Ventura County, CA Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Section 12220 of the Ventura County Ordinance Code lets the Commissioner issue either an annual permit or a single permit for a special event in the right-of-way, so a recurring event can be authorized for the year rather than application by application. What counts as a special event is defined at Section 12100(cc), which includes parades, runs, and other organized activities in the right-of-way. The notice requirement in Section 12220(a) applies when the event runs through a residential or business district: the permittee must make proper notification to property owners in the notification zone no later than five business days before beginning the event.

Section 12220(c) then sets three operating limits on what can be permitted. The event may not exceed three consecutive days in the same area, may not occur outside daylight hours, and may not cause traffic delays of more than three minutes on public roads. On the traffic point, the county allows delays over three minutes only with majority owner consent, so an organizer expecting real road impacts has to line up that consent rather than simply absorb the delay. All of this governs the unincorporated county right-of-way under the Road Commissioner's jurisdiction.