New Orleans, LA Special Events & Permits: Commercial Filming on Public Right-of-Way (2026)

Section 2-932(a) gives the director of the department of property management exclusive authority to waive a facility usage fee for a special event lasting no more than one day, but only when the event is sponsored by a Louisiana nonprofit in good standing, a Section 501 tax-exempt organization, or an educational institution. The director must find the event promotes a genuine educational, charitable, social or cultural benefit, evidenced by the sponsor's attestation (b), and a sponsor can receive only one waiver per calendar year (c).

A public event can get up to a 100 percent waiver, a private one up to 50 percent (d)-(e); no admission fee can be charged where a waiver was granted (f); the waiver never covers direct city costs (g) or required security or damage deposits (h); and property management must keep a public database of every waiver issued (i), with denials unappealable to the council (j). Subsection (k) then draws a bright line for filming: events consisting primarily of film or television production are not eligible for this waiver at all. , not the property management nonprofit fee-waiver track. S. Ord. No. 29825, adopted March 7, 2024.