Santa Barbara County, CA Special Events & Permits: Parklets (2026)

County Code Section 28-127(a) requires an annual business roadway encroachment permit for any outdoor business within a parklet, defined in Section 28-124(e) as a designated area constructed over the roadway for outdoor business that may include a temporary removable seating or gathering area, and requires a removable structure separating parklet users from street traffic; the permit is revocable and subject to annual review and re-approval. Section 28-127(b) sets eight standards: parklets cannot remove parking spaces in coastal zone areas or where they conflict with county policies or community plans; they must conform to planning and development, fire, public health, and Alcoholic Beverage Control requirements; they cannot interfere with safe transportation network operations and may need traffic barriers; they must be portable and removable on the department's direction; they may only be located on streets posted at thirty miles per hour or less, with an engineering analysis and traffic plan from a licensed engineer required at that speed and optional below it; they must sit directly adjacent to the business they serve and cannot encroach beyond the permittee's property frontage; they cannot include walls over forty-eight inches, permanent roofs, or screening requiring building and safety review; and they cannot include electrical wiring, gas hookups, or other features triggering building and safety review.

Section 28-131(b) requires the initial permit fee for a parklet that encroaches into parking spaces to include the county's cost of providing new offset parking nearby.