Naperville, IL Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Naperville Municipal Code Title 9, Chapter 1, Article A governs every public street, sidewalk, alley, parkway and other public way inside city limits, which sit in DuPage County. Section 9-1A-9 is the baseline rule: it is unlawful for any person to use a street, sidewalk or other public place or right-of-way for any proprietary purpose except as the City, federal or state law authorizes. That authorization is what Section 9-1A-11 supplies. Under 9-1A-11:1.1, no building or structure defined in Section 6-1-6 may encroach on a public street, way or property except as that subsection or the driveway rules of Section 7-4-3 allow.

Mailboxes may stand in the parkway, but the support post must sit no closer than 8 inches to the back of curb, stand 40 inches from ground to mailbox bottom, be built of break-away 4-inch by 4-inch lumber or thin-wall steel pipe, and be buried no more than 24 inches (9-1A-11:1.3); masonry columns and wagon wheels are specifically barred. For bigger encroachments, brick, stone or masonry walls, fences, or wired structures, 9-1A-11:3.4 lets the City permit construction into a dedicated easement only if the owner signs a written encroachment agreement approved by the City Manager (3.4.1) and secures a building permit from the Transportation, Engineering and Development business group after Public Utilities and Public Works sign off on the plans (3.4.2).

A fence-only encroachment still needs a fence permit under 3.5. Alternative paving, brick pavers, exposed aggregate or stamped concrete, needs its own permit under 9-1A-11:2.2.1, is barred outright from public sidewalks (2.2.4), and requires a recorded indemnification agreement that runs with the land (2.2.6, 2.2.7). Every encroachment shifts risk to the owner: the property owner keeps all liability for the encroaching structure, and the City may remove it without prior notice in an emergency (9-1A-11:3.7.2). The Director of the Department of Public Works or the Transportation, Engineering and Development Business Group supervises and enforces this Article under Section 9-1A-3.