Berwyn, IL Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Section 1020.01 of the Berwyn Code of Ordinances governs temporary private use of the public right-of-way for construction. A person who wants to use a public street, roadway, court, alley or parkway to store or deposit building material, machinery, tools, a tool shed, fuel or other supplies for a building being constructed, moved, altered or repaired must first apply in writing to the Director of Public Works. The application describes the location to be occupied, the use to be made of it, and how long the occupation will last.

Approval is discretionary. The Director grants permission only if the applicant has complied with the chapter and the city's building ordinances on bonds, fees and other requisites. Permission is meant only for imperative use in connection with actual erection, repair, alteration, wrecking or removal of buildings, ends when the work is complete or earlier if the Director requires, and cannot run longer than 90 days.

The permit carries physical limits. Storing building material cannot take up more than one-third of the width of the roadway, and a clear space of at least one foot must remain between the obstruction and the curb line. The permit covers only the frontage immediately in front of the lot where the building is under construction. During building operations a sidewalk not less than six feet wide must stay open and unobstructed for passage in front of the lot, and where excavations sit beside the sidewalk it must be protected by substantial railings for as long as the excavations remain. Under subsection (B), no one can occupy a sidewalk or street after the permitted operation is finished or store articles not intended for immediate use.

Related rules apply. Section 1020.03 requires yellow lanterns overnight at each end of a pile of material or an excavation in a street or alley. Section 440.03 bars anyone from obstructing or encroaching upon any public highway, street, alley or commons. Utilities building facilities in the right-of-way need a separate Building Department permit under § 1010.04, and in the C-1 through C-4 districts balconies and bay windows can project over the city right-of-way only with Zoning Administrator approval (§ 1246.14).