Fort Myers, FL Special Events & Permits: Park Event Permits (2026)

Under Fort Myers's Land Development Code, a "special event" is any event held on public land, in a public facility, or a mix of both. If any part of the event is on public land outside a facility, the organizer must follow the city's Special Events Handbook process; an event held entirely inside a city facility skips the handbook but pays that facility's event fee structure instead. This sits inside the broader temporary-use permit article: applications generally go in five business days ahead of the event (30 days for carnivals), a copy goes to the city councilperson for the ward, and the community development director and police chief review and approve. Lee County governs unincorporated land outside Fort Myers's city limits under its own rules.