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

Section 26-6 of the streets and sidewalks chapter bars anyone from installing, constructing or maintaining any pipe, main, conduit, cable, wire, pole, tower, traffic or other signal, or other equipment, facility, appliance, receptacle or sign in, on, along, over or under a public road or alley that is part of the city street or county road system, without first getting a permit and paying the required franchise fees. The section caps those fees at whatever amount any applicable federal regulatory agency permits, so the city cannot charge more than a federal ceiling where one applies.

Subsection (b) assesses a fee, set by city council action and kept on file with the city clerk, for the use of pipes, mains, conduits, cables, wires, poles, towers and public rights-of-way generally. Subsection (c) sets a separate fee, also council-set and on file with the clerk, for each sign and each receptacle placed in the right-of-way, with a carve-out for equipment used for United States mail collection and delivery. The permit and franchise-fee requirement sits in the same article as section 26-1's street-name-change procedure and section 26-2's rush-hour construction ban on major streets, and works alongside section 26-7's ban on defacing sidewalks, streets or curbs and section 26-8's right-of-way obstruction rule, together forming the city's core framework for private use of its streets, alleys and rights-of-way.