Dear Mr. Ben,

Thank you for contacting the Public Works Agency regarding this matter. The maintenance and repair of sidewalks is the responsibility of the property owner per Section 5610 of the California State Street and Highways code and Section 12.04 of the Oakland Municipal Code. These codes require property owners to repair and maintain their sidewalks, except where sidewalk damage is caused by an official City of Oakland tree, in which case the City's current policy is to take on those repairs. If sidewalks are nonexistent, then the owner of the adjacent parcel is responsible for the installation of new sidewalks.