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

Mason County's Public Works Department administers seven categories of right-of-way use permits under Section 12.05.030, adopted by Ordinance No. 2024-028 in 2024. Category 4, the Road Approach/Encroachment Permit, applies when a property owner requests permanent or temporary private facilities such as driveways, logging roads, or parking areas connecting to an existing county road, and Section 12.05.030 ties that category directly to Chapter 12.08. Section 12.08.020 requires anyone constructing or modifying an approach onto a Mason County roadway to obtain a permit from Public Works and comply with the current road standards and Chapter 36.75 RCW, and it lets the county engineer limit the number, width, location, and configuration of driveways in the interest of safety.

Section 12.08.040 forces a new approach whenever an access point is added or a change in use increases traffic, and a building permit cannot pass final inspection until the county engineer has verified permitted access exists. Section 12.08.050 sets a seven-to-ten-business-day review target once a complete application is filed. Section 12.08.060 requires a non-refundable permit fee set by resolution, with narrow waivers for an approach already conforming to its original permit or one connecting to a private road, and requires reapplication and a new fee if the work is not finished within three hundred sixty days.

Section 12.08.100 places all construction and maintenance costs on the property owner benefiting from the approach, under RCW 36.75.130, and Section 12.08.090 lets the county recover its own costs from anyone who fails to build the approach properly.