Pocatello, ID Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Chapter 12.16, Street Excavations, governs any private cut into the public right of way. Section 12.16.010 makes it unlawful to excavate in or under a public street, alley, sidewalk, curb, or gutter, for a pipe, conduit, duct, tunnel, or any other purpose, without a written permit from the building department. Section 12.16.020 requires the application to show the work to be done, its location, the limits of work, and where pavement will be replaced; an emergency cut still requires notifying the engineering department and securing a permit the next working day.

Section 12.16.030 sets the permit fee by City Council resolution and requires the application at least twenty four hours before excavation begins; permits are non-transferable, carry a completion deadline, and become void if that deadline passes without an extension from the director of public works. If a permittee does not restore public property to a condition the building department accepts, the City restores it and bills the permittee the cost plus fifteen percent. Section 12.16.070 makes excavating outside the location described in the permit a separate misdemeanor.

All excavation, refilling, and street surface repair under the chapter is carried out under the supervision and direction of the city engineer per section 12.16.230.