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Peoria, IL Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Sidewalk Repair (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Owner's repair notice window
30 days from mailed notice
City reimbursement of contracted repairs
80 percent of lower of two bids
Owner's lien share if city repairs
20 percent of repair cost
Lien interest if unpaid past 60 days
10 percent per year
Appeal deadline
30 days to construction commission
Recording fee added to lien
$50.00 plus recorder's fee

Summary

Peoria puts sidewalk repair on the abutting property owner, but shares the cost. Once the director of public works flags a sidewalk as needing repair, the owner has 30 days to fix it or hire a licensed, bonded contractor; the city then reimburses 80 percent of the reasonable repair cost. Owners who ignore the notice face a city-hired contractor and a lien for their 20 percent share.

Sec. 26-231. - Declaration of disrepair; notice. The director of public works is hereby authorized to declare certain sidewalks in the city to be sidewalks in need of repair... The notice shall advise the owner that he must repair or contract for repairs of the sidewalk in need of repair within 30 days of the date of the mailing of the notice... The notice shall advise the owner that if he contracts for said repairs, that the city will reimburse 80 percent of the reasonable cost of said repairs... Sec. 26-236. - Cost of repair to be lien. (a)The owner's share (20 percent of the total) of the cost of repair of the sidewalk in need of repair is a lien on real estate immediately adjacent to the sidewalk in need of repair.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 119).

Full Breakdown

5 inches in commercial areas or 2 inches in residential areas, the neighborhood's foot traffic, holes and spalling, and the likelihood the defect gets worse. When a sidewalk is flagged, the owner of the adjacent property gets a mailed notice under Section 26-231 giving 30 days to repair it or contract for repair; if the owner contracts for the work using two bids from licensed, bonded contractors, the city reimburses 80 percent of the lower bid. Owners who neither repair the walk nor arrange for repair within 30 days lose control of the process: under Section 26-233, the city hires its own licensed, bonded contractor to do the work.

00 recording fee plus the recorder's fee. Where more than one parcel touches the same defective stretch, Section 26-237 apportions the cost among the owners by their frontage. An owner who disputes the disrepair finding can appeal to the construction commission within 30 days of the Section 26-231 notice; the commission must issue a written decision within seven days of the hearing, and if it upholds the finding, the owner gets another 30 days to repair before the city contracts the work itself.

Violations & Fines

Missing the 30-day repair window does not bring a fine; it shifts control to the city. The city hires a licensed, bonded contractor to fix the sidewalk under Section 26-233, bills the owner for 20 percent of the cost under Section 26-236, and records that amount as a lien on the property if unpaid within 60 days, growing at ten percent annual interest until it is paid or foreclosed by the corporation counsel.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who has to fix a broken sidewalk in Peoria?
The owner of the property immediately next to it does, once the director of public works declares the sidewalk in need of repair under Section 26-231. The owner gets a mailed notice and 30 days to repair the walk or hire a licensed, bonded contractor before the city steps in and does the work itself.
Does the city help pay for sidewalk repairs?
Yes. If the owner contracts for the repair using two bids from licensed, bonded contractors, Section 26-231 requires the city to reimburse 80 percent of the lower bid's reasonable cost. If the city ends up hiring the contractor because the owner did not act, the owner still only owes 20 percent of the bill under Section 26-236.
What happens if I don't pay my share of a city-ordered sidewalk repair?
Under Section 26-236, the unpaid 20 percent becomes a lien on your property, superior to most other liens except taxes. Interest accrues at ten percent per year starting 60 days after the bill of costs is mailed, and the corporation counsel can sue to foreclose the lien within three years of recording it.

Sources & Official References

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