Shasta County, CA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Code Section 12.08.020
- Required before permit
- Signed indemnity agreement
- Administering agency
- Department of Public Works
- State authority
- Sts. & Hwys. Code Ch. 5.5, Sec. 1450 et seq.
- No-permit exception
- Mailboxes outside roadbed
Summary
Anyone who wants to place a structure, driveway, or other encroachment in a Shasta County road right-of-way must first sign an indemnity agreement protecting the county before a permit issues, under Code Section 12.08.020. The department of public works administers the permits under Streets and Highways Code Chapter 5.5, and a narrow exemption lets mailboxes go up without a permit.
No encroachment permit shall be issued unless the applicant has first signed an agreement to indemnify and hold harmless the county, its officers, agents and employees from any and all liability which may arise for injury or damage to the person or property of the applicant or others resulting from the work done or the encroachment placed pursuant to the permit, or the manner in which the work is done or the encroachment placed or the manner, extent or lack of maintenance of the encroachment. The director of public works or his designee may execute on behalf of the county the agreements provided for by this section.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code: Supplement 22).
Full Breakdown
5, commencing at Section 1450, rather than under a freestanding county fee schedule. 020 then adds the county's own condition on top of the state process: before any encroachment permit is issued, the applicant must sign an agreement to indemnify and hold harmless the county, its officers, agents and employees from liability for injury or property damage arising from the work performed, the placement of the encroachment itself, or the way the encroachment is later maintained, or not maintained. That indemnity obligation runs both to the applicant's own risk and to third parties' claims, and it survives the initial construction, covering the ongoing extent or lack of maintenance of whatever was placed in the right-of-way.
The director of public works, or a designee, is authorized to sign the resulting agreement on the county's behalf, so no board action is required for a routine encroachment. 030 carves out one specific exception: mailboxes may go up on county highway rights-of-way outside the roadbed without any permit at all, so long as they meet United States Postal Service placement rules and the director's requirements, and so long as they do not endanger pedestrians or vehicles lawfully using the road.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 12.08 does not itself list a fine schedule; installing an encroachment such as a driveway approach, fence, or structure in a county right-of-way without the required permit and signed indemnity agreement is enforced as a violation of the county's general penalty, Chapter 1.08, an infraction unless the same violation recurs three times in twelve months, at which point it becomes a misdemeanor with up to a $1,000 fine or one year in jail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to sign anything before getting a Shasta County encroachment permit?
Who signs the indemnity agreement on the county's side?
Can I put up a mailbox in the county right-of-way without a permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Shasta County
California rules heatmap·Compare Shasta County to another location·View the California sidewalk & pedestrian rules overview
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