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

Section 12.16.020(A) requires a permit before anyone may "dig in, excavate, plow up, tear up, fill, cover, disturb or change any part of the portion of any public highway," or place an obstruction or pile material on a highway's surface. Section 12.16.020(B) carves out only one exception: on an unimproved highway, a person or company maintaining gas pipes or water mains under franchise may excavate for repairs without a permit first, but must file a written statement with the director of roads containing the same information a permit application requires as soon as possible, and must finish the repair and restoration "with reasonable diligence." Related sections in the same chapter add specific rules: Section 12.16.030 requires sanitation-district consent for sewer-line encroachments, Section 12.16.040 requires a separate cattle-guard permit under Streets and Highways Code Section 985 with board-approved specifications, Section 12.16.050 bars an encroachment permit from unduly interfering with an existing county franchise holder's rights, and Section 12.16.060 requires diagrams showing the route and terminals of any pipe or conduit.

Section 12.16.070 conditions issuance on the director finding the work necessary and properly planned, and requires a permanent marker at the installation point. Section 12.16.090 ties curb, gutter, sidewalk and driveway-approach permits to the line, grade and construction standards the board adopted under the county's subdivision ordinance, Title 18, and Section 12.16.130 makes the permittee responsible for refilling excavations in tamped layers and restoring the highway to its prior condition, or the county can do the work and bill the responsible party.