In most Middlesex County municipalities the city or town is responsible for sidewalk repairs, funded through DPW budgets and state Chapter 90 road funds.
Unlike some states Massachusetts generally places sidewalk repair responsibility on the municipality rather than the abutting property owner. Cambridge DPW, Somerville DPW, Lowell DPW, and Newton DPW maintain and repair public sidewalks as part of their annual capital programs. Residents may request sidewalk repair through 311 systems or direct DPW service requests. However some municipalities including portions of Cambridge and Newton have cost-sharing programs where abutters may contribute to betterment assessments for premium materials like brick. Trip and fall claims against municipalities are governed by MGL c.84 s.15 which requires notice to the municipality within 30 days and caps damages at 5000 dollars. Damage caused by property owner activity, construction, or tree roots from private property may shift responsibility to the owner.
Contact your local code enforcement office for specific penalty information.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
Somerville, MA
Somerville restricts amplified music through its noise ordinance and entertainment licensing, with plainly-audible standards at property lines and stricter c...
Somerville, MA
Somerville limits construction noise to daytime and early-evening weekday hours with shorter Saturday windows and a full Sunday and holiday prohibition, refl...
Somerville, MA
Overnight street parking in Somerville requires a resident permit citywide. Snow emergencies trigger odd-even or posted-side bans.
Somerville, MA
Commercial vehicles over 2.5 tons cannot park overnight on Somerville residential streets. Loading zones are time-limited and signed by block.
Somerville, MA
Most Somerville streets are resident-permit zones. Non-residents are limited to 2 hours on posted blocks from 8 AM to 8 PM daily including weekends.
Somerville, MA
Somerville requires a building permit for most fence installations, with historic districts adding a Historic Preservation Commission review step for visible...
See how Somerville's sidewalk repair rules stack up against other locations.
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