Ventura, CA Special Events & Permits: Parklets (2026)

The parklet chapter, added by Ord. No. 2025-004 on October 7, 2025, defines a parklet as a long-term, removable outdoor dining or seating structure ancillary to a restaurant or business, often placed in public parking spaces. Applications go to the administrator, a city employee designated by the city manager, with a fee set by city council resolution. An applicant who wants to build within the right-of-way must show a valid contractor's license under California Business and Professions Code Section 7000, or, for minor sidewalk and parkway repairs, be the adjoining property owner doing the work personally.

Plans and specifications must meet the city's design criteria and improvement standards before the administrator approves and issues the permit. Work must follow the California Manual of Traffic Controls for Construction and Maintenance Work Zones. The administrator sets the permit term based on what's reasonably necessary for the parklet and can revoke the permit for violating its conditions or for material misrepresentation in the application, subject to an administrative review before the department director within 10 days of any adverse decision. Several encroachments are exempt from a separate parklet permit, including public works contracts, licensed news racks, public event permits, sidewalk outdoor dining authorized under Title 24, and adjoining-owner landscaping or fences authorized by a director's permit.

If the administrator determines an encroachment threatens safety or unreasonably interferes with adjacent property, the application is denied and the applicant is notified of the right to seek review.