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

KCC 6.04.110(B) provides that whenever a public right-of-way in Kent has been improved by the construction of a sidewalk along either side, the duty and expense of the maintenance, cleaning, repair and renewal of such sidewalk shall be upon the owner of the directly abutting property. That duty extends to erecting and maintaining suitable barriers along the outer margin of the sidewalk where it is elevated more than two feet above the abutting property. The only carve-out is when the elevation difference results from a city, county, or state road-grade change tied to a public construction project; in that case the barrier is installed as part of the public project and the abutting owner does not bear the cost.

Any repair work the owner undertakes is not self-executing: KCC 6.04.110(B) requires that all such repairs be made after application for and issuance of a proper street excavation permit, and the finished work must be duly inspected and approved by the department of public works. The same chapter, in KCC 6.04.100, separately makes it unlawful to let the sidewalk fall into a defective condition, defined to include cracked or broken cement, tripping depressions, tree-root damage, encroaching vegetation, and ice or snow accumulation, so the repair duty and the no-hazard duty work together to put ongoing upkeep on the abutting owner rather than the city.