Gastonia, NC Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

City Code § 7-1 defines "encroachment" broadly to include trees and shrubs, fences, walls, steps, buildings, brick mailboxes, basketball goals, underground private lighting wiring, invisible fencing, irrigation or sprinkler systems, and drainage lines including downspouts, plus any other above- or below-ground structure that could interfere with street or utility construction, use or maintenance. Encroachments already in place on or before March 1, 1994 may remain only if the administrator determines they do not create a public nuisance, impair sight distance, interfere with public use of the right-of-way, or interfere with city or utility maintenance access.

If the administrator finds any of those problems, the abutting property owner has ten days from written notice to remove the encroachment; in an emergency, the city can remove it immediately without prior notice and bill the owner for the cost. Since March 1, 1994, any new encroachment requires an application filed with the administrator on a city or NCDOT form, including an engineering drawing locating the encroachment relative to the street, right-of-way, property lines and utilities. The administrator weighs the type of encroachment, its proximity to an opened street, its necessity, whether an alternative location exists, and whether it would trigger the nuisance/hazard/interference tests above.

If approved, the city manager executes the agreement. Mailboxes and newspaper boxes mounted on a single 2-inch metal pipe or 4x4-inch wooden post per USPS specifications are exempt, as are temporary construction obstructions with proper warning devices under § 7-5.