Mesa, AZ Special Events & Permits: Street Fair Rules (2026)

Section 5-1-3(A) states it is "unlawful for a person to conduct a special event within the City without a valid license," and Subsection (B) ties that license to a specific location, date, time, and event, making it non-transferable. Filing deadlines scale with event size: a small-scale special event application is due no later than 14 calendar days before the event's first day, while a large-scale event needs 30 calendar days' notice, extending to 90 calendar days when the event requires closing an "arterial street" as defined in Title 11, Chapter 87.

The Licensing Administrator sets the rules distinguishing small-scale from large-scale events and must publish them. Applications must include organizer contact information, the location and site plan showing booths, stands, stages, and tents, the date, time, and description, any right-of-way closure, the estimated number of people, animals, vehicles, and vendors, a vendor list, proof of required insurance, and disclosure of planned open-flame devices or flammable materials. Events held in a City park draw additional Title 6, Chapter 10 park-use conditions. The Licensing Administrator can require liability insurance naming the City as an additional insured, sized to the activity and approved by the City's risk manager.

Every event's license must be posted and available for inspection on demand, and the licensee must file an updated, final vendor list with the Licensing Administrator no later than seven calendar days after the event ends. The Administrator can deny a license for incomplete or false applications, scheduling conflicts, threats to public health or safety, a documented history of police calls tied to the event, a moral-turpitude conviction within the prior 10 years, or a licensing/vendor-list failure within the preceding 18 months.