Montgomery County, VA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Article VIII of Chapter 5 (Utility Permits) governs any work on real property owned, controlled or under the jurisdiction of Montgomery County, expressly including the right-of-way of a highway, street or parking lot. Under Sec 5-180, written permission is required before work begins and is granted through a permit issued by the office of the county administrator; a party under contract with the county automatically holds the same permission for its contracted area unless the contract states otherwise. Sec 5-181 requires every application to be made through, and every permit signed by, the county administrator.

Sec 5-182 gives the administrator broad discretion: a permit may be denied to any applicant, and any permit already issued may be revoked whenever, in the administrator's opinion, public safety, use or maintenance of county property requires it, so approval is not automatic and can be pulled after work begins. Sec 5-183 requires every permit holder to indemnify and hold harmless the county, the board of supervisors, and county employees, agents and officers from damage or liability arising from the permitted work. Sec 5-184 lets the administrator order relocation or removal of any structure or improvement placed on county property under a permit, at the permit holder's expense unless the county has agreed otherwise.

Because the article covers the right-of-way of any county highway or street, it reaches driveway aprons, utility trenching, retaining walls and other private encroachments into the road right-of-way outside Blacksburg and Christiansburg, where the towns issue their own permits.