Bowie, MD Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Section 22-11, last amended in October 2025, sets the City's general encroachment rule: except as otherwise specifically provided by Chapter 22 and permitted by the City Manager, no person may erect or maintain a building, facility, equipment, tent, or other shelter or obstruction on, under, or over any alley, street, road, sidewalk, or right-of-way in Bowie. Section 22-11A, added in 2016, clarifies that a permit granted under the chapter does not substitute for any other fee, rent, lease, license, agreement, or franchise the City requires to occupy or place facilities on, under, over, or attached to City property, facilities, or rights-of-way, and preserves the City's right to charge separately for access to or use of City-owned property.

Related sections narrow specific right-of-way uses: § 22-14 requires written Council permission before paving or covering any parking space or the strip between the sidewalk and curb, and § 22-1 requires a Council-authorized permit for any excavation in a driveway or parking space on a street, conditioned on restoring the surface to its prior condition.