Pismo Beach, CA Special Events & Permits: Block Party Permits (2026)

Block parties appear by name in the special event examples in § 12.16.020, alongside concerts, parades, fairs and festivals. A special event also includes any organized activity that uses or affects public property or facilities and draws city public safety services, and "city property" includes city streets, sidewalks, piers, parking lots, parks, plazas and beaches. Under § 12.16.030, anyone who wants to use city property for a special event must first obtain a special event permit from the chair of the special events committee or designee, after committee review and City Manager approval.

The processing fee is set by City Council resolution. An application must be filed not less than sixty calendar days and not more than two years before the event (§ 12.16.080), and the City Manager is not required to act on an incomplete or untimely application (§ 12.16.170). Street closures get the closest scrutiny in § 12.16.120. The permit is issued when the event will not substantially interrupt traffic on its route, will not block traffic lanes or close streets from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. or 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays on primary city thoroughfares, will not unduly interfere with police, fire and ambulance movement, and will not have an unmitigable adverse impact on residential or business access in the same general venue.

Under § 12.16.290, the chief of police can restrict driving, stopping, standing or parking on a public street, and the restriction is not enforced until the street is posted at least twenty-four hours before the event. Section 12.16.180 requires liability insurance naming the city, with a combined single limit of at least one million dollars and at least two million dollars for large or higher-risk events. Section 12.16.190 lets the City Manager waive it, except for events where alcohol sales are authorized and for traffic control permits.

The organizer must also clean up the route (§ 12.16.160). A denial can be appealed in writing to the City Council within ten working days (§ 12.16.140).