City of Mill Creek

Apply for a City of Mill Creek Right-of-Way Permit at MyBuildingPermit.com.

Find City of Mill Creek Street and Development Standard Details at City Standard Details.

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This web page offers general guidance in response to common questions asked about the City of Mill Creek Right-of-Way permit. 

 

Guidance is provided below for the following questions:

 

1.    1.  How do I apply for a Right-of-Way (ROW) Permit?

2.    2.  What documents do I need to submit for a ROW Permit application?

3.    3.  I am a homeowner or resident hiring a contractor?  Should I apply for the ROW permit or have my contractor apply for the ROW permit?

4.    4.  What happens after my application is submitted?  How long does it take to get a ROW permit?

5.    5.  Why do I need a ROW Permit?

6.    6.  Why may I need a ROW Permit if the work is on my own property (like a driveway replacement)?  What if trucks are just parked on the street like any other car?

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How do I apply for a Right-of-Way (ROW) Permit?

Apply for a City of Mill Creek Right-of-Way Permit at MyBuildingPermit.com.

The application process for all Mill Creek is online through the MyBuildingPermit.com website.  That web service incorporates everything you need for your entire project or other work in the ROW.

You will need to create an account on MyBuildingPermit.com in order to get started.  Once logged in, use "City of Mill Creek" for your Jurisdiction and you will be taken to your choice of possible permit applications.

Once you open a ROW permit application on the website, the application will guide you step-by-step in the information to provide and the documents (e.g. site plan drawing, traffic control plans, etc.) to attach to your application.  You will also be able to receive and respond to city review comments on your application, pay permit fees, and obtain your final, approved permit.

When you are ready to start work, you can use your MyBuildingPermit.com account and your permit to provide notice to the city of start of work and schedule inspections, if required.

What documents do I need to submit for a ROW Permit application?

The documents listed below are the minimum necessary to proceed with the application process; however, additional documents may be required in order to complete the review.

 

1.  The Site Plan
A detailed Site Plan showing the location of the proposed work area and what sorts of work will be performed.  Details on the site plan should include, but not be limited to, streets, sidewalks, nearby buildings and driveways, trench location(s), existing utilities, etc.

The Site Plan may not only be a single drawing.  It may combine multiple drawings, photographs, and/or text documents that together provide an overall and complete description of the work.

All applicable Mill Creek Standard Detail drawings (i.e. Restoration Detail and Partial Depth Pavement Patching, Typical Conduit Trench Detail, etc.) need to be included in or with the submitted Site Plan.  Just referring to these drawings in your Site Plan is not sufficient.

Find City of Mill Creek Street and Development Standard Details at City Standard Details.

2.  TheTraffic Control Plan

2.    A Traffic Control Plan, sometimes referred to as a "TCP", details all temporary traffic control devices, signage, flaggers, warnings required for vehicular, bicycle, and/or pedestrian traffic affected by work or other activities impacting use of the ROW.  The Traffic Control Plan can follow general guidance formats, but needs to be appropriate for the specific location, including street and sidewalk dimensions, distances to intersections and driveways, etc.  Multiple Traffic Control Plans may be needed if the work for your ROW permit will be in different locations or areas, or may occupy different parts of the ROW at different times.  

 

The Traffic Control Plan(s) must be prepared in accordance with the current edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) as well as City requirements. 

 

I am a homeowner or resident hiring a contractor?  Should I apply for the ROW permit or have my contractor apply for the ROW permit?

It is normal, especially for any sort of construction work, for the contractor to apply for the ROW permit.  Although the contractor is performing work for you, it is the contractor performing the work that impacts the use of the ROW.

The contractor is providing the vehicles, equipment, and personnel affecting the safe public use of the ROW.  The contractor knows the sizes of their vehicles and equipment, and the size of the work areas they may need around each vehicle or piece of equipment to work safely.  The contractor has the primary responsibility while doing the work to maintain safe, responsible practices that comply with local, state, and federal laws.  Finally, the ROW permit does have liability insurance requirements that are more typical of contractors than homeowners.

 

Traffic Control Plan(s) complying with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) may require hiring someone to prepare the plans.  Not all contractors are familiar with this, so make sure you discuss this with your contractor in advance, so your contractor can subcontract this service in order to support your project.  This can often be combined with rental of signs and other traffic control devices by your contractor.

What happens after my application is submitted?  How long does it take to get a ROW permit?

STEP ONE – PRELIMINARY REVIEW

 

We will do a preliminary review of your application within two (2) business days of your online application submittal.  There are two possible outcomes after the preliminary review:

 

1. If we determine your application includes all required documents, we will accept your application and send you an invoice through MyBuildingPermit.com.  Payment of submittal fees are due upon receipt of invoice.

 

2. We will not accept your application if it is missing any of the listed required documents. We will tell you what we need in order to accept your application.  You will submit the required documents through your MyBuildingPermit.com dashboard.

 

Acceptance by the preliminary review is not approval of your application.  This review just verifies your application is complete with all required documents.

 

STEP TWO – MAIN REVIEW

 

Once your application has been accepted, we will review your application and submitted documents to ensure all public safety and design standards and codes are being met.  This review may also include special requests for variance from applicable standards and codes.

 

Reviews of most ROW permit applications take up to ten (10) business days from the date the application is accepted.

 

If no revisions are required and once all applicable permit fees have been paid, your permit application will be signed as approved by the City Engineer or designee.  Your approved permit will contain all the applicable conditions of approval.

