Solano County, CA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Solano County Code Chapter 24, Article I defines and regulates encroachments on county roads. Section 24-10 defines an encroachment broadly to include a tower, pole, pipeline, driveway, private road, curb and gutter, sidewalk, fence, wall, billboard, stand, building, structure, tree, shrub or any other object placed in, under or over a county road, and separately confirms that a driveway connecting a county road to abutting property counts as an encroachment requiring its own permit for public safety. Section 24-11 makes it unlawful to construct, maintain, make, place or install any encroachment on a county road without first obtaining a permit, with a narrow emergency exception for urgent repairs to existing utility lines, provided the person applies for a permit within a reasonable time afterward.

Applications go to the director of the transportation department under Section 24-12 and must identify the applicant, the type and location of the proposed encroachment, and its proposed duration, along with any plans or sketches the director requires. The permittee bears the entire cost of restoring the county road to its prior condition, and a fee is charged per the board of supervisors' adopted fee schedule. Most permits are revocable on five days' notice, work must be completed within six months of issuance (extendable by the director), and utility or public-agency permits can be required to relocate facilities on thirty days' notice if road improvements need the space.

Section 24-13 lets the director require a cash deposit, certified check or surety bond sized to cover restoring the road if the permittee defaults, released ninety days after satisfactory completion. Section 24-14 requires the permittee to provide lights, barriers, warning signs and other safeguards for public safety during the work and to restore the roadway as nearly as possible to its original condition once finished.