Yolo County, CA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

Yolo County Code Sec. 606 sets the specific-use standards applied to building permits, Site Plan Reviews, and Use Permits in the commercial zones, and subsection (e) covers private encroachment onto sidewalks directly: outdoor dining is allowed within the public right-of-way, but only after the operator obtains an encroachment permit, and a five-foot clear sidewalk path for pedestrians must be preserved, shrinking to a three-foot minimum only if five feet is not feasible on that block. The same chapter reaches building elements that project over the walk: Sec.

606(a)(3)(ii) lets balconies, bay windows, arcades, and awnings extend into a front setback or the street right-of-way, but they cannot cross the curb line, must clear a minimum height above the sidewalk, and must still leave a five-foot unobstructed sidewalk. Before any such projection is built, the applicant must get an encroachment permit from the County Planning, Public Works and Environmental Services Department, or from Caltrans if the frontage is a state highway. Countywide code enforcement, Yolo County Code Sec. 04, treats an unpermitted encroachment as a violation of the Code and a public nuisance; the Enforcement Official can pursue a courtesy notice, an administrative citation, abatement, a stop-work order, or revocation of related permits and entitlements, and each day the encroachment stays in place is a separate offense.