Durham, NC Special Events & Permits: Park Event Permits (2026)

Section 38-15 makes it unlawful to hold or conduct an outdoor musical concert or performance in a Durham city park unless the organizer first applies for and obtains a permit from the city manager authorizing it: a permit the code states is "in addition to the permit required by section 38-14," so park events need both approvals. Rather than listing fixed criteria in the ordinance, the section delegates the approval conditions to the city council, which establishes them by resolution. The provision traces to Ord.

No. 5304, adopted November 19, 1979, and was most recently renumbered by the 2022 code-wide ordinance (Ord. No. 15982, § 79). A companion provision, Section 54-115, governs vending once a special-event permit is in effect for a city park, plaza, or other city-owned property: sales are confined to the "permitted sales location" the permit describes, and the city manager may set terms and conditions, including which sellers are authorized to sell goods on all or part of the property. Together, the two sections mean a park gathering involving music and vendor sales needs the general outdoor-concert permit, the park-specific permit under council-set conditions, and compliance with the permit's defined sales area if vendors will be present.