Title
Briefing on Sidewalk Repair Policy Approach
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee.
City Manager Recommendation:
Receive a briefing on sidewalk repair policy approach.
Report
Issue:
Whether to receive a briefing on sidewalk repair policy approach.
Staff Contact:
Michelle Swanson, AICP, Principal Planner, Public Works Transportation, 360.753.8575
Presenter(s):
Michelle Swanson, AICP, Principal Planner, Public Works Transportation
Background and Analysis:
The issue
Current City code holds property owners responsible for repairing the sidewalks adjacent to their property, but the City has enforced that code minimally and unevenly.
Over time, the City has developed an interim approach of addressing sidewalk repair by prioritizing streets where the City maintains street trees as resources allow. Those streets are shown on the attached map.
Toward a long-term policy
In recent years, the City has been working toward creating a long-term policy for sidewalk repair. As part of that process, staff created a story map and survey to ask people what they thought about some key points. A story map is a website that has maps, photos, and a narrative to explain complex topics. A link to the story map is attached, and it includes the high-level results of the survey that was embedded in it from March 2 to 20, 2026.
Recent City actions
In 2024, the City created a program in the Capital Facilities Plan that has been funded at $500,000 annually by the Transportation Benefit District Sales Tax revenues.
Additionally, the City did a full inventory of the condition of its sidewalks in 2024, which was a crucial step to understanding the scale of how much repair is needed. The inventory found nearly 28,000 unique defects that need repair. Staff briefed this Committee on the results of the inventory last year, and the report is also linked from the story map.
Finally, in the 2026 budget, the City Council funded a new sidewalk rep...
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