All properties contain a road right-of-way, but only some properties have a utility right-of-way on them. To look up the rights-of-way on your property, click on the magnifying glass on the myProperty map and type in your address. This will pull up an aerial view of your home and show you where the rights-of-way are in your yard by looking at the white dotted lines.

If you have two dashed lines running across your property, your property contains both road right-of-way and a utility right-of-way. The dashed line that’s closest to the road denotes your property line/end of the utility right-of-way. If there is a second dashed line, that one denotes the limit of the utility right-of-way.

Another option is to review your certificate of title. Rights-of-way are usually registered on the certificate of title and are automatically transferred from one owner to another when a property is sold.  

Either by way of a legal agreement, or following the terms and conditions of the Rights-of-Way Bylaw (17M20216), shallow utility providers are able to access the ROW as long as they: comply with all safety and environmental legislation, obtain consent from The City (by way of a permit) to access a specific location in the ROW, and obtain any related permits required to do the work (i.e. excavation permit, street use permit, etc.).

A shallow utility provider is defined as any utility provider that installs their underground infrastructure at depths ranging from 0.9 m to 2.0 m in the road right-of-way. Power, gas and telecommunications companies are the most common examples of what we call ‘shallow utilities’.  

A Utility Alignment Permit is a requirement of any shallow utility provider, or City department before they can access rights-of-way. The application must be submitted by the appropriate utility provider (or its designate) to the Rights-of-Way Management team for review and approval before any work can commence in the right-of-way. 

Any utility providers and/or contractors working in the right-of-way are required to have the proper permits on them at the time of construction. If you ask to see their permits, they should be able to produce them for you. 

There is not a mandated requirement for utility providers to alert homeowners when constructing in the right-of-way, although many do by way of things like mail notifications and neighbourhood signage.  That said, if a shallow utility provider is requesting access to your private property – and not simply access to the right-of-way – they are not able to do so without your written consent. 

No – a right-of-way is different than an easement. A right-of-way is public land, which can come in the form of an easement (think: utility right of way), but an easement refers to a portion of private property where the bundle of rights associated with it, have been granted to The City of manage (i.e. granting access approvals, etc.).

The City assumes the responsibility for managing access to, and the use of municipal rights-of-way, ensuring equitable treatment for all utility providers, while simultaneously ensuring strict compliance to and enforcement of all City bylaws, including but not limited to the Municipal Rights-of-Way Bylaw 17M2016.

The City has developed comprehensive guidelines to outline the requirements for shallow utility providers to work in, on and within The City’s rights-of-way and to provide for the efficient review of permit applications. View the ROW Bylaw Guidelines.

There are several agreements, bylaws and processes in place to provide governance for right-of-way management. These include:

• Municipal ROW Bylaw (17M2016)
• Municipal Consent and Access Agreements (MCAAs)
• Utility Alignment Permit (UAP) process
• Other related bylaws and policies include: Streets Bylaw; Drainage Bylaw; and Complete Streets Policy and Guide. 

There are three main reasons for proactively managing rights-of-way: (1) Safety; (2) consistent construction standards; and (3) responsible management of taxpayer funds.

Maintenance of the right-of-way is the responsibility of many different parties. The City requires homeowners to look after things like the care and maintenance of the portion of ROW that you would call your ‘yard’, but any utility provider who constructs in the right-of-way has a responsibility to repair and restore any disturbance their construction efforts may have caused.  Likewise, The City is responsible for a lot of the maintenance associated with the condition of road infrastructure like curbs, sidewalks, etc.  

Yes. Any shallow utility who constructs in a right-of-way and disturbs any of the surface area is responsible for restoring the area, appropriately.

Once construction is complete, the utility will fill and level the impacted area, and then, in most cases, will apply a mix of loam and grass seed mix, but some utilities may use hydro seed or some other seed variety.  Although the utility may come back to water the area at first, it is then the responsibility of the homeowner to water the seed and properly care for this new grass. 

If a shallow utility provider has the proper permits in place, they have the right to access right-of-way to install and maintain their infrastructure.