Williamsburg City staff told the City Council on Sept. 11 that short-term special-event permitting will move into the city's existing SMApply platform to centralize application intake, reviewer comments and fee payment, and that the council adopted an ordinance to add a $50 short-term permit fee.

The change: Sarah Seward, administrative coordinator in Economic Development & Tourism, said the city already uses SMApply for grant and application management and has built a custom workflow for short-term events that preserves existing application questions and legal notice requirements while adding automated tasks, reviewer dashboards and reminders. Staff said applicants and reviewers must register an account; applicants will see a dashboard with application status, tasks and automated reminders. The platform will auto-populate conditional questions (for example, road-closure details) and hold all reviewer comments centrally.

Why it matters: Staff reported 93 short-term special-event permit applications last year and 70 so far this year, and said processing those permits requires input from multiple departments and regional partners (planning, public works, fire, police, Merchant Square, Colonial Williamsburg, the library). Council members said the platform should reduce email tracking and improve applicant transparency.

Fee and rollout: Council adopted Ordinance 25-14 to add a $50 short-term event fee (long-term special-event permit remains $100). Staff said the fee brings Williamsburg in line with neighboring localities and will be payable through the SMApply platform. Council and staff set a target live date of Jan. 1, 2026; the Economic Development Department will schedule staff training, perform a final test run and work with the communications director to post clear public guidance on the city website and partner pages.

What council said: Mayor Ponds called the new workflow “outstanding” and praised the applicant dashboard; several councilors said they look forward to reduced phone and email inquiries. Councilors stressed the importance of clear public-facing information so residents and organizers know where to begin and how to check an application’s status.

Implementation notes: Staff said the city already holds an SMApply license that covers multiple programs and that adding special-event permitting is managed within the existing license. Finance staff will integrate the flat fee payment into the platform. Training and partner notifications are planned before the rollout.