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

Santee Municipal Code Chapter 4.26 regulates 'special event shows,' defined to include business expositions, craft fairs, bazaars, art shows, antique shows, hobby shows, and similar events where individual vendors display goods or services for sale. The sponsor, whether an association, a group of vendors, or a property owner who permits the show to operate, must obtain a business license for the show itself and secure a regulatory permit for each participating vendor before that vendor sells or offers to sell anything. Section 4.26.030 exempts a vendor from the separate permit only if the vendor already holds a valid City business license and the goods or services sold at the show match what that license already covers.

Under Section 4.26.040, the sponsor requests blank vendor applications from the City's issuing officer, pays a fee set by City Council resolution for each application, and each vendor must complete the form with the sponsor's name, the show's name, the show location, the vendor's signed certification under penalty of perjury, the show dates, a seller's permit number, and the type of goods or services offered. A completed, signed application itself satisfies the permit requirement. Section 4.26.050 caps each vendor permit at three consecutive calendar days beginning with the show's first day, counted by calendar date rather than by the number of hours.

Within 10 calendar days after the show closes, Section 4.26.060 requires the sponsor to return copies of every issued vendor permit to the issuing officer, and no refunds are given for permits that were never issued to a vendor.