Noblesville, IN Special Events & Permits: Street Fair Rules (2026)

Section 159.127(C)(7) governs bazaars, carnivals, festivals, outdoor expositions, grand openings, and similar temporary uses citywide. The Director may issue a Temporary Use Permit for a maximum of ten days; any event lasting longer than ten days must instead be approved by the Board of Zoning Appeals. Festival organizers get one built-in exemption: the use need not comply with the chapter's maximum height restrictions, which normally cover tents, stages and temporary structures. The applicant is responsible for making sure waste and debris generated by the event never leaves the site, and any refuse receptacles or portable toilets brought in must be located and maintained according to the approved event plans.

If any tent on site exceeds four hundred square feet, the Fire Marshal must approve it before setup. Event signage is limited to what the general sign chapter, Section 159.160 et seq., allows, and grand openings specifically are exempted from the Temporary Use Permit fee that other events pay. Like the section's other temporary uses, festivals may not be sited within a required setback, easement, or fire lane, and cannot obstruct or render unusable any handicap parking space. The Director also weighs whether the event will harm the surrounding neighborhood through odor, dust, light, noise or traffic, and whether the host site can still support existing parking and pedestrian circulation while the festival runs, before approving the permit under Section 159.127(B)(4).