Sidewalk Inspection Program

The Storm Lake Sidewalk Inspection Program is designed to ensure that the city's pedestrian pathways are maintained to provide the safest potential routes through town. In addition, the program helps to provide property owners with notice of when sidewalks are in need of improvement to help prevent personal injury from pedestrian traffic on their sidewalk.

It is the responsibility of the adjoining property owner to maintain the sidewalk adjacent to and/or in front of their property. Complete and permanent removal of existing sidewalk is not permissible as a means of resolution of violations of the sidewalk inspection program.

Sidewalk Inspection Process

The Storm Lake community is broken up into five (5) zones. Of the five zones one (Zone 1) zone is inspected annually, this zone comprises the downtown or central business district area and generally the most heavily traveled zone in the community. Additionally, all of the Storm Lake, Lake Trail and City owned sidewalks are inspected annually.

The other four zones (Zones 2-5) are inspected once every four years.

A general timeline for the inspection process is provided on our Inspection Timeline page.

Sidewalk Violations

The City inspection sidewalks for seven specific violations. The violations are outlined in the document linked to on the right hand side of this page titled "Sidewalk Inspection Violations".

Any of these violations that are found will be marked on the pavement and on the Inspection Report which will be mailed to the property owner following the inspection and is considered the formal notice of violations.