Sidewalk Improvement Districts

Public Works inspects public pedestrian facilities to keep them accessible and safe for users and to extend their lives through routine and preventive maintenance.

The timeline for sidewalk construction projects is as follows:

• Fall: Public Works inspectors identify and mark sidewalk defects in the upcoming project area.
• Early Winter: Public Works develops proposed projects, requests project bids from contractors and determines the proposed rates.
• Mid-Winter: City Council adopts an updated project area map, project budget and the 5-year assessment rate.
  • Property owners within the project District will receive a “Notice of Public Comment” that indicates the date Council will consider adoption of the annual SID project and welcoming them to speak during the public comment period.
• Spring/Summer: Sidewalk construction only occurs in one Sidewalk Improvement District each year. Hazards outside the active district will be addressed on the SID schedule.

Upcoming District Schedule:

• District 5 - SW: 2024 
• District 1 - NW: 2025
• District 2 - NC: 2026
• District 3 - NE & Downtown: 2027
• District 4 - SE: 2028

The SID billing process requires accurate mailing addresses for contributing parcels. To avoid tax issues with Olmsted County, parcel owners with address changes should submit a “Taxpayer Change of Mailing Address Request Form” to the County. Parcel owners seeking to combine multiple parcels should submit an “Olmsted Combination Request Application” to the County. Both forms can be found on Olmsted County's Recording & Abstracting Forms webpage.

Title 28, Section 35.133 of the Code of Federal Regulations requires public agencies to maintain walkways in an accessible condition in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The City of Rochester has a long tradition of delivering annual sidewalk reconstruction and maintenance projects to meet this commitment. The annual projects inspect, repair, and warrant approximately 5% of the city's defective sidewalks.

Historically, the annual sidewalk program was funded through a combination of tax levy and assessments on private parcels abutting the repairs. Under the authority provided in Minnesota Statute 435.44, the City Council will consider adopting a Sidewalk Improvement District (SID) Program in November 2022. The SID Program designates districts where the costs of repairing pedestrian facilities can be spread across all parcels based on real estate classification. The fees can be assessed over a period of up to five years.

The Sidewalk Improvement District concept has been discussed since October 2015. Follow the links below for videos of the most recent presentations to the City Council:

• May 2, 2022, presentation
  • Video
• November 14, 2022, council meeting
  • Video

Approximately 5% of the city’s sidewalks are inspected annually for defects as part of Rochester’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan, adopted in 2013. In most cases, any given section of sidewalk outside of the downtown core is inspected once every 20 years. The downtown/Destination Medical Center (DMC) area is inspected every 5 years.

Sidewalks are inspected by Public Works Engineering Technicians for safety defects in response to complaints, reported falls or scheduled inspections of large areas of the city. Substandard sidewalk sections are marked with brightly colored pink paint to alert pedestrians to safety hazards.

Each year, Public Works compiles a list of defects noted in that year’s project area and the reported defects in the broader district. This list is used to develop an engineer’s estimate and feasibility report for the City Council to consider an authorization to bid the project.

Paint markings are used to identify safety hazards, including any raised hazard (tripper) over 1/4” and any hole/gap over 1/2". Sidewalk panels are also marked for eligible repair methods. Panels marked with a “J” stencil are eligible for mud jacking or other lifting methods. Panels marked with a “G” stencil are eligible for grinding or horizontal cutting. Panels marked with only an “X” must be replaced.

The Sidewalk Improvement District program uses a map of Rochester divided into 21 individual project areas. These individual project areas are grouped into six larger districts. The illustration below shows the proposed project areas and districts from November 2022.

Due to its relatively high volume of use, there will be a sidewalk project in the Downtown district every 5 years. The Downtown District projects occur at the same time in the rotation as the NE District.

The Sidewalk Improvement District map will be used for the 2023 sidewalk project. As the program rotates through the project areas on an annual basis, the City Council will adopt updates to the individual project area maps to capture any revisions to parcel and City boundaries.

Federal Law (the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires all public entities with more than 50 employees to have a transition plan to implement standards contained in the law. Routine inspections are part of Rochester’s ADA Transition Plan, adopted in 2013.

The most common and dangerous defects are defined as vertical discontinuities > ¼” or cracks or gaps > ½”. These standards are detailed in the ADA's implementing documents. The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration is the implementing agency that issued standards for Maintaining Pedestrian Facilities. These are subsequently codified in the City of Rochester’s Engineering Specifications and Standard Detail Plates.