Clarksville, TN Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Section 12-105 of the Official Code of the City of Clarksville regulates private encroachments onto public rights-of-way in the central business district. It states plainly that no person shall erect, hang, or suspend any sign, signboard, awning, or other projection in front of a building or lot so that it projects over a public highway, unless every part of it clears at least eight feet above the public way below. The rule traces to Code 1963 Section 25-5 and was amended by Ordinance No. 31-1991-92 on January 2, 1992, the version still in force.

Unlike some right-of-way rules elsewhere in the same chapter, Section 12-105 does not run through a permit application: the city does not issue a discretionary encroachment permit for a storefront sign or awning under this section. The eight-foot clearance is a flat design standard, not a discretionary approval, so a business owner installing new signage downtown only needs to meet the height, not seek advance sign-off. The rule sits among a cluster of similar right-of-way protections in the same chapter: Section 12-104 bars passing through a construction barricade on a street or sidewalk, Section 12-108 makes it unlawful for a door or gate to project over the public way when not in use (the city can alter or repair the offending door or gate at the owner's expense after notice), and Section 12-112 lets the chief of police authorize temporary placement of building materials in the public way during construction.

Read together, these sections show the city treating any private object over a sidewalk or street, whether commercial signage, a swinging gate, or building supplies, as something the property owner must actively keep clear or specifically authorize.