Portland, ME Special Events & Permits: Parklets (2026)

Chapter 25 of the Portland Code of Ordinances, Division 2, governs occupancy of streets, sidewalks and other public places, and it treats a restaurant's expansion into a City parking space as a form of street occupancy rather than a park use. Sec. 25-26(b) requires 'a duly authorized outdoor dining permit' before any food service establishment may expand onto a street, way, or public place. Sec. 25-27(b) sets the fee schedule for that permit: dining on sidewalks or public ways other than dedicated parking spaces runs $84.00 plus $2.00 per square foot per fiscal year; dining in a City park runs $84.00 plus $6.30 per square foot, capped at 10% of park space absent a waiver from the parks and recreation director.

For a true parking-space 'parklet,' Sec. 25-27(b)(3) charges $3,000 for a full season in one dedicated City parking space, and Sec. 25-27(b)(4) charges $5,000 for two consecutive spaces, both figures fixed for the April 15 through October 31 season, not prorated for a shorter term. Sec. 25-28 places issuance authority with the city manager or a designee, on receipt of insurance satisfactory to the city, and lets the city manager promulgate rules on the design, construction, size and location of these installations; permits for dining inside city parks instead go through the director of parks and recreation.

Sec. 25-27(c) backs the permit requirement with daily fines: $125.00 per day for operating without a required street and sidewalk occupancy permit, and $100.00 per day for failing to follow an approved traffic or pedestrian-detour management plan. The fee schedule was most recently amended by Ord. No. 220-25/26, effective 6-1-2026.