2025 Minutes with BRT Map- All City Event Coordinator's Meeting

City of Columbus, Ohio sent this bulletin at 11/12/2025 09:25 AM EST

Special Events All-City Meeting – November 3, 2025, 1pm-3pm

Corinne Taylor – Welcome everyone. Thank you for coming and for all you do to create such amazing events in Columbus. We appreciate all you do and enjoy working with you each year. This meeting is to discuss upcoming changes and respond to any concerns from 2025.

Alyssa Knight CRPD – Application trends are positive. Applicants are starting the application process sooner than in previous years. Great Job! The normal time frame to receive your permit is between 1-30 days before your event. It takes around 40-60 days to process a permit but since event scopes can vary greatly, the normal range is between 10 and 125 days.

Mark Springer – BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) over next several years will be adding rapid transit bus lines including on Broad St. Please see attached projection map/timeline. (Subject to change) Over the next few years 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 street closures will be impactful downtown.

Department Updates:

Heather Williams CRPD – Fee changes to street closures, Street 1 (1-2 blocks/no major thoroughfares) will remain $50. Street 2 (3+ blocks, major thoroughfares) will go up to $100. Shelter rentals are going up to $85/hour for non-profits and $100/hour for profit. North Bank is going up $25/hour. Peak Season: 4/1-10/31 will be $225/hour Mon-Thurs, $375/hour Fri-Sat, $275/hour Sun. Off Peak Season 11/1-3/31 will be $175/hour Mon-Thurs, $275/hour Fri-Sun. 

Please be sure to start your reservation for the following year within 60 days of your current event. If reservations are not received your date/location may be opened to other groups.

CRPD policy will remain the same for alcohol/liquor. You need to have a non-profit, complete the necessary tenancy, street & peace officer forms. We will not permit business expansions for alcohol.

Notifications need to be provided to all adjoining properties for festivals and moving events. This can be emailed, mailed, left at residences (flyers), given to property managers, etc.

  1. Is there a best practice for notifications? A. Not really use what you can, Close app can help and is required for closures.

Eproval will have some updates. Most will be small changes, but Drones will have its own section. We have also added the barricade map requirement for Traffic Management. If you have already started your 2026 application, you may not see these changes until 2027. We will still ask you to submit barricade maps.

Mark Springer – Parking Services has no changes for 2026.

Jarrod Elfrink – ROW has no changes for events, CLOSE has no changes. ROW now has enforcement for closure permitting – citations are possible for closures without permits.

Paul Boldin – CPD contract date is Dec 7th– hourly rates will increase to $71 Officers, $84 Sergeants, $99 Lieutenants, $116.50 Commanders – Cruisers remain same at $25. Special duty requests should be made as far in advance as possible. Proper way to request is to use Eproval.

Brent Wheeler – Street Maintenance has no changes for events. Race routes will continue to be swept/patched.   

  1. Can races contract with City for after the race street sweepers? A. Yes, but the rate is high.

Mark Dipiero – Traffic Mgt. - Barricade maps required. Maps should be labelled with Type I/Type III. Type 1 is typically used for residential/alley, Type III used for multi-lane, anything else. We have also added to Eproval a question asking who is placing barricades.  Another traffic control option is Grace Supply 740-963-4285.

Q: Do you have a 70/71 update? – A. Front was supposed to open Oct. but currently is not. High is two lanes and a mess. 3rd and 4th bridges to follow – to be done half at a time like High St.

Dorothy Tubaugh – Refuse no changes. Encourage recycling/food waste. Recycling containers are available upon request. SWACO also has recycling available.

  1. Does refuse pick up pallets yes/no? Dorothy will check.
  2. Pricing for recycling? – Varies dependent on labor, materials, etc.

Jason McKnight – Fire EMS– no fee increases for 2026. Emergency plan section is now both PA/EMS. They will want processes in writing for how you are going to notify/address weather concerns.

Josh Farley – Fire PA – Fire code has been updated and the start date is 11/20. Arches need fire lane of 20ft wide by 13.6ft high. Crowd Managers will be required for events with 1000+ outside or 500+ indoor and they should have 1 crowd manager per 250 people, peak attendance. The main website for the training is www.crowdmanagers.com and the cost is $25/per person. The direct link to purchase is Crowd Manager Training (Single Purchase) 2025 – CrowdManagers. Cold spark requires pyrotechnic permit.

  1. Can we have one big training course for all events? A. Trying to work towards this, but currently not available.

Tim Basak– Public Health – Food Temporary license is going up to $113 per event up to 5 days/$56.50 non-profit. High Risk Mobile Food is going up $287 and low risk is going up to $143.50.

Lindsay Williams – Public Health Tobacco – fees not changing will remain $50 per event. Tobacco includes hookah/shisha. Applications are due 5 full business days before event.

Ben Lee – Licensing – if mobile food vendors are only working event they don’t need licensing. No fee changes. Aug 2026 brings the option to search for licenses on website.

Jeremy Dover – BZS no changes. Fees may increase, this information will come later this year. Temporary structure applications need to be submitted to BZS at least 30 days before the event. BZS permitting is separate from Eproval Event permit.  

  1. Is the 3rd party engineer still a thing? A. Yes, it’s still in code and will still be required.
  2. What is the latest Friday for inspection? Before 3 unless you pay for after hours inspection.

Corinne Taylor CRPD reminders:

  • Site Maps: Please make sure that everything in your application matches your site map. If you tell us you have tents, food trucks and inflatables, please make sure they are all accounted for on your site map. Tent counts should reflect ALL tents, contracted and those brought in by your vendors. Account for the highest amount you could have if you are unsure.
  • Timing: The times that you enter for your start/finish, street closure and reopening, setup and teardown matter. That is how staff are scheduled to work (bomb squad sweeps, CPD, CFD, inspections), how COTA routes transportation as well as how you are listed on the public calendar. Please make sure they are accurate to the best of your knowledge.
  • Genoa Park Gates: Please make sure the gates on the north and south end of Genoa are either locked open or locked closed for your event, regardless of your barricades being in place. Barricades are required even if the Genoa gates are locked closed.
  • Special Event Support Program: If you applied for and received SESP for 2025, your final reports are due 90 days post event. Please make sure they are submitted as soon as possible. You are not eligible to apply for 2026 funding if we do not receive your final reports. 2026 information will be announced in the spring.
  • America 250: To have your events placed on the America 250 calendars, please follow the link here for art related events: Ohio EventFinder and non-art related events may use this form.

Questions:

  1. Parking signs updates? A. They need to be placed and removed in a timely manner. Don’t tape to trees. Make an extra run to verify that they are still in place and/or removed as needed.
  2. Were told that officers using body cams will be following during sign placement? A. This is CPD section dependent, and currently only for larger events. (ex. Marathon/Hot Choc.)
  3. When does CPD enforce the no parking? Specifically for Italian Fest Parade not being enforced before/during and then being over-enforced after. A. Speak with the CPD supervisor at your event to have it taken care of onsite (contingent on signage being posted). Address concerns as quickly as possible during the event or right after so that we can make sure they are noted, and solutions are presented.
  4. How do we get the Genoa gates open/closed. A. The code will be on your permit, or you can call or email the SE office as well as post the question in your application.

2026 Roundtable Ideas

How to handle Protest/Rally

How to handle ICE showing up

Crowd Management