Lynwood, CA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Section 13-11.1 bars anyone from erecting, constructing, placing or maintaining a building, structure, fence, wall, porch, step, pole, post, pipe, conduit, sign, blockade, seat, bench, table or other physical encroachment in, over or upon a public street, alley or dedicated public way, including the curb, sidewalk and parkway, without first obtaining and maintaining a permit. Anyone who already holds a special work-in-public-ways permit under § 13-10 does not need a separate encroachment permit for the same work. Applications go to the Director of Public Works and must state the applicant's name and address, the nature, description and location of the encroachment, a legal description of the benefited property, the reason the encroachment is needed, and its proposed duration, per § 13-11.2. Each application also carries a deposit set by the City Engineer to cover the city's engineering, inspection and administrative costs, with the applicant billed for any shortfall or refunded any excess.

Once an application is complete, meaning all requirements are met, any required CEQA analysis is done, and the fee is paid, the director must approve or deny it within sixty days under § 13-11.3. A denial comes with a written explanation, and an approved permit can carry reasonable conditions or be revoked or relocated on five days' written notice if the director later finds the encroachment has become detrimental to health, safety or welfare, or if a public works project needs the space, with the applicant bearing relocation costs. Permits also require liability insurance of at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence for injury, plus $50,000 for property damage, under § 13-11.4, unless the director waives it. United States mailboxes, public utility poles and facilities, conforming trash receptacles, and permitted sidewalk vendors under § 13-7 are exempt from the encroachment permit requirement under § 13-11.5.