Georgetown officials give final approval to streamlined block party permit

Neighborhood block parties have a new, streamlined permitting process after Georgetown City Council approved an ordinance update at its Oct. 8 meeting.

The takeaway

According to agenda documents, the new block party permit for small-scale community events requires applicants to:

• Plan the block party between the hours of 7 a.m.-10 p.m.
• Open the event to all residents living on the street where the block party is proposed
• Consider street closure limitations, as closure requests could be denied if a city traffic engineer determines it negatively impacts neighborhood logistics
• Receive a food service permit from Williamson County Cities Health District and a permit from the Georgetown Fire Department if the block party has a food truck

Residents can only submit permit requests for streets they live on, and applications must be submitted 45 days before the event, according to city documents.

Remember this?

At a Sept. 24 meeting, Georgetown officials gave initial approval to make block party permits separate from special event permits, which were previously one in the same under the events and celebrations ordinance, according to previous Community Impact reporting.

Within the past year, residents would sometimes hold block parties without city permission to avoid the “cumbersome” permitting process, Allyson Iiams, Georgetown’s special events and marketing coordinator, previously stated.

The neighborhood block party guidebook and application are now live on the city’s website.