Shreveport officials outline rules and enforcement for special events at city parks

City staff described the permitting, safety and enforcement procedures for special events on city property and said the event task force — facilitated by SPAR — meets twice monthly to coordinate requirements across departments.

Shelley Rangel, who oversees the city’s event facilitation, told the Public Safety Committee that any activity open to the public on city property requires a special-event permit and a site plan. “If you’re hosting event where you’re inviting people in, you have to have a permit,” Rangel said. The permit application asks for a site plan, security plan and whether EMS should be on site; organizers must meet insurance requirements and disclose activities such as bounce houses.

Rangel said the event task force meets the first and third Wednesday of every month at Festival Plaza and that SPAR will be moving to an electronic application system that will accept online payments and provide automated notices. Rangel said the task force sees roughly “about anywhere between depending on the year, 6 to 800 applications.”

Police Chief Smith described SPD’s role in enforcement. If an event lacks a verifiable permit, officers will attempt to verify the permit with SPAR and, if unable to confirm, may ask organizers to close the event. “We would make an attempt to verify that,” Chief Smith said. He added that the police special-events unit receives event lists weekly so officers know in advance where events are planned.

Council members pressed staff to require event organizers to attend task force meetings so organizers cannot claim ignorance of requirements. Councilwoman Taylor asked whether applicants must show they have security in place before advertising; staff said the permit application already states organizers should not advertise until a permit is issued. Several council members urged a longer lead time for major events; staff said 45 days is the target for securing police and other services and the city is considering ordinance changes and application fees to encourage timely applications.

Staff said smaller neighborhood or school events would be handled more flexibly, but that a clearer cutoff or prioritization system could be developed to manage city resources. Rangel said the department’s role is to facilitate compliance across departments — police, fire prevention and EMS — and to make the process easier for organizers.

Ending: Staff plans to implement an electronic application and continue refining deadlines and possible ordinance changes; the committee encouraged making attendance at task-force meetings an explicit part of the permit process for larger events.