St. Petersburg, FL Special Events & Permits: Park Event Permits (2026)

Section 21-31(b) lists five activities that trigger the permit requirement: selling or offering to sell goods or services; conducting or participating in any recreational, athletic, entertainment, cultural, or social event, program, or gathering "intended for or which can reasonably be expected to draw an attendance of 50 or more individuals" (naming picnics, parties, food distribution, meetings, games, speeches, rallies, demonstrations, and performances as examples); posting a sign, banner, or advertisement; using a loudspeaker, public address system, or amplifier; and using a generator. Subsection (c) exempts activities already covered by a valid City lease, facility-use agreement, or concession agreement.

Applications go to the POD and must be filed at least 15 days, and no more than 180 days, before the activity; a shorter window applies for public-issue or political-speech events, and late applications are still processed if there is time to complete review. No application may request more than six consecutive days of park use. Subsection (f) lists the standards the POD applies before issuing a permit, including that the activity not create an unreasonable safety or property-damage risk, not conflict with another City-sponsored event at the same time and place, and that the applicant be at least 18 years old and have obtained any other required federal, state, or local permits.

Subsection (i) gives a denied or conditioned applicant the right to appeal to the City Administrator within ten days, and, if that appeal is denied, to City Council within a further ten days, the City Council's decision is final. 00 without City Council approval. The provision derives from the 1992 Code § 21-34 and was last amended by Ordinance No. 136-H in 2014.