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Cal. SHC § 709

This is the official text of Cal. SHC § 709, part of California’s Streets and Highways Code — governs the construction and maintenance of public roads.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Official statutory text

The department shall exercise a reasonable discretion in acting on applications of utilities for permits to occupy freeways for longitudinal locations of facilities, as may be required for the proper discharge of their services to the public. The department may, however, refuse to grant any applications for any such longitudinal installation which would be inconsistent with public safety or the continued unobstructed use of the freeway for vehicular traffic, or for any type of utility structure inconsistent with the aesthetic values of any landscaped freeway within, or approaching within one mile of, the limits of any city.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.