Mount Pleasant, SC Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

05(A). Two narrow carve-outs exist: minor repairs or regular maintenance need no permit, and neither does maintaining or repairing a residential driveway that ties into the existing curb and gutter without modifying it. 05(B): the town must approve it in advance, and no newly built or resurfaced street can be cut within five years of completion, though new utility-service requests can be considered for an exception if the Director of Engineering and Development Services or a designee signs off. Applicants for a street cut must also supply a cut detail, the trench's open duration, kept steel-plated while open, traffic-detour plans, and written notice to the Mount Pleasant Police Department and the Town Roadway Inspector at least three business days before work starts.

New construction requires two sets of project plans; the permit fee follows the department's fee schedule and covers plan review, revisions, and inspections, and is refundable if the work is canceled before it starts. The town may waive the fee for a governmental agency or utility, though that waiver never excuses obtaining the permit itself. Before work begins, permittees must also get a location request number from Palmetto Utility Protection Service and meet the three-day notice requirement. No more than half of any street or alley may be opened at one time, and roads maintained by SCDOT are exempt from the town's own encroachment permit, though the SCDOT permit and the same police notice still apply.