What can go in a public utility easement: fence, dumpster pad, parking, trees?

Often yes, if it is the removable kind. Two Valley cities write it into their plat rules.

• Chandler: "Construction within the easement shall be limited to public services, utilities, and wood, wire or removable section type fencing."
• Glendale: final plats carry a note that "construction and improvements within easements shall be limited to only the following: a. Wood, wire or removable section-type fencing. b. Construction, structures or buildings expressly approved in writing by all public utilities and the City of Glendale which use or shall use the utility easement."

Both lists are about a fence that can be taken down in sections when a crew needs the ground. A block wall is not on either list. In Glendale it would need written approval from every utility and the city.

Other cities handle it by permit. Cave Creek requires a permit, approval of the planned work and town inspection for "any structures, including utility lines and poles, pipelines, signs, and plantings" in a public utility easement, and the Fountain Hills Sanitary District says that "even if all you want to do is plant a tree in an established public utility easement or enclose the easement within your backyard, you must have permission from the utilities to do so."

Mostly no, and where yes, with limits. The landscape rules for development sites are the clearest.

• Glendale: "No trees shall be permitted within a Public Utility Easement (PUE)."
• Buckeye: "Trees are not permitted within public utility easement (PUE) areas, unless approved by the appropriate utility interest(s) and the City."
• Avondale: "Trees may be located within three (3) feet of either edge of the public utility easements, leaving a minimum five-foot clear zone within the easement, as approved by the city engineer or authorized designee. Shrubs and groundcover are permissible within the full width of the easement area."

Those provisions are written for landscape plans on development sites, so check the exact section for your zoning. The common thread: trees are barred or approved case by case, while shrubs and groundcover are the safer choice.

Here the sources are quiet. Chandler's and Glendale's plat rules list what is allowed, and a dumpster enclosure, a masonry screen wall and paved parking are not among the items. None of the codes we reviewed names a dumpster pad or parking stall as expressly allowed or banned in an easement.

What that means for a commercial owner:

1. 1Treat anything permanent as something to approve. Slabs, enclosures and walls are permanent.
2. 2Paving is different from structures, but it still sits on the line. Ask the holder whether it accepts pavement over its main and who pays to replace it after a repair.
3. 3Keep access clear. Scottsdale's code says no person shall place on or about a sewer line any "structure of any kind that will prevent free access to or flow of the same at all times." A pad or enclosure over a manhole or cleanout invites that problem.
4. 4Ask for the answer in writing. Verbal okays do not survive a change of staff or ownership.

For a building, see whether a commercial building can be built over a sewer or water easement.

The owner usually keeps the surface. Scottsdale's code says "Unless otherwise indicated on the dedicating document, all easements including public utility, water, and sewer easements shall be maintained by the private property owner in the same manner as rights-of-way."

If a utility has to dig, what happens to your fence or planting depends on the rules. Our page on whether a utility can tear out a fence or slab in an easement goes through who pays. For work you do yourself, see whether a plumber needs permission to work inside a utility easement.

1. 1Pull the plat and any recorded easement, which tells you the width, the purpose and the holders. See how to find the utility easements on your commercial property.
2. 2Read the plat notes. They are where fence and structure limits usually live.
3. 3Contact each holder. A strip can be shared by a city, an electric utility, a gas company and communications providers.
4. 4Get the approval in writing, and record it if the code requires.
5. 5Call Arizona 811 before any digging, including fence posts and tree holes.

For a side-by-side of city rules, the utility easement rules by Valley city page compares them. HQ Plumbing & Air inspects and repairs sewer and water lines, with free estimates and upfront pricing, and can show you where a line actually runs before you build.

This page explains general rules and is not legal advice. The recorded easement, plat notes, lease terms and the holder's written approval control.