Irving, TX Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Sidewalk Repair (2026)

Chapter 34, Article IV puts the financial and construction burden for sidewalks squarely on the property they front. Section 34-17 requires sidewalks in front of every new house or building, and along the side on corner lots, before a certificate of occupancy issues; the city withholds utility service until the sidewalk is built. Section 34-18 extends the duty to existing property: owners abutting a street where curbs and gutters exist, or are being installed as part of a street redevelopment, must place sidewalks along their property, and the cost of those sidewalks is paid by the abutting owner even though the city furnishes the engineering at no charge.

If an owner does not build a required sidewalk, Section 34-21 lets the city step in: after the city council adopts an ordinance to instigate the work, the city may construct the sidewalk itself and charge the cost against the owner of the abutting property. That cost, along with legal interest and collection costs, becomes a personal claim against the owner and is secured by a lien on the property superior to every other lien, claim, or title except lawful taxes, enforceable by suit in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Section 34-20 adds that subdividers must complete sidewalks before a final plat is accepted and bars destroying trees to install them, routing installation around existing trees wherever possible. Read together, these sections establish that Irving does not maintain or pay for sidewalks fronting private property on its own initiative; the abutting owner bears that cost, with the city's construction-and-lien remedy as the backstop for noncompliance.