Woodland, CA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

Woodland Municipal Code Section 12.04.040(B) makes it unlawful for any person to encroach on, alter, or place an obstruction or impediment of any nature on a public right-of-way or watercourse, or to move an oversized or overweight vehicle over it, without first obtaining a permit from the Director of Public Works under Chapter 12.08. Subsection (C) separately bars using any portion of a sidewalk in the City for the storage or display of goods, wares, and merchandise without an encroachment permit, covering the common case of a business setting furniture, racks, or signage out on the public walk.

'Encroach' is defined broadly in Section 12.04.020 to include erecting a fence, sign pole, or other structure over or under a right-of-way, planting anything in it, or leaving materials such as rubbish, construction spoil, or earth on it. The chapter carves out narrow exceptions: Section 12.04.030 exempts City employees on official duty, residents who set out a City-issued garbage, recycling, or yard waste container the evening before a scheduled collection day and remove it promptly afterward, and portable signs placed outside the vehicular street cross-section that do not block an accessible pedestrian path.

Permit applications go to the Director of Public Works under Chapter 12.08, which requires maps or diagrams showing the location and dimensions of the proposed encroachment and, where State or Federal authority is involved, that agency's written consent before the City will issue a permit. Any violation of another Municipal Code provision, such as the sign chapter, while working under an encroachment permit is itself grounds for the City to revoke that permit under Section 12.04.010.