Right of Way Permit ($15,000) Bond - City of Tacoma, WA in Washington

Brief Summary

Tacoma will not issue a right of way permit until a $15,000 bond is already on file in your company name. It is not a per job filing. One bond covers your work in the city, and it stays in force while you keep pulling permits, so the sensible move is to put it in place before you bid the work rather than after a permit gets held up at the counter.

The City of Tacoma requires a $15,000 right of way bond under Tacoma Municipal Code 10.22.070.F before it issues a right of way permit. The City of Tacoma is the obligee and the bond is written on the City's own Right of Way Bond form with the original power of attorney attached. The $15,000 is the full amount for an ordinary permit, but it is only the floor for a Billable Work Order, where the code sets the bond at the value of the work to be performed.

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How to Apply for a Right of Way Permit ($15,000) Bond:

• Confirm which permit you are pulling. An ordinary right of way permit takes the flat $15,000. A Billable Work Order takes the value of the work, with $15,000 as the floor.
• Check the exemptions first, including City department work, a valid City sign erector's license, sidewalk replacement abutting your own property under $15,000, and single family homeowner sewer repair done by hand on the property.
• Have the full legal company name exactly as it appears on the permit application.
• Owner or principal name, home address and Social Security number for the credit review.
• Complete the bond application and review the quoted premium.
• Have the surety execute the City of Tacoma Right of Way Bond form and attach the original power of attorney with the seal or ink stamp.
• Mail the original bond to Planning and Development Services, 747 Market Street, Room 345, Tacoma, WA 98402, and confirm it is on file before the permit is requested.

Detailed Information About the Washington Right of Way Permit ($15,000) Bond:

The $15,000 is a minimum on Work Orders, not a ceiling

This is the fact most contractors have backwards. TMC 10.22.070.F sets two different rules. For an ordinary right of way permit the bond is a flat $15,000. For a Billable Work Order permit the bond is a sum equal to the value of the work to be performed, and in any event not less than $15,000. So a $400,000 work order does not get covered by a $15,000 bond.

A building developer with a favorable performance history can ask the Director to cut that work order obligation to 30 percent of the value of the work proposed, and even then the $15,000 floor still applies.

Penalty levels if you get on the wrong side of the code

A principal in default on a right of way obligation faces an increased minimum bond of 150 percent of the amount of the work being guaranteed, on all projects, for five years. Work performed without a permit carries doubled fees with a $200 minimum, and after that the principal faces an increased minimum bond equal to 100 percent of the value of the work proposed. Those are the numbers in TMC 10.22.070.F.1 and F.2, and they are the reason the bond stays cheap for contractors who keep a clean record.

Who does not need it

TMC 10.22.070.F opens with an exception for City departments and contractors working for City departments. Beyond that the code carves out holders of a valid City sign erector's license, sidewalk replacement work abutting the applicant's own property valued under $15,000, where the Director may waive or reduce the bond, and annual permit holders, where the Director may accept a single bond covering the year.

Planning and Development Services adds one more that saves homeowners real money. A single family homeowner can be issued a sewer repair permit without the right of way bond if the work area is completely contained on the property and the work is done with hand tools and no machinery. Bring in a machine or cross into the right of way and the exemption is gone.

What work triggers it

The City lists storm and sanitary sewer repair or installation, sidewalk repair or installation, driveway repair or installation, barricading, utility trenching, sign installation and Work Orders. TMC 10.22.050 is broader still, covering grading, paving, leveling, altering, constructing, repairing, removing or excavating any pavement, sidewalk, crosswalk, curb, driveway, gutter, public sewer, water main, conduit, fuel tank, vault or other structure in the right of way without the Director's written approval.

The bond does not end when the job does

The City's Right of Way Bond form is continuous from the date of issue. It also has to remain in force and effect for a minimum of one year after completion and acceptance of any street cut or excavation. Cancellation requires notice ten days before the effective date. That one year tail is what people forget when they try to cancel the bond the week the job closes out.

You can post money instead, and most people should not

The City accepts three ways to satisfy the requirement. A bond from a surety company is one. An assignment of funds in lieu of bond is another, where a bank places the required amount on hold and provides notarized documentation. A bank hold with a deposit receipt or time certificate is the third. The last two tie up $15,000 of real money for as long as you work in Tacoma, and neither one is faster to arrange.

Filing details that get bonds rejected

Send the original bond document with the surety seal or ink stamp adhered and the original power of attorney attached to the City of Tacoma, Planning and Development Services, 747 Market Street, Room 345, Tacoma, WA 98402. The company name has to read the same way on the bond, the power of attorney and the permit application, and incorporated companies and LLCs have to use the full legal name. Copies and missing powers of attorney are the usual reasons a bond comes back.

Insurance is separate

TMC 10.22.090 sends right of way permittees to the same insurance and indemnification requirements that Chapter 9.08 TMC imposes on street occupancy permits. That means a general liability policy naming the City of Tacoma as an additional insured, written as primary and non contributory, with a cross liability clause, limits set by City Risk Management, and 30 days notice to the City Risk Manager before cancellation. Residential applicants provide proof of homeowner insurance of not less than $500,000. None of that substitutes for the bond and the bond does not substitute for any of it.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Washington Right of Way Permit ($15,000) Bond:

• A surety company authorized to write bonds in Washington.
• Bond amount of $15,000 for a standard right of way permit, or the value of the work with a $15,000 minimum for a Billable Work Order.
• The City of Tacoma named as obligee on the City's Right of Way Bond form.
• Original power of attorney attached, with an embossed seal or ink stamp.
• Company name identical across the bond, the power of attorney and the permit application, using the full legal name for a corporation or LLC.
• Continuous bond that stays in force at least one year after completion and acceptance of any street cut or excavation.
• Separate general liability insurance naming the City as additional insured, per TMC 10.22.090 and Chapter 9.08 TMC.
• Owner credit review. At this bond size credit generally shapes the rate rather than eligibility.

Washington Right of Way Permit ($15,000) Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the Washington Right of Way Permit ($15,000) Bond: