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Consider an ordinance amending the Code of Ordinances, Chapter 25, Article V, Parades and Assemblies, and repealing Chapter 5, Article IV, Shows, Etc., to adopt updated regulations for Special Event permitting.
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DATE: January 6, 2026
TO: Kent Cagle, City Manager
FROM: Laurie Wilson, Assistant City Manager
SUBJECT: Ordinance Amending Chapter 25, Article V and Repealing Chapter 5, Article IV - Special Events Ordinance
BACKGROUND AND FINDINGS:
The City's current regulations governing parades and assemblies are codified in Chapter 25, Article V of the Code of Ordinances ("Parades and Assemblies Ordinance"). Separately, Chapter 5, Article IV ("Shows, Etc.") regulates shows, performances, exhibitions, carnivals, circuses, rodeos, and similar places of amusement.
These provisions were adopted decades ago, are in different chapters, and use outdated terminology and processes. They do not reflect current best practices for special event management, public safety, or constitutional standards for content-neutral time, place, and manner regulation.
Council direction and stakeholder process
In response to concerns raised by downtown businesses and other event stakeholders about the existing process, the City Council directed staff to conduct stakeholder outreach and to bring back recommended ordinance amendments. Pursuant to that direction, staff met with representatives of the Downtown Merchants Association, Downtown Advisory Board, Youth Advisory Council, and internal City departments, including Police, Parks and Recreation, and Development Services.
Key themes from that stakeholder process included:
* Multiple events based on resources, not a "one-event-per-day" rule: Stakeholders and the Police Department supported revising the "one event at a time" limitation so that simultaneous events may be approved when City resources (e.g., police, EMS, traffic control, sanitation) can safely accommodate them.
* Street closures and downtown access: ...
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