Special Events & Permits
Block party permits, street closure permits, and community event regulations.
The special-event permit is how a city lends its streets. Parades, festivals, runs, and block parties all route through the same application, with insurance, crowd plans, and fees that scale with impact. Below the thresholds, a park gathering often needs only a reservation; above them, the process starts weeks out.
Sidewalk dining is the standing version of the same loan, private tables on public pavement, held to clearance widths and operating conditions for as long as the permit lasts.
What's Covered
Block Party Permits
How to get a permit to close your street for a block party, including application timelines, neighbor consent requirements, and insurance needs.
Park Event Permits
Permits required for organized events in public parks, including group size thresholds, amplified sound rules, and reservation procedures.
Parade Permits
How parades and processions are permitted, including route approval, traffic-control requirements, insurance, and First Amendment carve-outs for political marches.
Street Fair Rules
Permits and operating standards for street fairs and farmers markets, including vendor sourcing, alcohol handling, and street closure procedures.
Commercial Filming on Public Right-of-Way
How filming permits intersect with special-event permits when productions take over streets or parks, including FilmLA coordination and resident notification.
Parklets
Curbside parklets converting parking spaces into outdoor dining or public seating, including LADOT People St guidelines, ADA, and seasonal-removal rules.
Sidewalk Dining & Cafés
Permits for tables and seating in the public right-of-way, café and al-fresco programs, clearance widths, barriers, and the operating conditions attached to a sidewalk-dining permit.
Outdoor Heater Rules
Permit and propane-storage requirements for outdoor patio heaters at restaurants and bars, including LAFC §61 propane limits and CARB emissions rules.