Fort Collins, CO Special Events & Permits: Commercial Filming on Public Right-of-Way (2026)

Sec. 5. Sec. ' That sentence is the dividing line City staff use to route a production down one of two tracks. A shoot that just wants to film on a public sidewalk or in a City park without blocking anyone else's access falls outside the permit requirement and instead only needs the lighter notice process under Sec. 5. A shoot that wants a street closed, a plaza cleared, or exclusive use of a City building crosses into full special event territory under Sec. 5-3(a), triggering the standard 45-business-day filing window, insurance and deposit requirements under Sec.

5-5, a traffic safety plan requirement tied to the denial grounds in Sec. 5-7(4), and the right of appeal in Sec. 5-9. Productions that stay within the exemption are still not exempt from all City rules; Sec. 5's requirements 'do not replace or substitute for other permitting requirements' such as a noise variance under Sec. 20-27, so a crew that avoids the special event permit by staying non-exclusive can still need other City sign-offs for the specific things it plans to do.