Private contractors or citizens who wish to perform work in the public right-of-way must first obtain an Encroachment Permit, which is issued by the City Engineer in the Public Works Department, who can be contacted at City Hall, 650 Merchant Street, phone (707) 449-5170.

Utility companies who wish to perform work in the public right-of-way must obtain an Encroachment Permit from the Public Works Engineering Division at (707) 449-5170.  For emergency work, please reference Policy E-2024-001 Utility Company Emergency Work. 

Completed applications can be emailed to Development Engineering.

Review time varies dependent upon the complexity of the work, however, applicants should expect a review period of approximately four weeks. If public improvement plans are involved, typical review periods are six weeks for a first submittal and three weeks for subsequent submittals.

How to Schedule an Inspection for Encroachment Permit Work: 

After obtaining an Encroachment Permit, and before any work can begin, you must email Public Works the Public Works Construction Supervisor to schedule a Preconstruction Conference. After the Preconstruction Conference work on your project can begin. 

You must notify the Construction Inspector of your intent to work each day by emailing Public Works before 7:00AM to request your inspection. Please include the following information for inspection requests:

• Project Name
• Project Location
• Encroachment Permit #
• Contact Name
• Contact Phone Number
• Type of Inspection Requested
• Time of Inspection 

A Construction Inspector will be assigned to make the inspection as close to your requested time as possible.