Special Events & Permits in Ames, IA (2026)
2 verified special events & permits rules for Ames, Iowa, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Parklets
In the City of Ames, Iowa, a restaurant can extend its sidewalk cafe into an on-street parking space by installing a semi-permanent seating structure, or 'parklet,' but Ames Municipal Code Sec. 22.32(b)(2) requires City Council approval for that placement, and the Council can require the restaurant to reimburse any parking meter revenue the City loses. The parklet must still meet the same permit, fee, and design rules that apply to every sidewalk cafe.
Ames Sidewalk Cafe Parklets Need Council OK
Significant RestrictionsAmes Municipal Code Sec. 22.32(b)
Where Permissible. A sidewalk cafe shall be permitted as follows: (1) In zoning districts which allow indoor restaurants, and (2) Adjacent to an indoor restaurant, which shall be construed as either: (i) being immediately contiguous to and abutting the indoor restaurant on the public sidewalk, or (ii) being offset from the indoor restaurant, where a clear path of pedestrian travel exists betwee...
Sidewalk Dining & Cafés
Ames Municipal Code Sec. 22.32 lets a restaurant operate a sidewalk cafe on the public sidewalk under a City-issued Sidewalk Cafe Permit, with the fee set out in Appendix D. The cafe must sit adjacent to its indoor restaurant, leave at least four feet of sidewalk clear, and stay at least eight feet from a bus stop or fire hydrant and twenty feet from a street intersection.
Sidewalk Cafe Permit Rules in Ames, Iowa
Some RestrictionsAmes Municipal Code Sec. 22.32
Sec. 22.32. SIDEWALK CAFÉ PERMITS. The purpose of this subsection is to set forth the conditions and requirements under which a sidewalk cafe, as defined, may be permitted to operate by Sidewalk Cafe Permit on a public sidewalk within the City of Ames. The fee for a Sidewalk Cafe Permit is listed in Appendix D. ... (e) Sidewalk Clearances. ... A sidewalk cafe shall ... not occupy more than 50...
Looking for Story County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Ames city rules.
Special Events & Permits in Story County →