Ocala, FL Special Events & Permits: Sidewalk Dining & Cafés (2026)

Article V of Chapter 22 only allows sidewalk cafes within geographical areas zoned FBC on the city's zoning map, under § 22-272. Section 22-291 makes operating one without a permit unlawful, and requires the applicant to obtain that permit from the director of the department of building, zoning and licensing and pay the required fee before setting out a single table or chair. The application under § 22-292 must include a valid restaurant or takeout business license, a certificate of use for the adjoining building frontage, proof of liability insurance, and a scaled drawing showing table, chair and umbrella placement, along with a nonrefundable $100.00 application fee credited toward the first year's permit fee.

Section 22-294 sets the physical standards the review committee, made up of the building, zoning and licensing director, the planning director and the downtown development manager, must apply: no tables within five feet of a taxi stand or a pedestrian crosswalk, only sidewalks ten feet wide or greater qualify, and a minimum five-foot clear pedestrian path has to remain open at all times, which the committee can widen in busy areas. Permits run annually from October 1 to September 30 with a $25.00 renewal fee under § 22-296, are personal to the permittee and non-transferable, and the permittee must carry at least $1,000,000.00 in liability coverage under § 22-295.

The director can suspend or revoke a permit for insurance lapses, uncorrected violations, or pedestrian congestion under § 22-297, and a permittee has ten days to appeal a denial or revocation to the city manager and city council under § 22-298.