Salt Lake County, UT Filming & Production: Street Closures (2026)
Key Facts
- Section
- §14.56.040(B)
- Application requires
- Barricade plan, traffic detour plan, route map
- Reviewer
- County engineering division
- Penalty
- Class B misdemeanor (§14.56.140)
- Liability
- Organizers only, not participants
- Area
- Unincorporated county streets only
Summary
Blocking or closing any street or sidewalk in unincorporated Salt Lake County for a film shoot or other special event is unlawful without a special event permit and payment of the chapter's fees. Section 14.56.040(B) puts the legal exposure on the event organizer alone, and an unpermitted closure is a class B misdemeanor.
It is unlawful for any person, corporation, partnership, association or other entity, public or private, to impede access to, or cause the closure of, any street or sidewalk in association with a special event without first obtaining a special event permit and paying the fees as required in this chapter. Liability under this chapter shall only apply to organizers and shall not extend to participants of a non-permitted event. (Ord. No. 1650, § III, 6-30-2009)
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 49).
Full Breakdown
County Code §14.56.040(B) makes it unlawful for any person, corporation, partnership, association or other entity, public or private, to impede access to, or cause the closure of, any street or sidewalk in association with a special event without first obtaining a special event permit and paying the fees required by the chapter. The wording sweeps wider than a full closure: merely impeding access, such as staging that keeps people from using the sidewalk, triggers the permit duty the same way barricading the roadway does. It also expressly reaches public entities, not just private production companies.
A closure application must include a barricade plan, a traffic detour plan and a route map under §14.56.070(A)(5), and the county's engineering division reviews the proposed closure for traffic and safety impact before the permit issues. The provision was added by Ordinance No. 1650 in 2009. It covers only county-controlled streets in the unincorporated area; a road inside an incorporated city falls under that city's own filming and closure rules instead.
Violations & Fines
An unpermitted street or sidewalk closure is a class B misdemeanor under §14.56.140. The ordinance states that liability applies only to organizers and does not extend to participants of a non-permitted event, so only the party who staged the closure faces the charge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I close a road in the county to film without a permit?
What must a closure application include?
Who gets cited if a shoot blocks a street without a permit?
Does this rule apply to streets inside a city?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Salt Lake County
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