Waukesha County, WI Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Sec. 15-53 of the county code bars anyone from constructing an access point (a driveway, private street or similar vehicular pathway, defined in Sec. 15-52) within a county trunk highway until a valid permit is obtained from the Department of Public Works. The same section extends the permit requirement to altering any existing appurtenance or feature within the highway right-of-way, expressly naming ditches, drainage ways, culverts, bridges, signs, berms, fences, landscaping, retaining walls or pavement surfaces, including existing access points. A change in a property's use can also trigger a new permit or force alterations to an existing access point.

Sec. 15-53(c) flatly bars the county from granting a permit for parking or servicing vehicles, or for advertising, storage or merchandising of goods on the right-of-way, no matter the applicant. Sec. 15-51 grounds this permit program in Wis. 07(2) and states its purpose as promoting safe, orderly movement between county trunk highways and abutting property while protecting drainage structures; the fee for each permit is the amount set in the county's annual budget book under Sec. 15-2. Design standards in Sec. 15-54 set minimum access widths (16 feet for a single-family home with private access, 22-24 feet if shared) and route multi-family, subdivision and commercial applications to the Department's published intersection-detail drawings based on unit or square-footage thresholds. An applicant denied a permit may appeal under Chapter 18, Article IV of the county code (Sec. 15-57).