Palm Coast, FL Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Palm Coast's Right-of-Way Utilization Ordinance, codified at Sec. 42-31 through Sec. 42-56, requires a permit before any private party places, builds, installs or maintains a facility or structure within a City right-of-way, traveled way or dedicated easement. Sec. 42-37 opens permits to utility corporations, contractors responsible for installing or maintaining facilities, and private citizens, corporations or organizations with a legitimate purpose that poses no threat to public health, safety or welfare. Sec. 42-44 requires a single application form from the permitting office, available through the City's Development Services Department, filled out legibly in typewritten or printed ink with all requested information; incomplete applications are rejected outright. Only after the City approves the application and the applicant pays the fee does it return a signed copy as the permit.

Sec. 42-35(a) makes clear that the permit is a license for permissive use only, not a property right, and the City can revoke it if the work is or becomes a health or safety hazard or increases City maintenance burden. Sec. 42-45(b) requires the permit to stay on site while work is underway; any work found in progress without a valid permit on hand must stop until one is produced. Permits also expire: under Sec. 42-45(d), a permit becomes void if work does not begin within 90 days of the approval date or is not finished within one year, though a single 90-day extension is available on written request. Separately, Sec. 42-4 bars placing any nonfrangible item that poses a safety hazard within a right-of-way, with a narrow exception letting construction contractors stage equipment in the swale, at least two feet off the pavement, while a building permit is active.