Youngstown, OH Special Events & Permits: Street Fair Rules (2026)

In the City of Youngstown, Ohio, Section 761.10(g) of the Codified Ordinances governs vendors at street fairs and festivals by barring any itinerant retailer from operating within the boundaries of a designated special event, or on public property generally, without the express permission of the event's sponsor. A 'designated special event' under this subsection is limited to an event for which the Mayor has given written approval to use public property, and the Mayor may grant that approval to community service organizations and nonprofit corporations.

Once an event is approved, a map showing the boundaries of the public property being used must be submitted to the Chief of Police. Vendors selling inside an approved special event's boundaries are exempt from the itinerant retailer license that Section 761.01 otherwise requires, for the duration of the event, but they remain subject to the chapter's other conduct rules, including the ban on blocking sidewalks under Section 761.10(c) and the daily equipment-removal duty under Section 761.10(i). Outside an approved event, the general itinerant retailer license from the Chief of Police under Section 761.01, at $150 a year or $50 per 30-day period under Section 761.02, and the Planning and Zoning verification required by Section 761.04, still apply.

Section 761.99 makes violating the special-event vending rule, where no other penalty is specified, a third-degree misdemeanor for a first offense and a first-degree misdemeanor for repeat offenses.