Cerrone gives overview of special event permit basics
Cerrone explains events with more than 20 attendees need a special event permit, though permits are available for any size. He says most requests are small family events, applications are online, and the $25 fee is usually the only cost.
For the purposes of today's oversight hearing, we'd like to offer a brief overview of our agency's special events permitting process.
We recognize that special events can provide tremendous added value to our park system, so we strive to make the permitting process as transparent and efficient as possible.
Our permitting staff works directly with event organizers to make their events a reality, while ensuring that proposed events are appropriate and avoid negative impacts on our beloved open spaces.
Any park event expected to have more than 20 attendees is required to have a special event permit.
Though permits are also available for groups of any size hoping to reserve a specific area in a park.
Anyone can apply for a special event permit from the agency, from organizations planning a large event for the public, to families looking to host smaller birthday parties, weddings, reunions, or barbecues.
And it is this latter category of smaller events that makes up the vast majority of permit requests submitted to the agency.
Permit applications are typically submitted through a dedicated page on our agency website.
There is a $25 processing fee for permit applications, which allows the city to recoup some of the costs of processing applications and helps discourage attempts to monopolize permits citywide.
And for the majority of permit requests, this nominal fee is the only cost for an applicant to be able to hold their event.