Special Events & Permits in Hawthorne, CA (2026)
5 verified special events & permits rules for Hawthorne, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Park Event Permits
Hawthorne requires a permit for any organized park assembly of twenty-five or more people, capped at 150 participants during nighttime hours, filed with the parks and recreation director 20 to 90 days ahead.
Hawthorne Park Permit Required for 25+ People
Significant RestrictionsHawthorne Municipal Code § 2.24.030
No use of any park for organized assemblies consisting of twenty-five or more persons may be made without the issuance of a permit therefor, except that food truck gatherings, as defined in Section 9.39.155 of this code, shall be governed by Chapter 9.39 rather than this chapter. All applications for use of any park must be signed or co-signed by an adult, which adult shall agree to be responsi...
Parade Permits
Hawthorne bans parades on public streets without a chief-of-police permit, applied for 30 to 90 days ahead, and gives police broad discretion to grant, deny, reroute or condition the event to protect traffic, fire and ambulance access.
Hawthorne Requires a Police Permit for Parades
Significant RestrictionsHawthorne Code § 9.38.020
No person shall engage in, participate in, aid, form or start any parade, unless a permit to do so has been obtained from the chief of police, and unless such permit is carried by the person heading or leading such activity; provided, however, that the provisions hereof shall not apply to funeral processions, nor to students of the schools going to and from classes or when constituting a part o...
Street Fair Rules
Hawthorne requires a community events permit from the community events coordinator for street fairs, festivals and carnivals that impact public streets or property, filed at least 90 days before the event and barred outright in residential districts.
Hawthorne Requires a Community Event Permit for Fairs
Significant RestrictionsHawthorne Code § 9.39.040(A)
An assembly on public or private property consisting of persons, animals, vehicles, or any other combination thereof, which may impact a public street, highway, alley, sidewalk or other city-owned property or public rightof-way and which: (1) may impede, obstruct, impair or interfere with free use of such public street, highway, alley, sidewalk, or other public way owned, controlled, or maintai...
Parklets
Hawthorne has no separate parklet ordinance; sidewalk and curb-space dining structures are permitted as encroachments on city property under Chapter 9.50. Outdoor dining applications route through both the city engineer and the planning department, and an approved permit is good for one year before it must be renewed.
Hawthorne Outdoor Dining Encroachment Permits
Some RestrictionsHawthorne Code §§ 9.50.030, 9.50.040
Except for encroachments for the purpose of outdoor dining, the application shall be filed in duplicate with the city engineer and referred to the building department. After such reference, the city engineer shall either approve or disapprove the application. Encroachment applications for the purpose of outdoor dining shall also be referred to the planning department. After consultation with th...
Sidewalk Dining & Cafés
Hawthorne requires a city council permit for any outdoor restaurant that wants to serve customers outside a fully enclosed building late at night: between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. any day, and from noon Friday and Saturday through 6 a.m. the next morning.
Hawthorne Outdoor Restaurant Late-Hours Permit
Significant RestrictionsHawthorne Code § 5.66.030
No person shall operate or cause to be operated or participate in the operation of any outdoor restaurant between the hours of eleven p.m. and six a.m. of the next succeeding day and between the hours of twelve p.m. on Friday and Saturday and six a.m. of the next succeeding day without a permit from the city council to do so having first been obtained.
Looking for Los Angeles County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Hawthorne city rules.
Special Events & Permits in Los Angeles County →