Foley City Council has adopted new permit regulations aimed at improving oversight of construction and utility work on city rights of way.

The ordinance, approved on Monday, Sept. 16, requires permits for any work conducted on municipal street rights of way, with the goal of helping city officials monitor ongoing projects and ensure safety and compliance.

City-owned rights of way include the areas beyond the edges of municipal streets, and the size of these spaces can vary depending on the street. According to Wayne Dyess, the city's executive director of infrastructure and development, the new regulations will primarily impact larger projects, though most residential property owners should experience minimal disruption.

"The routine projects, which will be the majority of these, will be an online permit," Dyess said. "You basically sign the permit saying you're going to meet the conditions and those things, and it's automatic. The other ones will take a review by the city to ensure they're in compliance with our regulations."

Projects that span more than 500 linear feet or one city block will fall under the "major" category and will need city review.

"This would break projects down into minor, major and also routine projects," Dyess said. "Most of the things we see are routine projects. They'll be like someone who's making a connection for a water main, sewer main, those kinds of things."

A key benefit of the ordinance is that it allows city officials to keep a record of ongoing projects and the contractors responsible. This information is crucial, Dyess explained, as it helps prevent issues like unexpected traffic disruptions, such as a recent incident where a major project blocked a busy street.

The new ordinance also effectively ends a moratorium on the installation of above-ground utilities, which had been in place since January. The moratorium was originally enacted to prevent new overhead utility lines while the city worked to finalize its right-of-way regulations.

"This will effectively end the moratorium we've had on above ground, aerial utilities and things of that nature," Dyess said. "That ordinance said for one year or until the new right of way ordinance is adopted, this will effectively end that moratorium."

Foley Mayor Ralph Hellmich echoed the importance of the ordinance, emphasizing that it will allow the city to maintain better control of modifications to public spaces.

"I think what our ordinance is trying to accomplish is that any modification of the right of way needs to be permitted," Hellmich said. "The city needs to be aware of it. That way we don't get unforeseen consequences that come up."

The new regulations are expected to streamline the management of projects near city streets while ensuring residents and businesses experience fewer disruptions.