Prepare a Site Plan for a special event on a City street

Prepare and submit your site plan

Site plans need to be uploaded with your permit application.

They can be uploaded as a PDF, image file, or other digital file format.

Your plan does not need to be drawn by a design or engineering professional. But it does need to be accurate and to scale for us to assess your plan.

What to include in your site plan

• Measurements for the street width
• All existing street features, like sidewalk bulb-outs (where the sidewalk gets wider), traffic islands, and driveways for off-street parking
• A minimum 14’ wide emergency access lane running the full length of the event
  • We recommend having the lane run down the center of the road, not on the side. People can be in the emergency lane during the event, just not objects like tents, or tables/chairs.
  • In rare instances, we may require a wider lane, which we’ll tell you once we review your application.
• Where you’ll put everything, like tents, bounce houses, tables, booths, and stages. Write down the dimensions, including height, either on the site plan or in the accompanying written material
  • For tables and chairs, you can show the area where they’ll be, not each individual item.
  • Leave 20’ from the street corner/intersection
  • Where you will place barricades
  • If you want to string anything across the street, show location and height.

Rules for your site plan

• Crosswalks may not be obstructed. Intersections must be left completely clear, even if the streets meeting at the intersection are all closed.
• Fire hydrants need to remain accessible, with 5’ clearance on all sides.

For tents, booths, or other structures

• They need to be at least 20’ from the intersection.
• Write whether they are enclosed or open.
• Describe what will happen at booths, noting if they are for food or drinks, and which will have cooking or food warming.
• You can only have 7 tents in a row without a break of at least 12 feet.
• Larger areas of booths may require additional permitting.

Barricades

• Show where barricades will be to close the street and what type you will use.
• Read the guidelines for special event barricades.

Stages

• Include the height of the stage surface from the street.
• Include the maximum height of the stage with the activities or objects on it. For example, a lighting structure or speakers.
• Stages over 30” tall will need railings and may need a ramp.

Toilets

• If you will be having food or drink, you should plan on having at least 2 or 3 toilets, with one being ADA accessible. Show where they will be placed on your site plan.
• If you can guarantee free and open access to toilets in adjacent facilities and buildings (including at least one that’s ADA accessible), those may count for some or all of the portable toilets.
• After we review your plan, we will let you know if you need (more) toilets.

Sidewalk

• A permit for a street closure generally does not allow for sidewalks to be obstructed.

Passenger drop-off and deliveries

Rideshare and food delivery vehicles are not allowed on closed streets.

This may impact businesses on the blocks you want to close, as well as residents.

You might want to convert parking spaces next to your closure to “delivery zones.”

Include those spaces on your site plan.

Tips for your site plan

• For many streets, you can find measurements on SFMTA striping drawings.
• You can use online maps to get measurements of the street and sidewalk and features like driveways and bulb-outs (places where the sidewalk bulges out into the street – most commonly found at corners).
  • Online maps can be outdated. Check in person when preparing your site plan.
• Check for Muni power lines (overhead lines) on the block(s) you want to close. Consult with SFMTA to make sure there is safe clearance.

After you submit your plan

The City reviews site plans carefully. This helps ensure events are safe and accessible.

It is common for us to request more detail or changes to your plan.