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

Tracy Municipal Code Chapter 9.06, known as the City Fire Code, adopts the 2025 California Fire Code by reference under Section 9.06.030 and then makes local amendments in Section 9.06.070. One of those amendments rewrites Section 105.5.5 to read: 'Carnivals, Fairs, Festivals, and Exhibitions. A permit is required to operate a carnival, fair, festival, or exhibition,' which covers a street fair staged in Tracy the same as an indoor exhibition hall event. Section 9.06.040 designates the South San Joaquin County Fire Authority as the Authority Having Jurisdiction for all fire protection matters in the city, meaning that agency's fire code official reviews and issues the operational permit alongside any other life-safety conditions the event requires, such as generator, tent, or cooking-equipment permits also listed among the Section 105.5 amendments.

This permit is separate from, and in addition to, the Special Event Permit that TMC Chapter 4.40 requires for a fair occupying a public street or right-of-way; a downtown street fair organizer in Tracy typically needs both approvals. Section 9.06.050 amends the Fire Code's general penalty provision, Section 110.4, to route enforcement of any violation, including operating a carnival, fair, or festival without the required permit, to the City of Tracy and the South San Joaquin County Fire Authority acting under TMC Section 9.02.050. Anyone aggrieved by a fire code official's permit decision can appeal in writing to the City's Board of Appeals within thirty days of that decision under Section 9.06.060.