Boulder advances festival-permit ordinance ahead of June 18 hearing as Sundance 2027 preparations continue

Boulder is moving toward a June 18 public hearing on a proposed ordinance that would create a new permit system for large multi-day festivals, part of the city's effort to have rules in place before the Sundance Film Festival arrives in January 2027.

Under Ordinance 8751 in the June 4 City Council packet, a "special festival event" permit would apply to multi-day events with more than 15,000 attendees. Applications could be filed as early as 12 months before an event and no later than 90 days before it begins.

Applicants would have to submit vendor and sponsor lists, a safety and security plan, a comprehensive sign plan, anticipated street closures and fees, the council packet says. The proposal would also establish a special festival event boundary, limit events to certain time windows and allow the city manager to issue implementing rules.

That would add a festival-specific layer to Boulder's existing special-event permitting system, which already covers use of streets, paths and sidewalks and says facility fees vary by staffing, location and services. The new ordinance is aimed at unusually large, multi-day events that can span both public and private property.

The proposal would also amend related code sections on signage, public-property permitting, land use and mobile food vehicles. Some of those details were not fully described in the council packet summary available for this story. Boulder Reporting Lab reported that the sign-plan requirements would include pedestrian-clearance standards, limits on attaching signs to landmarked buildings and compliance with outdoor-lighting rules. The outlet also reported that the ordinance would relax some spacing and density restrictions for food trucks during qualifying festivals.

City staff have framed the ordinance as preparation for Sundance 2027 and other events of similar scale. In the June 4 packet, staff said the framework is intended to give Boulder time to process permits and set operating standards before the festival's first Boulder edition.

The proposal has already cleared one advisory step. Planning Board recommended approval on a 7-0 vote, according to the council packet. The packet also says board members questioned whether the new use category is too tailored to Sundance, how long event signs should remain in place and whether similar standards should eventually apply to smaller festivals. Boulder Reporting Lab reported that Planning Board member Mark McIntyre urged the city to make the rules less Sundance-specific.

Several practical questions remain unresolved. City staff said in the packet the fiscal impact is not yet known because revenue will depend on future permit volume and whatever fee structure is ultimately set. The available record also does not quantify staffing or enforcement needs across police, transportation, code enforcement or event-permitting teams.

Council advanced the ordinance on first reading June 4. The city's meeting calendar shows the next regular council meeting is June 18, when the ordinance is expected to return for a public hearing. That hearing is the next major chance for council to decide whether to keep the ordinance narrowly focused on marquee festivals such as Sundance or broaden it into a longer-term framework for other large events.