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Council approves routine Uptown street-closure ordinances for spring-summer events; committee discusses possible future fees for organizers
Summary
The transportation committee moved three ordinances to first reading to authorize street closures, overnight parking suspensions and vending rules for multiple 2026 Uptown events; the committee discussed but did not adopt a festival fee this year, deferring that idea to future years.
Athens' transportation committee on Feb. 17 read and forwarded three related ordinances to full council to allow Uptown street closures, temporary suspension of the noise ordinance during events, and vending in closed areas for a slate of 2026 festivals.
Committee chair Beth Klotfelter listed the proposed closures and event dates, including the International Street Fair (April 11), the DORA opening (May 16), Pride Street Fair (June 6), the Athens Community Arts and Music Festival (Aug. 1), Bounty on the Bricks (Aug. 8) and the Halloween block party (Oct. 31). The ordinances authorize the service-safety director to close designated streets no earlier than 6 a.m. and no later than midnight on event days, ban parking on affected streets beginning as early as 3 a.m., suspend the unnecessary-noise ordinance until midnight on event days, and permit vending from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. in the closed areas under code-enforcement rules.
Vendors will register with the code-enforcement office no later than two business days before an event and vending spots will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. The ordinances set a $25 fee per vendor/food license permit to be paid to code enforcement for those not already licensed to vend on East Union Street.
Committee members briefly discussed whether event organizers should share more of the direct logistical costs (barricades, meter bagging, overtime for electricians, etc.), with the mayor and chair recommending any fee scheme be developed and announced in advance for the 2027 calendar year. The committee concluded it was too late to impose fees on organizers who had already applied for 2026, but did not rule out future fee schedules and asked for further study.
The transportation committee moved all three ordinances to first reading in a single motion; no public opposition was raised at the committee meeting.
