Pierce County, WA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

010, no person, organization, or agency may place, erect, or install any object of any nature within a Pierce County road right-of-way without the express written permission of the County Engineer. Anything already sitting in the right-of-way without that written permission is declared illegal by the code, and Pierce County can summarily remove it at any time under subsection B. Subsection C puts the removal burden on whoever placed the object: once you receive written notice from the county, you have 48 hours to remove it yourself before the county steps in and does it for you.

Subsection D lets Pierce County pursue removal of a non-conforming object or encroachment through an injunctive suit even where it does not interfere with the right-of-way's proper and legitimate use. Subsection E treats any unpermitted object in the right-of-way as a nuisance, which triggers a special assessment lien against the property, ranked equal to a state, county, or municipal tax lien, recoverable through the hearing procedures set out later in that same subsection. The permission requirement is not absolute: mailboxes and attached newspaper boxes are exempt from needing separate permission, but only if they are placed as far removed from the driving portion of the right-of-way as possible, and even that placement still needs the County Engineer's approval under the same subsection A.

4, which requires a distinct Right-of-Way Permit before construction begins in existing county right-of-way. Encroachment and right-of-way permit applications route through the Pierce County Department of Planning and Public Works, with the County Engineer administering approval and enforcement.