Walla Walla County, WA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

WWCC 12.26.020.D lets an individual, firm or corporation apply to temporarily obstruct all or a portion of a public right-of-way for work or staging tied to land development, building construction, or other construction activity connected to a county land use or construction permit. That authorization does not substitute for the permit itself: Section 12.26.030 separately requires anyone desiring to obstruct all or part of a right-of-way to obtain the necessary permits from the county and pay any required fees, and it lets the county engineer impose conditions to protect safe vehicular and pedestrian travel while the encroachment is in place.

Section 12.26.040 adds a hold-harmless agreement and a certificate of insurance naming the county as an additional insured. Equipment, staging materials or structures left in the right-of-way without that permit become a prohibited obstruction under Section 12.26.050.A, which the code applies "whether placed by permit or without permit," so an unpermitted encroachment is treated the same as one that was never authorized to begin with. Section 12.26.060 also gives the county or a franchised utility the right to remove any obstruction, permitted or not, for street or utility construction or repair, without reimbursement to the property owner, and Section 12.26.070 requires 15 calendar days' written notice before the county forces removal of an obstruction outside that emergency context. Chapter 12.01's general Title 12 penalty provision routes enforcement of unpermitted encroachments to Chapter 14.13, with appeals running to the hearing examiner.