Portsmouth, VA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Sec. 32-9 sits in Chapter 32's general obstruction rules and works alongside several related provisions from the same article. Sec. 32-10 requires anyone who places building material, house lumber or another obstruction on a Portsmouth street to mark it at night with a sufficient number of flashing yellow lighted barricades so the public sees the danger. Sec. 32-11 gives the owner of a fire-damaged building five days after a fire to remove all timbers, bricks, debris or other materials that fell into the streets from that building.

Sec. 32-12 goes further than the permit option in Sec. 32-9: it bans stationary showcases and permanent stands from city streets outright, with no permit available at all. Sec. 32-26 separately prohibits dumping bricks, stone, iron, construction materials, soils or other debris on any paved street. Read together, the scheme lets the city engineer authorize a specific, temporary obstruction case by case through the Sec. 32-9 permit, while treating certain categories, permanent stands, fire debris left too long, and dumped construction material, as never permittable.

A permit applicant has to get city engineer sign-off before placing the container or obstruction in the right-of-way; nothing in Sec. 32-9 sets fixed conditions the engineer must apply, leaving the decision to the engineer's judgment on a case-by-case basis. Any damage to the street, curb or right-of-way from an unpermitted obstruction falls on the person responsible, in addition to whatever fine attaches to the violation itself.