Council creates tiered festival license and votes to waive fees for nonprofits

Bloomington’s City Council adopted an ordinance April 27 creating a tiered festival license for large outdoor events held on private property, including a three-tier fee structure tied to anticipated attendance. The license fills a gap not covered by the existing special-event permitting for public right-of-way and replaces an older circus/carnival license.

City Clerk Leslie Yoakam explained the license would apply to open-air events expected to draw 300 or more attendees, with application fees starting at $100 and tiered daily fees thereafter to allow staff oversight of safety plans; police, fire and building inspectors would review plans for larger events. The ordinance exempts city-sponsored events, religious and political assemblies, school and university-hosted events and the Bloomington Farmers Market.

Councilmember Ward raised concerns about nonprofits that run occasional community services (for example backpack giveaways) and whether they would face the fees if attendance estimates reached 300. Staff said the ordinance uses an anticipated-attendance threshold and that the city manager has limited discretion in submission deadlines; council adopted an amendment to explicitly exempt nonprofits from the fee.

Outcome: the amended ordinance passed. Staff said the licensing regime is intended to ensure public safety while keeping the process simple for event organizers.