 

If revisions are required, we will send you our review comments requesting corrections or revisions.

 

Once we receive revisions, we will consider whether they have satisfied the previous review comments, or if additional corrections and/or additional documents are necessary. 

 

It is difficult to estimate how long it can take to get permit approval if there are multiple exchanges of revision requests and responses between an applicant and the City.  Applicants are strongly encouraged to be as clear as possible with responses to comments.  In the event a review comment is not understandable to the applicant, the applicant is encouraged to reach out to the City with questions.

 

When submitting revisions back to the City:

 

• Identify revised/added information by circling, noting, or otherwise consistently marking changes on the site plan(s) and/or traffic control plan(s).
• Submit your revisions, or any questions you have about requested corrections or revisions to Permit Processing through your MyBuildingPermit.com Dashboard by clicking Submit Documents under the Files & Document section.  Do not submit these directly back to the City reviewer(s).

Why do I need a ROW Permit?

A Right-of-Way (ROW) permit is the primary tool that Mill Creek uses to maintain safe public use of our streets, sidewalks, bike lanes, and adjacent landscaped or natural areas included in the ROW.  This tool is created and required by Mill Creek Municipal Code (MCMC 12.04).  The permit is used to review and approve any activity that may restrict, limit, or impact public use of all public rights-of-way within our City limits.

 

When obtaining a permit, the applicant shows the City describes the activities that will, or may, impact the use of the ROW.  The applicant also shows what temporary protections are proposed to achieve the following goals:

1.  Warn the public of limits, restrictions, and impacts to their safe use of the ROW as they approach the locations or areas of the permitted activities.

2.  Guide, when possible, public users of the ROW around (occasionally through) these activity areas safely.

These activities can also include work on private property adjacent to public rights-of-way, if that work also involves blocking or obstructing streets or sidewalks.  Landscaping, utility connections, loading or unloading trucks (especially for significant periods of time, such as for moving trucks), driveway replacement or repair, and vegetation or tree removal are all just a few of the example activities that can impact public use of our ROW.

Without a ROW permit, there is no opportunity for:

 

·      1.  City staff to review with an applicant a proposed activity and the existing street/ROW conditions at the location of that activity. 

 

·       2.  The City confirm public safety and access concerns have been addressed in advance. 

 

·      3.  The applicant and/or contractor learning what City rules and requirements may apply to or affect their work or activities (i.e. acceptable working hours, lane closure hours, required restoration conditions once activities are completed, etc.).

4.  The applicant and/or contractor having an opportunity to learn what other ROW activities might be in their vicinity, which may overlap and conflict with those of the applicant.

It is "too little, too late" for everyone to identify actual and potential problems only after the activities have begun, especially if accidents or similar problems occur!

Our ROW permits provide applicants with key information on City and regional requirements that may apply to their activities, including other work or activities that may conflict.  Other public services in our ROW, like Community Transit or school district buses and bus stops may be affected by ROW permits.  We have two State Highways passing through Mill Creek, and impacts on those streets often need to involve the Washington State Department of Transportation or Snohomish County. 

 

The City also uses this permit to review and approve construction activities within the Mill Creek ROW that will build permanent street and related features that will be used in the future (e.g. new or replaced sidewalk, asphalt patches for street surfaces, new or replaced striping, etc.).

Why may I need a ROW Permit if the work is on my own property (like a driveway replacement)?  What if trucks are just parked on the street like any other car?

Activities mainly contained within private property next to the ROW may still require a ROW permit if the work ends up creating the same sorts of potential limits, restrictions, or impacts to safe public use of the ROW as activities actually within the ROW.  Landscaping, utility connections, loading or unloading trucks (especially for significant periods of time, such as for moving trucks), driveway replacement or repair, and vegetation or tree removal are all just a few of the example activities that can impact public use of our ROW; despite much or all of the actual activity being within your own property. 

Here are a few examples:

 

1.    Vehicles associated with construction, landscaping, moving, or similar activities are often wider than the vehicles normally parked on our residential streets.  Several of Mill Creek’s residential streets are also fairly narrow, even for those normal parked cars.  A larger construction or moving vehicle, such as a dump truck, flatbed or trailer truck, or cement mixer truck, may obstruct safe two-way use of a street, even if it is stationary at the curb.

 

2.    Vehicles or equipment, even if parked on the street, can be actively involved in the activities.  A dump truck could be in the process of being loaded with demolished driveway and other debris.  A concrete truck may be pouring concrete into a new driveway area.  A moving truck may have a long loading ramp down with movers actively moving furniture or boxes in or out of the truck. 

In all cases like these examples, the area where vehicles or equipment might be parked does “count” as part of the overall work area.

3.    Several sorts of work on adjacent property may require construction or moving vehicles to be parked at a single location for longer than 24 hours.  Normally, that is not allowed by Mill Creek Municipal Code for street side parking.  But, if sustained parking periods is needed, that request can be reviewed and potentially approved through a ROW permit.

 

Finally, at many locations in Mill Creek where private property meets the public ROW, the actual boundary line for the City ROW line is typically a few feet behind the back of the curb or edge of pavement.  This is true regardless of whether a sidewalk is present or not, and most traffic and street signs are located within this area.  Consequently, when working near the street and even if it seems like the work is part of a private property, it still may actually involve working within the Mill Creek ROW.  If so, that can result in the work or activity needing to comply with particular street and development standards required for the ROW.