owner's fix has to meet the same standard the city would use if it did the work itself.