What is an encroachment permit and when does a plumbing job need one?

Legally, an encroachment is a trespass into someone else's space. The Cornell Legal Information Institute defines it as "an unauthorized intrusion onto a neighboring property through the creation or extension of a physical structure (including flora) above or below the surface of land." The key word is unauthorized. An encroachment permit is how you make it authorized.

In a city or state right of way, the "neighbor" is the public. In a utility easement, the neighbor is the utility that holds rights to the strip. Either can say yes, say no, or say yes with conditions.

There is no one Arizona-wide encroachment permit. Each agency writes its own rule, and the names overlap.

Surprise uses the word for commercial sewer repairs. Its code, Sec. 58-312(b), says that for anyone other than a single-family or duplex owner, "Whenever damage requires repair/replacement and off-property excavation, the contractor shall obtain from the city a permit to perform the repair/replacement and an encroachment permit to work in the public right-of-way." So a commercial owner in Surprise needs both a repair permit and an encroachment permit for one job.

Phoenix treats structures and things left in the street as encroachments. Its city code says that "Unless authorized as permitted by this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any person to temporarily or permanently place, construct, maintain or install a minor encroachment in the public right-of-way." Work such as taps and connections runs through the Planning & Development permit process. See whether commercial plumbing work in the street needs a right-of-way permit.

Mesa does not use the word for work permits. It uses a Right-of-Way Permit and makes it unlawful to excavate or "in any manner disturb or obstruct" the right-of-way or public easements without one (9-1-2). Different label, same job.

ADOT uses the word encroachment for anything in state right of way. Its page says "Permits are required for any work within the state right of way such as highways, driveways, grading, fence removal or replacement, surveying and geotechnical investigation." Each ADOT district office issues them.

Utility easements can have their own approval. Fountain Hills Sanitary District’s posted 2018 building-review checklist instructs applicants proposing work in a public utility easement containing a sewer main to contact the District for an easement encroachment permit. Confirm the current application and fee with the District; the recorded easement and proposed work matter.

Think of it as two questions: where is the work, and will something stay there afterward?

You almost certainly need approval in these cases:

• Off-property digging. Repairing or replacing a sewer lateral or water service past your lot line, or tapping a city main.
• Crossing the street or alley. Boring or trenching to bring a line to a new pad or building.
• Working in a utility easement. Any excavation in a strip the utility controls, even on your own lot.
• Leaving something behind. A vault, enclosure, cleanout box or fence-mounted equipment placed in the right of way or an easement.
• Staging in public space. Closing a lane, sidewalk or parking strip for equipment. See who handles traffic control when plumbing work closes a lane.

You usually do not need one for work fully inside your property line, like fixture replacement, interior drain work or a water heater. Those run through the normal plumbing permit.

These are two different approvals, and mixing them up causes delays.

A work permit lets a contractor dig, repair or connect, and it ends when the work is finished and inspected. The Mesa and Surprise permits above are of this kind.

A permanent encroachment lets you keep something in public space or in an easement. It is a longer-term agreement, and the agency can set conditions such as who pays if the utility later has to move or remove it. Mesa's code, for example, says the city may reimburse relocation costs in some cases but that a permit can be revoked if the space is needed for a city project.

1. 1Confirm who controls the ground. City street, alley, county road, state highway or utility easement each have a different office. Our page on the public right of way and your property line helps you sort that out.
2. 2Ask that office for its application and checklist. Expect to submit plans that show the line, the trench and the restoration.
3. 3Plan the Arizona 811 locate and traffic control so they line up with the permit dates.
4. 4Wait for approval before mobilizing. Digging first and asking later is how jobs get stop-work orders. Mesa's code, for one, lets the City Engineer issue a written stop work order for work contrary to the chapter.

### What an application usually asks for

Each agency has its own checklist, but the pieces repeat. Mesa's code says an applicant submits "an application and engineering plans" and that the City Engineer approves the permit if they meet the chapter and the city's right-of-way standards. Ask the controlling agency for its current application, plan, restoration, insurance and any security requirements; they depend on the permit and scope.

Put simply, expect to show where the line runs, where the trench goes, how the street or easement gets restored, and that someone is insured and on the hook if it goes wrong.

### Who pulls it

The contractor doing the work normally applies, since the permit ties to the crew, the insurance and the traffic control. As the owner you still sign off on the scope, and you stay responsible for what stays behind in the ground. See whether commercial plumbing work in the street needs a right-of-way permit for how the pieces fit together on a commercial job.

HQ Plumbing & Air can walk your site and tell you which of these approvals your job needs before we quote it. We are licensed and insured, estimates are free, and you get the price up front before work starts.

This page explains general concepts and is not legal advice. Agencies rename and revise their permits, and fees change, so confirm the current rule and fee with the agency that controls the ground.