How to get a right-of-way permit in Loveland

Loveland requires a permit for work in its public right-of-way, including excavation, sidewalk work and dumpsters.

Here’s which permit to use, what to submit, how to apply and what it costs.

Which Loveland right-of-way permit do I need?

Use the Major ROW application for work on collector or arterial roadways. The Minor ROW application is designated for local roadways, concrete work, dumpsters and PODS.

Loveland lists a Revocable Encroachment Permit Application for obstructions or encroachments on a street, alley, sidewalk or public right-of-way, including fences, barriers, posts, railings and seating. The city offers restaurants and businesses the option of using public sidewalks for outdoor dining, seating and signage. In the Downtown DT Zone, only permanent or semi-permanent installations, such as railing enclosures, require an encroachment permit. All objects placed there, including tables, chairs and planters, must comply with the downtown encroachment design guidelines. The encroachment application also requires a ROW permit before work begins.

A Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) permit is required for work in a state highway right-of-way. That includes the portions of Buchanan, Cleveland, Garfield and Lincoln avenues that are part of US Highway 287; Eisenhower Boulevard on US Highway 34; 14th Street SE on State Highway 402; and 42nd SE on State Highway 60. For work on a state highway within Loveland, the city requires both a Colorado Department of Highways permit and a city ROW permit. It will not issue its permit without documentation from the state.

What must I submit with my application?

The ROW application asks for:

• Your name, company, address, city, state, ZIP code, phone number and email.
• Your subcontractor and the subcontractor’s phone number.
• Whether it is a city project and, if so, the project manager’s name.
• The party responsible for payment.
• The work address or intersection, start and completion dates, and a description of the work.

For a ROW permit, the city requires these items with the application; incomplete packages will not be considered for review:

• A completed application signed by the party responsible for the work.
• An approved certificate of liability insurance. The Major ROW application requires the certificate to be on file with Public Works and to match the permit applicant.
• A traffic control plan attached for department review.
• A CDOT State Highway Utility/Special Use Permit, when applicable.

The city’s insurance requirements call for:

• Commercial general liability insurance covering broad-form property damage, completed operations contractual liability, explosion hazard, collapse hazard and underground property damage hazard.
• At least $1,000,000 per occurrence for bodily injury or death and $500,000 per occurrence for property damage.
• $1,000,000 in comprehensive automobile liability coverage.
• Workers’ compensation insurance as required by state law.
• The city listed as additionally insured on general liability and auto liability coverage.

The city may accept an approved insurance certificate annually. If your company has a current certificate on file, you do not need to submit another with each application. To check whether yours has expired, call (970) 962-2524.

The encroachment application asks for your and the property owner’s contact details, the encroachment location, parcel number and business name. It also requires a separate detailed drawing of the proposed elements, such as railings, overhead structures, furniture, umbrellas and outdoor heaters, showing materials, colors and finishes. If your establishment has a liquor license with the city and state, you must contact the City Clerk’s office to review the encroachment’s effect on that license. Permits for new utilities require detailed construction drawings under the city’s construction-drawing requirements.

How do I submit a permit application?

You can submit a completed ROW application package by email or in person. ROW and encroachment applications may also be faxed; the encroachment application accepts delivery. Loveland Public Works Administration Building hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Permit submission and questions

• Loveland Engineering Division

  Phone

  (970) 962-2627

  Email

  [email protected]

  Address

  2525 W. First Street, Loveland, CO 80537

  Hours

  8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday

  Fax: (970) 962-2908

What fees or financial surety might I need?

