Framingham, MA Special Events & Permits: Block Party Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Framingham City Code § 110-12C
- Adopted
- May 18, 2021, Ord. No. 2021-015-002
- What is waived
- Fees for permits and licenses for the block party
- Who decides
- Multiple-member bodies and municipal officers, on request
- Extra benefit
- Free use of public meeting space during business hours
- Related chapter
- Ch. 104, Neighborhood Advisory Groups (group recognition)
Summary
In the City of Framingham, Massachusetts, neighborhood advisory groups can get permit and license fees waived for their annual block party under City Code § 110-12C. The Framingham City Council enacted the provision as part of Ordinance No. 2021-015-002, and multiple-member bodies and municipal officers decide whether to grant the waiver on request.
C. Upon the request of a neighborhood advisory group, multiple-member bodies and municipal officers may waive all necessary fees for permits and licenses, and provide technical and financial assistance, for said groups to conduct an annual neighborhood block party, and municipal officers shall make reasonable accommodations during regular hours of operation for groups to utilize public meeting spaces at no cost to the group.
Full Breakdown
Framingham City Code § 110-12, adopted 5-18-2021 by Ordinance No. 2021-015-002 and sitting in Chapter 110 (Article I, General Provisions), created the City's neighborhood advisory group system. Subsection A requires multiple-member bodies and municipal officers to give advance notice of public works, utility projects, and license or permit hearings that fall within or next to a group's area, and requires bodies to solicit a group's mitigation concerns on development projects in its neighborhood. Subsection B, amended 4-30-2024 by Ordinance No. 2024-025, entitles a group to agenda time before a multiple-member body upon a vote of the group requesting it.
Subsection C is the fee-waiver clause: upon a neighborhood advisory group's request, multiple-member bodies and municipal officers 'may waive all necessary fees for permits and licenses' and may supply technical and financial assistance so the group can hold its annual neighborhood block party, and municipal officers must make reasonable accommodations during regular office hours for the group to use public meeting space at no charge. The waiver is discretionary, running through whichever board, commission, or officer issues the permit or license at hand, such as Inspectional Services for a temporary-use permit or the Board of License Commissioners for a one-day entertainment or alcohol license.
An editor's note under § 110-12 cross-references Chapter 104, Neighborhood Advisory Groups, which governs how a group organizes and is recognized before it can invoke § 110-12C. The ordinance sets no separate application form, deadline, or road-closure procedure for a block party itself; those requirements come from whatever underlying permit or license the group needs waived.
Violations & Fines
Section 110-12C is a benefit provision, not a penalty section, so it sets no fine or violation of its own. A block party held without an underlying permit or license the group failed to obtain, waived or not, such as a street-use, sound, or food permit, remains enforceable under that specific chapter's own violation and penalty clause, not under § 110-12.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Framingham waive fees for a block party permit?
Who can request the block party fee waiver?
Is the fee waiver automatic once requested?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Framingham
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