Aliso Viejo, CA Special Events & Permits: Street Fair Rules (2026)

Chapter 11.05 of the Aliso Viejo Municipal Code lists "carnivals, circuses, fairs, festivals" and outdoor craft fairs among its examples of special events in section 11.05.020. A street fair also qualifies on its own terms: any event requiring full or partial street closure on a public street, sidewalk, alley or other right-of-way is a special event regardless of attendance. Section 11.05.030 makes it unlawful to organize, advertise, or sell or furnish tickets to such an event in the City of Aliso Viejo without a valid permit, and the permit cannot be moved to another venue or another applicant.

Vendor rules arrive as permit conditions under section 11.05.090(D). The city manager must impose conditions that coordinate multiple uses of public property, protect public places, and control vehicular and pedestrian traffic around the venue. The list includes inspection and approval by city personnel of stages, booths, floats, structures, vehicles or equipment before use; traffic cones or barricades in the number set by council resolution; first aid stations and sanitary facilities, including accessible ones; a waste management plan with cleanup and restoration of the venue; restrictions consistent with Chapter 8.12 on sound amplification; approvals from the Orange County Fire Authority, the health department and the Department of Alcohol and Beverage Control; and the business licenses or other permits this code requires for the sale of food, beverages, or other goods or services. How alcohol is sold and served at the event is also a condition.

Timing and cost matter. A completed application is due at least 90 calendar days before the event under section 11.05.060, the applicant pays a nonrefundable fee set by council resolution plus departmental service charges, and section 11.05.150 requires liability insurance of no less than $1,000,000 per occurrence naming the city as an additional insured. A street fair that closes an arterial street cannot run from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. or 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekdays under section 11.05.140. Selling inside a city park separately needs a written permit under section 11.10.080.