Elizabeth, NJ Building Safety: Scaffold & Sidewalk Shed (2026)

Section 15.04.040.M of Elizabeth's construction permit fee schedule lists 'Scaffold in Public Right-of-Way (Subject to prior approval from Dept. of Engineering)' at a flat fee of $100.00. Because the fee sits inside the Uniform Construction Code chapter administered by the construction official, a scaffold erected over or into a public sidewalk or street is treated as its own construction activity requiring a distinct permit, separate from any general building or renovation permit covering the underlying project. The Department of Engineering's prior approval is a gatekeeping step: a contractor cannot obtain the scaffold fee line item, and therefore cannot lawfully set up scaffolding encroaching on the right-of-way, until Engineering has signed off on the placement, which in practice covers issues like pedestrian clearance, obstruction of drainage or curb access, and coordination with any street-opening or dumpster permits already on file for the same job.

This fee is separate from the fees the Building Fees table (Section 15.04.040.B) charges for the underlying renovation, addition or demolition permit the scaffold supports; a contractor building a rehabilitation project, for example, pays the tiered rehabilitation fee under subsection B in addition to the flat $100.00 scaffold charge if any part of the scaffold sits in the right-of-way rather than entirely on private property. Scaffolding confined to the property itself does not trigger this specific line item, since the fee is tied expressly to right-of-way placement and Department of Engineering approval, not to scaffold use generally.