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Whiteland adopts overhaul of right-of-way rules, raises permit fees and bond requirements
Summary
The Whiteland Town Council on March 10 adopted Ordinance 2026-02 (chapter 95), raising standard right-of-way permit fees to $250, adding per-bore charges and higher surety/bond options, requiring as-built submissions for GIS, and keeping a $500-per-day penalty for noncompliance. Vote was unanimous.
The Whiteland Town Council unanimously adopted Ordinance 2026-02, a comprehensive rewrite of the town's right-of-way code (chapter 95), during its March 10 meeting.
Acting building commissioner Billy (speaker 8) told the council the update raises the standard permit application fee from $100 to $250 and adds a per-bore location charge of $25 to allow contractors to obtain a single blanket permit covering many bore points. The ordinance also increases the required surety for single projects from $5,000 to $10,000 and creates an option for frequent contractors to post a $25,000 blanket bond that must be replenished to that minimum if drawn down.
Billy said the changes are intended to streamline administration for large projects and to capture accurate as-built records. "We require CAD drawings and as-builts so we can drop them into GIS and know what's under the ground," he said, noting the need to avoid missed locates on future projects. He also described a two-year warranty requirement for restoration work and new locate-depth reporting at 100-foot intervals.
Council members asked whether the insurance and bond levels were adequate for multi-location projects. Billy said the town requires a certificate of insurance naming the town as additionally insured with $1,000,000 limits and that legal counsel and language borrowed from the City of Franklin informed the amounts. "From legal's advice, it would take an absolute catastrophic event to deplete both the bond and the COI," he said.
The ordinance includes notification requirements for property owners (USPS or door hangers), provisions for emergency cuts that preserve public safety, and penalties of $500 per day per offense not to exceed $2,500. Billy asked the council to make the ordinance effective on posting, subject to any state statute posting delays.
The council voted to approve the ordinance on final reading. The chair announced the vote as passed unanimously (5-0).
The ordinance references state statute 36-5-2-10 for fee-posting considerations and will be posted per statutory requirements before taking effect.
