Councilors raised safety concerns Dec. 9 about sidewalk conditions and asked staff whether Keizer maintains an inventory of missing or damaged sidewalks.

Staff said a sidewalk inventory that identified missing sidewalks exists (prepared with assistance from the regional council of governments) and is available on the city's website; however, a formal condition inventory for maintenance priorities (i.e., a ranking of deteriorated sidewalks) does not exist and would be a staffing-intensive project. Staff noted the current complaint-based repair program requires residents to report hazards and that the city follows ordinance procedures to notify property owners, who are typically responsible for sidewalk repairs.

The city attorney clarified the municipal legal framework: the city is responsible only for sidewalks on city-owned property; sidewalk repair responsibilities generally fall to private property owners. Staff explained the public-works practice has been to assist — for example, removing a problematic tree that created a hazard and then requiring the owner to handle the concrete — but any change to shift responsibility from owners to the city would require a policy decision and budgeting.

Councilors suggested options including conducting a prioritized inventory (possibly with an intern), establishing a loan or revolving fund to front repairs, or pursuing a bond measure to fund citywide sidewalk repairs. Staff also warned that shifting large amounts of street-fund money to sidewalks could reduce funds available for street resurfacing.

Provenance:
Topic intro: "So, moving on to our long term goals. We had 6, identified ones. Some overlap with the short term goals. We didn't make any progress on a, sidewalk gap and repair program." (block_3656.1948)
Topic finish: "If I may, you commented the city's responsible for sidewalks. The city is only responsible for sidewalks on city owned property... All of the rest of the sidewalks... it's the property owner's responsibility." (block_4651.53)