The Major and Minor ROW applications list the following charges. The 2026 fee schedule also lists an inspection fee for work outside normal working hours:

Work or service	Charge	What the charge covers
Concrete work, dumpsters and PODS	$75	Application
Minor roadway excavation	$225	Application
Major excavation	$450	Application
Excavation — non-paved streets or alleys	$0.50 per square foot	Excavation
Excavation — streets older than 5 years	$3.50 per square foot	Excavation
Excavation — streets 5 years and newer	$15.00 per square foot	Excavation
Potholing or vacuum excavation — non-paved streets or alleys	$7.00 each	Potholing or vacuum excavation
Potholing or vacuum excavation — streets older than 5 years	$25.00 each	Potholing or vacuum excavation
Potholing or vacuum excavation — streets 5 years and newer	$65.00 each	Potholing or vacuum excavation
Horizontal boring and tunneling	$0.55 per lineal foot	Horizontal boring and tunneling
Inspection outside normal working hours	$90.00	Outside Mon - Fri, 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

For a street or travel-lane closure, the city’s closure requirements call for financial surety covering the cost of the proposed right-of-way work. It may be cash, a letter of credit or a bond. Loveland may also require surety in one of those forms equal to or greater than the value of the work, as the city determines. The 2026 schedule lists the fine for failing to obtain a ROW permit as double fees or $500.00, whichever is more; it displays $500.00 as the amount.

How far ahead should I apply?

ROW permit approval can take up to 10 business days, not counting the day you submit the application. Projects requiring extensive traffic control or lane or street closures need additional review time. The city Traffic Department needs at least one week’s notice for work on arterial streets or Colorado state highways within city limits. The city’s closure requirements, approved Aug. 27, 2014, call for at least seven days of review after a complete submittal.

Inspection staff answer ROW permit questions Monday through Friday until 4 p.m. Permits submitted after 4 p.m. will be reviewed the next work day. You must call 48 hours before starting work to schedule an inspection. The 2026 schedule lists a $250.00 fine for failing to give that notice or commencing work without it.

What rules apply to street or lane closures?

You must obtain city approval before closing a street or travel lane and meet its Street and Lane Closure Requirements. For a closure, the city requires these submittals and actions:

• Notify emergency services of the closure before work starts.
• Public-notification documents.
• A detailed construction schedule with target dates.
• Final construction drawings.
• A construction cost estimate.
• Surety for 100% of construction costs.
• An insurance certificate naming the city as additionally insured.
• A traffic control plan.
• Utility-company letters or sign-offs on the construction plans.

The detailed schedule must show the activities and their planned start and completion dates. It must be approved before the ROW permit is issued and before work begins. Traffic control plans need city Traffic Division approval. Traffic must be maintained on rights-of-way, with flaggers wherever orderly flow is interrupted and signs and barricades that comply with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and its latest Colorado supplement.

Arterial or state highway closures are not allowed between 6:30 and 8:30 A.M. or 3:30 and 6:30 P.M. without permitted approval. The Major ROW application makes you responsible for notifying adjacent property owners and residents, emergency services and school districts adjacent to the work zone. For a lane or road closure, you must notify property owners and residents, emergency services and school districts adjacent to the work zone at least 48 hours beforehand.

What if my work schedule changes?

Permits are valid for 90 days. You should notify your assigned inspector if your planned start or completion dates change. The city warns that inaccurate dates on a ROW application are subject to fines. A closure allowed without arterial or state highway time restrictions must still finish by the permit completion date or you are subject to fines.

The 2026 permit-violation schedule lists these fines:

Violation	Street or work type	Fine
Exceeding permit completion date	Concrete	$150.00 per day
Exceeding permit completion date	Excavation	$400.00 per day
Exceeding street-closure completion date	Arterial or state highway	$1,750.00 per day
Exceeding street-closure completion date	Collector	$750.00 per day
Exceeding street-closure completion date	Local street	$400.00 per day
Exceeding street-lane-closure completion date	Arterial or state highway	$750.00 per day
Exceeding street-lane-closure completion date	Collector	$400.00 per day
Work-hour restriction violation	Local or collector street	$80.00 per half hour or portion thereof
Work-hour restriction violation	Arterial or state highway	$700.00 per half hour or portion thereof