Westminster, CA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required
- Written permit before any right-of-way excavation
- Deposit range
- $100 to $1,000+ depending on square footage
- Work start deadline
- Within 30 days of permit issuance
- Work completion deadline
- Within 90 days of permit issuance
- No-permit penalty
- Double fee under § 12.04.200
Summary
No one may excavate or build in or under a Westminster public right-of-way without a written encroachment permit backed by an engineering sketch or plan. Fees are set by council resolution, deposits scale with the size of the excavation, and starting work first without a permit doubles the required fee.
No person shall make any excavation or construction in or under the surface of any public-right-of-way without a written permit. Before a permit is issued a sketch or plan of the proposed excavation or construction shall be furnished by the applicant, to be attached to the encroachment permit. ... Should work be commenced by any person without first having obtained a right-of-way encroachment permit from the city, in addition to any other penalties imposed by this code, said person shall pay double the fee required by the resolution establishing fees adopted by the city.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4982734; v10 updated 2026-06-10).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 12.04, Excavation, requires a written permit before any excavation or construction in or under a public right-of-way, with a sketch or plan of the proposed work attached to the application (Section 12.04.010). The permit fee is set by city council resolution (Section 12.04.030), and the applicant must also post a deposit with the director of public services: one hundred dollars for excavations up to five hundred square feet per month, two hundred dollars up to one thousand square feet, one thousand dollars up to five thousand square feet, or twenty cents per square foot beyond that, payable as a cashier's check or a surety bond approved by the city attorney and city manager (Sections 12.04.050 and 12.04.060).
Once issued, a permit becomes void if excavation work does not begin within thirty days or is not completed within ninety days (Sections 12.04.070 and 12.04.080). The permittee must restore the street surface at their own cost and maintain it for one year, backfill properly, keep safe pedestrian and vehicle crossings at intervals no greater than six hundred feet, and post barriers and lights from sunset to sunrise until the excavation is refilled (Sections 12.04.090, 12.04.100, 12.04.140, and 12.04.160).
Violations & Fines
Commencing excavation before obtaining the right-of-way encroachment permit requires the responsible person to pay double the fee set by council resolution under Section 12.04.200(A), and paying the doubled fee does not excuse compliance with the chapter's backfilling, surface restoration, and barrier requirements or relieve the permittee of liability for damages under Section 12.04.180.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Westminster require a permit to dig in the public right-of-way?
What deposit does Westminster require for an excavation permit?
What happens if work starts in Westminster before getting an encroachment permit?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Westminster
California rules heatmap·Compare Westminster to another location·View the California sidewalk & pedestrian rules overview
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Encroachment Permits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Orange County handle encroachment permits.