Chesterfield County, VA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Encroachment Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Approval authority
- County administrator or designee
- Application requires
- Written plan or sketch
- Post-work step
- Notify office for inspection
- Appeal deadline
- 30 days to board of supervisors
- Waiver available
- For routine, limited-scope work
Summary
No one may do any work in a Chesterfield County street, highway, right-of-way, easement or other public-use area without first getting written approval from the county administrator or a designee. An aggrieved applicant can appeal a denial to the board of supervisors within 30 days.
No person shall do work of any kind in any street, highway, public right-of-way, easement or other area dedicated to public use within the county, without having first made application, accompanied by a plan or sketch, to the county administrator or his designee, and having received from the county administrator or his designee approval to do the work and use the area... A person making an application under this section who is aggrieved by a decision of the county administrator or his designee may appeal that decision to the board of supervisors by filing an appeal with the clerk of the board no later than 30 days after the date of such decision.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 80).
Full Breakdown
County Code § 16-2 requires anyone doing work of any kind in a street, highway, public right-of-way, easement, or other area dedicated to public use to first submit an application, along with a plan or sketch, to the county administrator or a designee, and to receive approval before starting the work or using the area. All construction or repair work must follow the approved plans and specifications and any written instructions the administrator's office issues, though the administrator may waive the formal plan requirement for routine work that is limited enough in scope not to need detailed plans.
Once work is finished, the person who obtained the approval must immediately notify the administrator's office so the work can be inspected promptly. 1 or the county subdivision ordinance's dedication provisions. This permit sits in Chapter 16's Article I, governing street and easement construction and development, rather than in the zoning ordinance, so it applies to work such as trenching, utility connections, and driveway or sidewalk cuts into the public way regardless of the underlying zoning district.
Violations & Fines
A person aggrieved by the county administrator's decision on an application, including a denial, may appeal to the board of supervisors by filing with the clerk of the board no later than 30 days after the decision, and no one else has standing to appeal. The code does not set a separate fine schedule in this section; unapproved work in the right-of-way is enforced as unauthorized use of public property subject to the administrator ordering correction or removal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need county approval before digging in a Chesterfield right-of-way?
Can I appeal if Chesterfield County denies my right-of-way work application?
Does every right-of-way project need detailed plans?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chesterfield County
Compare Chesterfield County to another location·View the Virginia sidewalk & pedestrian rules overview
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