Host a neighborhood block party

If you are only closing the street and not putting any tables, tents or other objects out on the street, or if those objects stay within the parking areas along the sides of the street, you don’t need a site plan.

Examples that don't require a site plan:

• “Trick or Treat” closures where the only thing happening is a closed street for people to gather and walk
• Simple potluck gatherings with tables set up where you would otherwise park a car, with the rest of the street closed for play and safety

Otherwise, if you want to put items in the traffic lanes of the street like pop-up tents, cornhole sets, or a bounce house, you will need to create a site plan. This can be drawn hand or made on a computer.

It must show the block and everything you want to place on the street. Remember to keep sidewalks clear and unobstructed.

• Follow the rules outlined in Neighborhood Block Party Site Plan Examples

You will upload your site plan as part of your intake form (see Step 3).

If you've already submitted an intake form, skip to Step 4.

Start by submitting a pre-application form online. The form captures key event details, like location, date(s), and activities. 

Staff will review your form within 2 business days. You’ll get a personalized checklist of the permits you’ll need.

Submit

If you've already submitted the intake form, skip to step 4.

In the application, the Special Events team will ask you many of the same questions you answered in the intake form.

Apply

Let us know if you need to pay the fee with a check or money order, or if a City office is going to pay your application fee.

We can’t refund or transfer fees.

(Fees go up on July 1 each year.)

You’ll need a permit from the Entertainment Commission if you plan to have entertainment or amplified sound. This could be live or recorded music or sound.

By completing the intake form, you'll get a list of the permits you'll need.

Talk with the people on your block about the event because it can impact their ability to get deliveries, have friends drop by, and maybe even park on their street.

Special Events staff will email you with instructions on how and where to post a public notice on your street and the notice to be posted. The notice will include basic information on your requested event and has contact information for your neighbors to reach out to the City if they have concerns.

• The posting will need to be up for 7 days. See a sample notice.
• Complete a form confirming that you posted the notice. Take photos as proof. Email the form and photos back to Special Events staff.
• You are responsible for removing the notices after 7 days.

You'll get an email with the approved permit for your event.

We don’t recommend getting “No Parking” signs from SFMTA for most block parties.

We want to spare you the cost and also avoid any possibility of your neighbors’ cars getting towed.

Instead, plan your event to work without it. SFMTA Special Events staff can work with you on a layout to avoid using 'no parking signs.' It may be enough to hand out informal flyers a few times the week before and ask neighbors to move their cars.

You may still need “No Parking” signs if your street is narrow or you’re planning something that requires that specific curb space be empty, like a bounce house.

Whether or not you post “No Parking,” you still need to allow some local access. 

During the event:

• If someone needs to move a car parked on the street, help them exit safely through the barricades.
• You must allow access to driveways and garages. If someone needs to drive in or out, walk them through the event to keep everyone safe.
• Don’t let new cars enter to park on the street once it is closed.
• Don’t allow any delivery vehicles access to the block.
• Emergency vehicles and official paratransit vehicles must always be allowed access.

Rent A-frame barricades (Type I or II) and cones from a private vendor or SF Public Works. After your permit is approved, email dpweventrequest@sfdpw.org to rent them from SF Public Works.

Equip barricades with flashing lights if your event goes past dark.

Refer to your approved site plan when you set them up, but remember:

• Put the barricades no more than 6 feet apart, from curb to curb. There should be no gap wide enough for a car to drive through. Barricades should be on the side of the crosswalk closest to the intersection. Put a “Road Closed” sign on a barricade facing oncoming traffic.
• You are responsible for setting up, monitoring, and removing the barricades.

If your event isn’t closing the full length of a block, put barricades to separate the event from the open part of the block.

Place at least one adult at each barricade. If the block is small, one person can monitor the barricades at both ends. Their role is to:

• Make sure barricades aren’t moved
• Help people get to their garages
• Facilitate emergency access

The monitor should have a copy of the street closure permit with them.

The monitor needs to be able to move barricades quickly in case of an emergency.

Monitors can help direct drivers to alternate routes. They will make sure no vehicles enter the event except for emergency responders or official paratransit.