Minneapolis City Sidewalk Snow Clearing Policy Information

Am I Responsible for Shoveling the City Sidewalk? 

• Yes, the property owner is responsible to clear the city sidewalk

When do I Need to Shovel?

• Per the City of Minneapolis, any amount of snow accumulation falls under the city’s snow removal policy
  
• Weather it snows ¼”, 2”, or 12”, you are responsible for clearing all sidewalks located on your property
  

When do I Need to Shovel?

• Single-family homes and duplexes – You must clear sidewalks within 24 hours after it stops snowing. You are not required to clear the snow during a snowfall, but will need to clear it within 24 hours of the event ending.
  
• All other properties (e.g., Apartment Buildings, Business, etc.) – You must clear sidewalks within 4 daytime hours (8am to 5pm) after it stops snowing. Basically, you need to get it done ASAP after it stops snowing.
  

Do I have to salt my sidewalks?

• You are not required to salt/sand your sidewalks, however you are required to clear ice buildup as needed. This can be done by putting down salt, sanding, or breaking up the ice and removing the ice manually. 
• The city does have free sand available for pickup as an option, locations can be found here.

Do I have to Clear my Driveway?

• Per the city, you are not required to clear your full driveway.
• You are required to clear the portion that would be part of the “city sidewalk”.

Do I have to Clear Snow from around my Garbage Cans?

• Yes, you are required to clear snow to enable the city crews to access your cans.
  
• A 3 foot wide path must be cleared from your carts to the pickup location (alley or curb).
  
• If the crew is unable to wheel the carts to the trucks, they may not empty them.
  
• See here for further info on Garbage Can collection.
  

What Happens if I Don’t Clear the City Sidewalks?

• If snow/ice is not removed within the time frame you may receive a letter from the city informing you to do so.
  
• If snow is not removed after receiving a notice, the city will send a crew and will send a bill to the responsible party for the service.
  
• If the bill is not paid the fee will be added to the location’s property tax.

Liability

• As the property owner you may be liable if someone were to injure themselves on the city sidewalk that runs through your property.
  
• Following the rules set by the city will ensure you do not have to worry about potential liability.
  

Final Questions:

• See here, for a link to the City of Minneapolis home page
• See here, for a link to a short video that goes over the city’s policy