Right of Way and Easement Inspections

Defining Right-of-Way and Easements

Public right-of-way is the entire width of land between private property lines that is dedicated to public and franchise utilities. The public right-of-way (ROW) usually extends out from the center of roadway to the private property line, typically 9.5ft from back of curb.

Easements are similar to public right-of-way. An easement is a means by which a landowner grants another person the right to use the landowner's property for a public utility. 

Public ROW and easements are necessary for utility companies to provide and maintain public utilities, such as water, wastewater, gas, electric, and telecommunications services, throughout the City.

Any construction or maintenance activities performed within the public ROW or a utility easement are required to submit a line locate request to Texas811 and thus be reviewed by the City's ROW Inspector. A guide for this process can be found below:

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Texas 811

Texas 811 is a free service that is required, by law, for any individual or company performing work in ROW or easements to contact two business days (excluding weekends and holidays) prior to digging, even if they are working on private property such as in a backyard. There are two main ways to contact Texas 811, as shown below:

Phone: Dial "811"


Website: https://www.texas811.org/contact

ROW Inspections

The City of Southlake has a process for inspecting all work that will take place in right-of-way or easements. The steps are below:

  1. Contact Texas811 48 hours prior to performing work.
  2. Pending review of line locate request through Texas811, it may be necessary to complete a permit request. This will be determined by the ROW Inspector.
  3. Once the ROW Inspector has completed the review, an email will be sent to the requestor with either approval to begin work or instruction to submit for a ROW permit.
    1. Be sure to keep this email to provide evidence of review upon request during construction.
    2. As a reminder, ROW permits have no fee associated with them in the City of Southlake.
    3. Please allow up to 5 business days for review.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our ROW Inspector. His contact information is below:

Jared Delgado, ROW Inspector

Phone: 682-220-0619

Email: [email protected]