West Jordan, UT Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)

City Code section 8-8-3(A)(1) makes it unlawful for any person, agency or entity to encroach, or cause an encroachment, on, over, under or within any right-of-way in the city without first obtaining a permit from the city engineer. "Encroach" is defined broadly in section 8-8-2 to include excavating, stockpiling material, building a pathway, curb, driveway or structure, planting or removing vegetation, or parking an oversized vehicle in the right-of-way. Section 8-8-3(A)(2) carves out one exception: an owner, lessee or person in active agricultural use immediately abutting the right-of-way may use its untraveled portion for growing and maintaining crops without a permit, as long as that use does not interfere with traffic or drainage.

Applicants file with the city engineer, pay the council-adopted fee, and post any required security and insurance certificate before a permit issues, per section 8-8-3(B) and (E)(1). If someone is caught encroaching without a valid, unexpired permit, section 8-8-3(E)(3) requires them to pay a fee equal to two times the normal encroachment permit fee, on top of the criminal and civil exposure in section 8-8-17. That section makes an unpermitted encroachment a class B misdemeanor with each day a separate offense, and sets civil penalties of $1,500 per day on a residential street, $2,500 per day on a collector street, and $5,000 per day on an arterial street. The public works department enforces the chapter under section 8-8-13 and may pursue civil or criminal remedies, or both, at its discretion.