Santa Cruz County, CA Special Events & Permits: Park Event Permits (2026)

040 gives the Department of Parks, Open Space and Cultural Services custody of all County park properties and lets it authorize contractual use of buildings, property and facilities under rules that ensure orderly and safe use of property, approved as to form by County Counsel and Risk Management. Subsection (C) is the operative permitting authority: the Board of Supervisors adopts both a fee schedule for park use and the rules and regulations for granting Department-issued permits. The Director may deny a permit application that doesn't meet those rules, or that the Director finds is detrimental to public health, safety or welfare, on one or more of six specific grounds: security, crowd control, traffic control, parking, environmental health, sanitation or fire control, but only if the detriment cannot reasonably be mitigated.

A denial isn't final at the Director's desk: the Board and Commission (the Parks and Recreation Commission) must be advised of the denial, and the applicant may appeal it first to the County Administrative Officer and then, if still denied, to the Board of Supervisors itself. Subsection (D) makes the permit requirement enforceable once adopted: it is unlawful to be in a park except by payment of the fee or in accordance with the required permit or rules and regulations of the park. 040 is specifically the mechanism for reserving County park buildings, grounds and facilities.