(1) Purpose and intent.

The Board of County Commissioners finds that special events having a specific location often attract a large gathering of people and may cause impacts to the public health and safety, requiring appropriate regulations to insure adequate sanitation and sewage disposal facilities; law enforcement; fire rescue personnel and equipment; parking; traffic control; crowd control; and other concerns in the interest of public safety and public health. In enacting this Section, it is the intent of the Board to protect and promote the health, welfare, and safety of Seminole County citizens and visitors.

(2) Use restrictions and general requirements.

1. Special events at specific locations are subject to the permitting provisions of this Section. The special event permit review process is intended to mitigate impacts on surrounding land uses where such impacts were not addressed through prior development approvals on the subject property. Special events which occur on a county-wide basis rather than at a particular location are not subject to the permitting provisions of this Section, except for off-premise signs.
2. No site specific special event may be permitted for more than fourteen {14) consecutive days, and no parcel of land may be permitted to have more than five (5) site specific special events in any twelve-month period, unless otherwise authorized by the Board of County Commissioners.
3. At the end of the period for which the site specific special event was permitted, the use of the approved location must be discontinued and all temporary structures involved must be removed and all permanent structures may be used only as permitted under applicable pre-existing development approvals.
4. Off-premise and on-premise signs may be used to announce, identify or direct attendees to the location of a site specific special event subject to the following requirements:
   1. Off-premise signs. Permitted according to the provisions of Section 30.13.3(b)(2)a.
   2. On-premise signs. A plan for all signs to be placed on-site, announcing or identifying the site specific special event, must be submitted with the application unless a special event application is not required by subsection 30.6.4(2)b. Evaluation of this plan will take into account traffic visibility; visibility of adjacent business signs and/or traffic signs and signals; disturbance to adjacent properties; and other appropriate considerations as determined by the Development Services Director. In the circumstance when a special event application is not required, the property owner shall be mindful of the foregoing considerations so as to not create a negative impact when placing on-premise signs.
5. The sale of admission or seating tickets in excess of the approved attendance shall be prohibited.
6. The operator of a site specific special event must obtain all required permits and authorizations from the owner of the property and all applicable agencies such as the Building Division, Public Works Department, Sheriff's Office, or other department or agency as needed.
7. Depending upon the type of special event being requested and the estimated attendance, security personnel may be required to staff the special event. A Security Plan shall be submitted by the event operator to the Planning and Development Division. The Security Plan shall include the security measures proposed to be taken (searches, metal detection, ID check, etc.), the location of these measures and the proposed number of security personnel. The Planning and Development Division will provide the Security Plan to the Sheriff's Office for review, recommendation and comment, if any. The security personnel required by the Security Plan should be staffed by off-duty police officers or sheriff's deputies. However, the Development Services Director can waive this requirement and allow third party private security personnel upon the applicant showing that no off-duty officers or deputies are available for the special event and recommendation by the Sheriff's Office. The Security Plan will be required as a condition of approval for any Special Event Permit. The cost for any such security measures shall be borne by the applicant.

(3) Approval.

1. Special events expected to draw less than two hundred (200) persons as participants or spectators at any time during the event may be administratively approved by the Development Services Director. Special events expected to draw more than two hundred (200) persons at any given time may be administratively approved by the Development Services Director or designee where they are located on developed office, commercial, or industrial sites of ten (10) acres or more and have adequate parking and other facilities to support the expected number of participants.

   In approving any special event, the Development Services Director shall make a determination that the proposed event is reasonably compatible with nearby existing development, and does not pose an unreasonable safety or health risk for patrons or neighbors. The Development Services Director may place conditions on approval of a special event permit as needed to maintain compatibility and promote the health, safety and welfare of Seminole County citizens and visitors. The Development Services Director may, at his or her discretion, refer any special event permit application to the Board of County Commissioners.

2. Any special event exceeding the scope of those described in paragraph 3(a) above shall require approval by the Board of County Commissioners, unless otherwise provided for herein.

   In approving any special event, the Board shall make a determination that the proposed event is reasonably compatible with nearby existing development and does not pose an unreasonable safety or health risk for patrons or neighbors. The Board may place conditions on approval of a special event permit as needed to maintain compatibility and promote the health, safety and welfare of Seminole County citizens and visitors.

   Once a special event is approved by the Board, subsequent applications for the same special event are only required to be reviewed and approved by the Development Services Director or designee. If the subsequent special event is substantially modified or changed from the prior Board approval or the conditions of approval were not sufficient to maintain compatibility and promote the health, safety and welfare of Seminole County citizens and visitors, as determined by the Development Services Director, the special event permit request would be required to obtain Board approval.

4) Application for Permit.

(Policies and procedures regarding special event permits shall be available in the offices of the Planning and Development Division. An applicant for a special event permit shall file a written application not less than ninety (90) days prior to the proposed event. This time period may be reduced by the Development Services Director upon a finding that there is sufficient time to fully review, comment and approve the application.

All special event permit applications shall include the following:

1. Application fee as may be established by the Board of County Commissioners.
2. Name and address of applicant or contact person(s) for the event.
3. Legal description of subject property in digital word processing format.
4. Date(s) and hours of the special event.
5. Estimated attendance at the special event per 24-hour period.
6. Descriptions of all performances at the event.
7. Description of all recording and/or sound amplification equipment, signs or other attention-getting devices which will be utilized in connection with the event.
8. Description of how security and traffic control will be provided.
9. Any necessary licenses for the serving of food and/or beverages.
10. Certificate of Insurance listing Seminole County, Florida, its officials, officers and employees and the Seminole County Sheriffs Office as Additional Insureds and in the types and amounts required by the County's Risk Management Division.
11. The following information must be provided on a conceptual site plan not less than 11" x 17" in size:
    • Areas for the serving of food and/or beverages.
    • Location(s) of structure(s), including any temporary shelters such as tents.
    • Points of ingress and egress to the site.
    • Location of music or other amplified noise source(s) in relation to residential areas.
    • Location of fireworks and launch points or other noise sources.
    • Location of sanitation facilities.
    • Location of trash receptacles.
    • Parking plan.
    • Pedestrian circulation plan, including travel routes for any shuttle vehicles, demonstrating that traffic/parking areas are safely separated from pedestrians.
    • Location of medical facilities if required by the Public Safety Director.
12. Additional information as the Board or the Development Services Director may require.

(5) Review Process.

Upon receiving a completed application, the Development Services Director shall transmit relevant information to other appropriate officials including but not limited to the Building Official, the County Engineer, the Fire Chief, the Sheriff, and the Environmental Services Director for review. Based on comments from these officials and compliance with this Section, the Development Services Director shall approve or deny the application pursuant to Section 30.6.4.2(3)a, or prepare the item for presentation to the Board of County Commissioners for its consideration pursuant to Section 30.6.4.2(3)b. The applicant shall retain responsibility for securing all other necessary permits that may be required in addition to the Special Event Permit. Any decision of the Development Services Director with regard to any special event permit application may be appealed to the Board of County Commissioners for consideration under paragraph 30.6.4.2(3)b above. Such appeal must be submitted within fifteen (15) days of notification of a decision by the Development Services Director.

Other permits may be required for your event or outdoor sales :

Fire Permit Information