​The Land Development Division recently announced two important updates regarding permit applications for work within the County rights-of-way. The first update relates to new application requirements, and the second covers new utility separation requirements from existing utilities.

Update #1

The Land Development Division recently identified an opportunity to improve the process of obtaining Land Development approvals for work within the County rights-of-way.

Effective 09/18/2025, applicants for a Utility (UT), Right of Way (RW), or Landscape (LA) permit will no longer have to enter a description of the work being done within each affected County road right-of-way. Instead, the applicant will:

• Provide a brief “Description/Scope of Work" (limited to 250 characters).
• Select the specific road rights-of-way where the work is proposed.

This improvement should save time for both applicants and staff.

When writing a Description/Scope of Work, applicants are asked to provide key terms such as (but not limited to) the following: construction, directional bore, water main or force main installation/connection, drainage connection, pole replacement, overhead work, underground work, driveway or sidewalk connection, lane installation, open cut, etc.

Also include project limits, for example:

• ​“Kirk Road from Summit Blvd to Forest Hill Blvd".
• Or if proposing work on multiple streets, the applicant can reference the neighborhood, for example “All streets within Lake Belvedere Estates".

Here are a couple of example descriptions:

1. Construction of a new 6" DIP water main tying into existing City of Boynton Beach Water Main under the existing sidewalk on the southwest corner of Military Trail and Pipers Glen Blvd.
2. Directional bore 4" HDPE conduit on Old Okeechobee Blvd west of N Florida Mango Road, including installation of handholes and cabinet.
3. Connection to existing drainage structure within the right-of-way of Jog Road for a new subdivision.

Update #2

The following notes are now required to be added to plans and will also be added as conditions of new permits:

• Coordinate with the local utility providers and provide the clearances to existing utilities established by those agencies. At a minimum, maintain 6 feet of horizontal clearance between proposed underground facilities and existing small-diameter utilities (12 inches or smaller in diameter) wall-to-wall, and a minimum of 18 inches of vertical clearance.
• Vertical separation between any large reclaimed water main, raw water main, force main, or potable water main (16 inches or larger in diameter) shall be 3.0 feet (36 inches) minimum, and the horizontal separation shall be 10 feet minimum. These minimums may be reduced through coordination with the utility ​​​on a case-by-case basis.
• When in the jurisdiction of the Palm Beach County Water Utilities Department (PBCWUD)​, the Permittee/contractor shall contact PBCWUD Communications at (561) 740-4600 at least three (3) business days prior to the start of work, and PBCWUD O&M Department must be present during all work near existing potable water, raw water, reclaimed water, and force mains (16 inches or larger in diameter).