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

City Code § 24-71 places the department of recreation and parks under the city manager and gives it three specific powers: supervision of the city's parks, playgrounds, water areas, athletic fields and recreation centers; authority to run recreational or cultural programming on those grounds; and, critically for anyone planning an event, the power to develop and enforce regulations as to use and as to fees and charges for areas, structures or activities of the department. That third clause is the department's legal basis for requiring a reservation, permit, or fee before a birthday party, tournament, or family reunion can use a shelter, field, or meeting room.

The seven-member Recreation and Parks Commission created under Article II only advises the council and department on facilities and long-range planning; it has no independent power to set fees or approve individual bookings. For Lake Michael Park specifically, § 24-124 confirms that the fees for using the park are set from time to time by the council, with a schedule kept on file and available in the city offices rather than printed in the Code. Because Chapter 24 carries no penalty section of its own for ordinary use violations outside the Lake Michael Park article, disregarding a permit condition or fee adopted under § 24-71 falls back on the Code's general penalty in § 1-6.