Lake Elsinore, CA Special Events & Permits: Block Party Permits (2026)

LEMC § 5.108.010 declares that street events, including parades, processions, marathons, bike-a-thons, triathlons and any other assemblage that uses public streets, highways or rights-of-way also used by motor vehicles, are traffic hazards and are prohibited unless the organizer first obtains a street permit. Section 5.108.040 requires the application on file with the City at least 60 days before the event, though the City Manager can waive that deadline for noncommercial First Amendment activity; the City Manager must approve or deny within 30 days, and a denied applicant has five days to appeal to the City Council.

Under § 5.108.050, the application must name a responsible contact person, show the event route on a diagram with start and end points, and include a traffic management plan approved by the City Traffic Engineer covering road closures, detours and barricading, plus expected attendance and security procedures set at the discretion of the Chief of Police (Sheriff's Captain). Section 5.108.060 lets the City limit the event to a designated route, require traffic-control measures, and post a cash deposit or bond at least 14 days before the event to cover police, fire, traffic control and cleanup costs, with an accounting and refund afterward; that section also caps eligibility to public nonprofit organizations, and no permit issues to a for-profit enterprise.

Events with 25 or more expected participants must carry $1,000,000 in combined personal injury and property damage insurance naming the City as additional insured under § 5.108.140.