Per the Washington City Code, residents and property owners have 24 hours once the snow has stopped or ice has formed to clear their sidewalks.
Also, do not put snow from the sidewalks into the streets. Building and zoning official for the city Steve Donnolly says his department works with property owners and gives notices, however if a sidewalk is not cleared city staff can clean it and charge the property owner for the work. Donnolly says it’s all about safety, “There’s a lot of people that walk in this town, we’re very pedestrian. I didn’t know it until I took this job 7.5 years ago that there’s a lot of walkers. And people have to go to the stores, children have to get to the schools. So, they really need to get their walks cleaned 24 hours after a snow. And if there’s like a light drizzle, where there’s actually not snow and the sun’s not going to come out, it’d be really nice if they’d put some ice melt down there so people don’t trip and get hurt.Donnolly adds that they work with property owners to get sidewalks cleared in a timely fashion, and understand it can be tough when people travel for the holidays.