Berkeley County, SC Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- § 56-4, Encroachments
- Permitting agency
- Roads and Bridges Department
- Covered work
- Driveways, fences, signs, landscaping, utilities
- Applies to
- County-maintained easements and rights-of-way only
- General penalty
- Up to $500 fine or 30 days jail, § 1-8
Summary
Anyone installing a driveway, fence, sign, landscaping or utility line in a county-maintained easement or right-of-way must first get an encroachment permit from the Berkeley County Roads and Bridges Department. The requirement applies to the unincorporated county's roads and drainage facilities, including those maintained by prescription.
Prior to installing encroachments within an easement or right-of-way maintained by Berkeley County, including roadways or drainage facilities maintained by prescription, an encroachment permit must be obtained from the roads and bridges department. Regulated encroachments include, but are not limited to, roadway extensions, intersections, driveways, temporary access points, fences, signs, landscaping, and utilities. The director of roads and bridges is authorized to develop forms and procedures to administer the issuance of encroachment permits.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 37).
Full Breakdown
Berkeley County Code of Ordinances § 56-4 requires an encroachment permit before installing encroachments within an easement or right-of-way maintained by the county, including roadways or drainage facilities that the county maintains by prescription rather than a recorded easement. The section lists regulated encroachments 'but not limited to' roadway extensions, intersections, driveways, temporary access points, fences, signs, landscaping, and utilities, meaning the Roads and Bridges Department can require a permit for other similar improvements too. The director of Roads and Bridges is authorized to create the forms and procedures used to issue these permits, so the specific application steps and any fee schedule are set administratively rather than fixed in the ordinance itself.
This section sits in Chapter 56, Article I, alongside § 56-1, which assigns the county responsibility for maintenance of its roads, and § 56-3, which lets the county engineer set design and construction standards for county roadway infrastructure that any encroachment work must also meet. A related provision, § 56-2, shows the same encroachment permit framework is used to authorize placement of 'crime watch' signs on highway rights-of-way, which must follow both South Carolina Department of Transportation regulations and the county's own encroachment permit regulations.
Because the county's road standards and encroachment permitting apply only within the areas Berkeley County itself maintains, work inside Goose Creek, Hanahan, Summerville, or the Charleston portion of the county falls under those municipalities' own rights-of-way rules instead.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 56 does not set its own penalty for an unpermitted encroachment, so a violation falls under the county's general penalty at § 1-8: a fine of up to $500.00, imprisonment of up to 30 days, or both, with each day the unauthorized encroachment remains in place counted as a separate offense. The county can also pursue abatement of the encroachment as a nuisance in addition to that fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a county permit to put a fence near the road on my Berkeley County property?
Who issues encroachment permits in unincorporated Berkeley County?
Does the encroachment permit rule cover roads the county maintains without owning the easement?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Berkeley County
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