La Mesa, CA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit issuer
- City manager, after engineer/police review
- Governing chapter
- Municipal Code Chapter 18.16
- Continuing penalty
- $10 per day after notice (Sec. 18.16.400)
- Revocation notice
- 30 days (Sec. 18.16.080)
- Compliance bond
- May be required before permit issues
Summary
The City of La Mesa requires a written encroachment permit under Municipal Code Section 18.16.030 before anyone excavates, places an encroachment, or cuts curbs or sidewalks in a city street. The city manager issues permits after review by the city engineer or police chief, covering excavations, encroachments, identification and directional signs, parking-lot entrance signs, and curb or sidewalk cutting.
The city manager after study and recommendation of the city engineer and/or police chief, may issue written permits as provided in this chapter authorizing the permittee to do any of the following acts: (a)Excavations: Make an opening or excavation for any legal purpose in any city street.(b)Encroachments: Place, change, repair, or renew an encroachment.(c)Signs and Building Encroachments: Place within or over any public way signs and building encroachments as specified in Title 14 hereof. However, the erection permits issued pursuant to Title 14 shall constitute the permit required hereof. ... (f)Curbing and Sidewalk: To cut, break or remove any curbing, sidewalk, or cause to have cut, broken or removed any curbing or sidewalk in any city street.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 18.16, Encroachments-Driveways, dates to Ordinance 748 of 1957. Section 18.16.030 lets the city manager, after study and recommendation from the city engineer and/or police chief, issue written permits for excavations, encroachments, building and sign encroachments under Title 14, identification and directional signs, parking-lot entrance signs, joint city-entrance signs, tree work, and curb or sidewalk cutting. Permittees pay the full cost of restoring the street or sidewalk and must repair any resulting damage within one year (Section 18.16.050), following city specifications (Section 18.16.060). The city can require a compliance bond before granting a permit (Section 18.16.090).
Most permits are revocable on thirty days' notice (Section 18.16.080), though permits for marquees, architectural features and signs issued under Title 14 can be revoked only by the city council, and any area-wide revocation plan requires a public council hearing and at least one hundred eighty days for the owner to remove the encroachment. If an encroachment is not removed after notice, the city may remove it itself and sue for the cost of removal, court costs, and ten dollars for every day the encroachment remains after the notice expired (Sections 18.16.390, 18.16.400, 18.16.420), or sue to abate it as a public nuisance (Section 18.16.410). Violating the chapter is an infraction under Section 18.16.040, tied to the city's general penalty clause in Section 1.01.080.
Violations & Fines
Violating any Chapter 18.16 provision is an infraction under La Mesa Municipal Code Section 18.16.040, subject to the city's general penalty clause at Section 1.01.080. Under Sections 18.16.390 through 18.16.420, the city may summarily remove an unremoved or nuisance encroachment and sue the responsible party for removal costs, court costs and ten dollars for each day the encroachment remains after notice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a city permit to cut my curb for a new driveway in La Mesa?
Can La Mesa revoke my encroachment permit?
What if I don't remove my encroachment after the city tells me to?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in La Mesa
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