Linden, NJ Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Sidewalk Repair (2026)

Linden City Code § 15-6 makes each property owner responsible for inspecting, repairing and maintaining the sidewalk adjacent to their property, and the City is not responsible for that repair or maintenance unless the City Engineer or Public Works Department determines, after written notice from the owner, that the damage was proximately caused by roots from a tree planted under the Shade Tree Advisory Board's planting program or by work performed by City employees. Section 15-7 restates the duty in stronger terms: owners must keep sidewalks in good and sufficient condition, even and graded to shed water, and must replace any sidewalk not meeting that standard.

Section 15-8 covers construction, alteration and repair specifically: sidewalks and retaining walls in the public right-of-way are built, altered, repaired, replaced or removed at the abutting landowner's expense. If the City Engineer identifies particular sidewalks needing work, the City Council can pass an ordinance designating the work and directing the Engineer to serve notice on the abutting owner describing the work required; the owner then has 90 days to complete it. If the owner does not comply within that window, the City performs the work itself and assesses the entire cost against the abutting property, collected the same way as other property taxes.

Nothing in § 15-8 shifts the owner's ongoing duty to inspect and maintain the sidewalk, and the City's involvement in ordering specific work does not make the City responsible for routine upkeep.