Rock Hill, SC Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Chapter 26's Article VI, 'Rights-of-Way,' adopted by Ordinance No. 2007-27 in 2007, grew out of city council findings that undergrounding utilities protects the streetscape and reduces accident and outage risk. Section 26-134 defines 'street' broadly to include the surface of and space above any city street, sidewalk, easement, or right-of-way used for utility wires, cables, poles, or pipes, and 'operator' to include any firm or entity with an interest in a utility. Section 26-135 sets an administrative fee, listed in Appendix A of the Code, to cover the city's cost of regulating street use by utilities; the fee does not apply to the city's own utility department or to utilities the city is legally barred from charging.

Under § 26-136, an operator must file an encroachment permit application and pay that fee before placing any utility in a city street: at least five business days ahead for a single-customer service line, or 30 calendar days ahead for a distribution line, though one application can cover an entire new residential subdivision instead of a separate filing per lot. Operators in good standing with no past-due balance may request to be invoiced and pay within 30 days instead of paying with the application. No utility may be placed in the street without the permit, and the permit itself must specify the proposed location and bind the recipient to repair any damage to vegetation, streets, or other utilities, carry adequate insurance, and indemnify the city against claims arising from the encroachment.