Columbia, SC Special Events & Permits: Block Party Permits (2026)

Article VI of Chapter 22, rewritten by Ord. No. 2023-064 on June 20, 2023, defines special event broadly to cover any event reasonably foreseeable to involve a large assemblage of vehicles and/or persons that could affect public health, safety, traffic, or require added public-safety cost, and Sec. 22-162 lists block parties by name alongside parades, festivals, and community events as an included special-event type. Sec. 22-166(a) makes it unlawful to conduct, promote, manage or engage in any special event without a permit, with narrow exceptions for funeral processions, school activities, city-run events, and government agencies.

Sec. 22-167 requires an application to the city manager's designee with the applicable fee, filed within the advance period posted for that event type, and covering the organizer's contact information, dates and times, purpose, route or boundaries, expected attendance, sanitation plan, and whether alcohol will be served. Sec. 00 combined single limit naming the city as an additional insured, though subsection (c) lets the city waive that requirement for expressive First Amendment activity or when insurance is financially or practically unobtainable. When a block party specifically wants to close adjacent streets, the Sec.

15-2 park-rental table cross-references this same requirement, giving Neighborhood Gatherings, Block Party or Walk applicants a 30-day-advance filing deadline and flagging that any request to close adjacent roads will require a separate City Special Events Permit under Ord. No. 2023-064. Sec. 22-164 lets the city recover excessive public safety costs from the event's organizer, and Sec. 22-165(c) allows the city manager, police chief, or fire chief to revoke the permit for emergency conditions, permit violations, or falsified applications.