Decatur, GA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

City Code of Ordinances § 86-14 requires anyone "desiring to make any improvement or perform other work in any public street or right-of-way of the city" to apply to the city engineer or the city engineer's designee for a permit before starting, and to deposit a bond of up to $500 to guarantee that the street or right-of-way is restored. The city engineer sets the bond amount based on the nature and extent of the proposed work. The ordinance defines covered work broadly: utility connections (water, sewer, gas, electrical, telephone, cable television, or other taps to a main or service line), curbs, walls, walkways, driveways, or any other improvement in the right-of-way.

It carves out one exception: activities by utilities themselves are governed separately under Article VII of Chapter 86 (utility registration and permitting), not this section, so a private resident encroaching with a wall or walkway and a telecom company installing conduit sit under two different permit tracks. Once work begins, § 86-14(c) requires the street or right-of-way to be repaired and placed back in its prior condition within seven days of the start of work. If the applicant fails to do the repairs in that window, the city engineer may perform the repairs directly and deduct the cost from the posted bond, refunding any remainder.

Under § 86-15, the bond stays on deposit for 30 days after the work is finished and is refunded only if the repairs were properly made. Related sections in the same article require permits for driveway construction (§ 86-11) and control entrance/exit widths onto public streets (§ 86-12), so a private encroachment project touching a driveway apron may need to satisfy both that permit and the § 86-14 right-of-way permit and bond.