Albuquerque, NM Filming & Production: Street Closures (2026)

(adopted by Ord. 2023-019), defines a SPECIAL EVENT under § 7-3-3 as any organized activity needing at least three prearranged city services, permits, or approvals, expressly listing street closures, barricades, and police protection as qualifying services. That triggers the general permit mandate in § 7-3-4: no person may conduct a special event without a permit, backed by the penalty in § 7-3-99. Section 7-3-5 then lists the exceptions to that special event permit requirement, and subsection (A) is unambiguous: activities for which the Administration issues a film permit do not need a separate special event permit, even though a film shoot that closes a lane or a block would otherwise meet the SPECIAL EVENT definition.

Section 7-3-5(F) makes clear this carve-out only removes the AFEPO permit layer; it does not excuse a production from any other city department's separate requirements, meaning Albuquerque Film Office permitting, police traffic-control coordination, and any right-of-way approvals for the closure still apply on their own track. Where the ordinance's normal machinery would matter is if a production instead sought review under the general special event process: § 7-3-9 lists the grounds the Administration can use to deny a permit, including that the event would substantially interrupt safe traffic movement or divert too many police, fire, and EMS resources, and § 7-3-12 gives the Administration up to ten business days to act on a completed application filed at least 11 business days ahead.

A denied applicant can appeal to a City Hearing Officer under § 7-3-14, following the Independent Office of Hearings Ordinance, ROA 1994 Ch. 2, Art. 7, Pt. 8. None of that appeal or denial machinery reaches a properly permitted film shoot, because § 7-3-5(A) removes it from AFEPO's scope entirely.