Davis considers code update to shift liability of sidewalk maintenance
The Davis city council on Tuesday will consider adding a new section to the city code that would clearly establish responsibility for sidewalk maintenance . The move comes months after a slip-and-fall lawsuit filed against the city was settled for $18 million and as the city faces a significant budget shortfall and repair backlog.
The proposed ordinance was prepared by city attorney Inder Khalsa and Stan Gryczko, public works director and assistant city manager. The change would save the city money because “staff will no longer be responsible for conducting all sidewalk repairs,” according to a staff report.
The measure would allow the city to charge property owners for the costs incurred to maintain sidewalks if the property owner fails to perform their duty. Any money generated by the charges would go back into the sidewalk program, which maintains Davis’ 275 miles of sidewalks.
California law places the responsibility for sidewalks on the adjacent property owner, but Davis typically accepts responsibility for all repairs and replacements. In August, the city council directed staff to draft an ordinance allowing the city to charge for sidewalk repairs.
If adopted, the city will conduct public outreach and education about the new policy before implementation, according to a staff report. “Staff is dedicated to rolling out any changes to sidewalk management in a thoughtful manner.”
Addressing the repair backlog
Gryczko described the repair backlog the department faces in stark words during a February planning workshop for city leaders and department heads. Budget issues mean departments have to prioritize shoring up core services, he said. “Everything is a trade-off.”
For Davis, that means public works has to prioritize the repairs that could cause the most harm. “A lot of what we do now is liability based,” Gryczko said at the workshop.
A slip-and-fall lawsuit filed against the city of Davis was settled in November for $18 million. Davis is a member of a municipal risk pool, so the city will only pay a small amount of the judgment before the costs shift to the risk pool. But expensive lawsuits could lead to higher fees for the members of the risk pool. City records show the cost of the risk pool has risen by more than $2 million since 2023.
In light of the settlement and despite the budget deficit, addressing these repairs quickly makes financial sense for the city. Instead of only responding to reported sidewalk hazards, the city launched a new sidewalk inspection program in January.
The Sidewalk Accessibility for Everyone Program involves inspecting every sidewalk in the city every five years, covering one city council district per year, then completing every repair in the district within the year. The city also plans to address reported hazards within two business days. Making the repairs could take longer than the calendar year during the first round of the program due to the backlog, city staff reported.
The city recently completed inspections in the first district. They found 240 hazards, according to a staff report.
Inspectors will seek out all sidewalk cracks that are at least half an inch tall or more than an inch wide and all dents and defects that are two inches wide and one inch deep, according to the staff report. The defect that caused the slip-and-fall injury lawsuit was about an inch and a half tall.
Sidewalk hazards can be reported to the city online.
