Lewisville creates 4 entertainment zones, changes rules to encourage more special events

The Lewisville City Council unanimously passed an ordinance Oct. 18 that will allow special events in the city to happen more frequently and encourage them in certain areas.

The ordinance amends several codes related to the amount of time required between each special event and the fees required to have events at certain locations.

The previous rules required waiting a minimum of 180 days between events held in the same location. That time frame has been changed to 90 days, which, according to a memo by Chris McGinn, director of neighborhood and inspection services, will “give greater flexibility to applicants while still maintaining a reasonable temporal separation between events.”

From the ordinance comes four new event zones in Lewisville—the Castle Hills Community District, the Mall District, the Bill Weaver Arena and the Old Town Entertainment District.

These four districts are exempt from the permit frequency restrictions, and, as a result, people planning events in those zones do not have to pay a $25 permit application fee.

The ordinance also allowed for some changes to the code's language for clarity.

The definition of a special event has expanded to now include rodeo and equestrian events as well as automobile exhibitions. Any event expected to have more than 100 attendees “outside of the facility or property’s normal and intended use,” is now considered a special event.

Mayor TJ Gilmore said he thought the amendment was needed and well-executed.

“I appreciate the opportunity to get more organizations involved in the city,” Gilmore said. “I don’t want to see this create [a heavier] workload for our city staff, but I do want to see more opportunities for events.”