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Commission hears sidewalk master plan outreach, options for funding and enforcement
Summary
The commission heard a presentation from Amy Muller Lyle, the city’s community development director, on a sidewalk master plan that would pair education about current property-owner maintenance rules with public outreach to gauge support for city-funded repair programs and tiers of service.
Amy Muller Lyle, the city’s community development director, told the Community Engagement Commission on May 20 that staff and a consultant have prepared a sidewalk master plan and want help shaping public outreach.
"We've been working on the plan," Muller Lyle said, and staff propose a two-pronged engagement: educate residents that adjacent property owners are currently responsible for sidewalk repairs, then ask whether the city should take on repairs and, if so, which funding tier residents would accept.
The presentation mapped out options ranging from the city taking full responsibility to hybrid models in which the city would organize repairs while property owners paid for work. Muller Lyle said the engagement would include helping commissioners "train the trainers" and use farmers market booths and short surveys to collect responses to specific payment tiers and program designs. She said SCJ, the consultant who developed the original master plan, will help draft outreach materials.
Commissioners pressed staff on enforcement and liability. "There is liability because our code does say that you are responsible for the maintenance in front of your property," Muller Lyle said, adding that the city also carries some liability because sidewalks are public facilities. She said the code enforcement officer can issue tickets in extreme cases but that follow-up enforcement is administratively difficult, so notices are often prioritized for the most severe hazards.
Members suggested the outreach include direct notices to property owners whose sidewalks were flagged in the city's sidewalk scan, coordination with homeowners associations in older neighborhoods such as Meadowwood and the River District, and clear cost examples so residents can answer whether they would support different funding tiers.
Council will use the public feedback in fall budget planning, Muller Lyle said. Commissioners agreed to workshop outreach concepts with SCJ at a future meeting and to use farmers market events to pilot materials and collect opinions.
