A Rational Permit Fee Structure for the Street Right-of-Way Permit Program

This article describes the details of a study carried out to review the city of Cincinnati’s utility cut permit program, compare the city’s street rights-of-way practices and policies with other communities, identify the true costs of permit program, and suggest a new, rational, permit fee structure. An innovative procedure has been developed to assess the monetary impact of utility cuts on street pavement. The proposed fee structure considers all the estimated direct and indirect expenses to support the permit program and to maintain the physical assets. The new structure has been extensively reviewed by the city’s engineers and legal advisors and is being considered for implementation.