Eden Prairie, MN Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Section 6.03, most recently amended by Ordinance No. 15-2017, requires a right-of-way permit before any person obstructs or excavates a public right-of-way in the City, covering everything from utility trenching to placing a structure or temporary object in the right-of-way. Subdivision 2.A requires a written application to the Public Works Department at least two weeks before the anticipated start date, including a scaled drawing of the project location and proposed facilities, a traffic control plan, a restoration plan, and a project timeline; the Director of Public Works can also demand a drawing of existing facilities and a public notification plan.

Subdivision 3 lets the Director impose reasonable conditions to protect health, safety, and the right-of-way's current use, and Subdivision 4 lets the City set a permit fee sufficient to recover its costs, billed at issuance, within thirty days, or annually. Subdivision 7 lets the City deny a permit for failure to meet the section's requirements, for existing facilities already in disrepair, or to protect public health and safety, with written notice of denial within three business days and a right to cure and resubmit without a new fee within thirty days.

Subdivision 8 lays out detailed construction standards covering backfill compaction to ninety-five percent of Standard Proctor, trench protection, traffic control consistent with the Minnesota Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices, and protection of tree root growth. Subdivision 14 makes obstructing or excavating the right-of-way without a permit a misdemeanor under City Code Chapter 1 and Section 6.99, except in an emergency under Subdivision 14.A, when the right-of-way user must apply for the permit within two business days after responding to the emergency.