Surprise, AZ Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Sidewalk Repair (2026)

2, in the Land Development Code's landscape and screening article, assigns sidewalk repair duty to private property owners rather than the city. Subsection A states that repair and maintenance of landscaping on the property or the abutting right-of-way, landscape strip, open space, buffer areas, setbacks, and pathways is the property owner's responsibility, and that the city has no repair or maintenance duty on privately owned landscaping absent a separate agreement. Subsection M extends that same duty specifically to sidewalks: the owner of a parcel of real property, or the party in control of land abutting a collector or local street right-of-way, median, sidewalk, or alley, is responsible for maintaining any portion of an opened public street between the curb line, or the edge of pavement where there is no curb, and the abutting property line, including landscaping strips and sidewalks.

When code enforcement in the community development department finds a sidewalk defective, unsafe, or hazardous, the city notifies the owner to correct the landscape violation or reconstruct or repair the sidewalk. If the owner has not acted three days after the notice period expires, the city may proceed to maintain, reconstruct, or repair the sidewalk itself, and it then notifies the owner of the amount due for that work, which the owner must pay to the city. The same maintenance duty extends to one-half of the width of an abutting alley, measured from the property line to the alley's centerline, and to unopened streets abutting a parcel, which fall to the party who dedicated the street or their successors.