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State Parks explains event-permit fees and plans online portal; SITLA charges remain separate
Summary
State Parks staff told the OHP advisory council that SITLA (School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration) charges a roughly 4% event fee for special-use permits on trust lands, that the parks division is building an online permitting portal, and that multi-year event contracts will be piloted.
Chris Harmato of State Parks updated the OHP advisory council on event-permit fees and administrative changes that affect OHV event organizers, saying SITLA charges a separate fee that event organizers must pay when their permit footprint includes SITLA-managed parcels.
“It's a 4% fee of the total of the event itself,” Chris said when describing SITLA’s portion of events that span trust lands. He noted that in practice the SITLA fee component has been small compared with lodging and campsite revenues tied to major events; staff described a recent year in which SITLA’s collection from events at Sand Hollow and similar venues amounted to a modest total.
State Parks staff said they pursued consolidation with SITLA but that SITLA preferred to collect its fee separately; organizers therefore must pay both the parks’ special-use permit fee and any SITLA fee when events use both jurisdictions.
To simplify permit processing, State Parks staff said they are testing a new online permit portal that will let organizers submit applications, track missing items and pay online; the division expects to roll the portal out across parks within months. The portal is intended to replace back-and-forth emails and mailed payments with a dashboard for both organizers and park staff.
Chris also said State Parks will pilot multi-year contracts for recurring events; the new approach is intended to reduce price volatility for long-running events and to provide continuity if park management changes. The first multi-year contract pilot will be tested at Sand Hollow for an event scheduled in 2026.
Why it matters: special-event fees and permit processing influence the cost and administrative burden for races, jamborees and other OHV gatherings. Sitla’s separate fee and State Parks’ plan for an online permit and multi-year agreements could change event organizers’ planning and budgeting.
State Parks staff said they will coordinate further with other land managers, including BLM, to reduce duplicate work and to align electronic permit systems where possible.
Ending: State Parks staff invited the advisory council to give feedback on the portal test and asked event hosts to participate in piloting the multi-year contracting process.
