The City of Santa Barbara is committed to the preservation of first amendment rights with the intent to avoid unnecessarily burdening free speech and to leave open ample opportunities for expression.

The City requests notification of planned events to ensure that the preferred event date, time and location has not been reserved by another party or is unavailable due to a construction project/safety hazard.

Contact information is optional. By providing contact information, the organizer will receive notification of any potential reservation conflicts or safety hazards and can also receive assistance from the Special Event Coordinator if needed.

Please be advised that first amendment events that plan to setup equipment or incorporate event elements such as staging, tents/canopies, displays, food and beverages, vendors, etc. may be required to submit a Special Event Application. For these events liability Insurance requirements may be waived by the City of Santa Barbara if  it is determined that the cost of obtaining insurance is so financially burdensome that it would constitute an unreasonable burden on the right of First Amendment expression, or it is impossible to obtain insurance coverage.

The Santa Barbara County Courthouse is not managed by the City of Santa Barbara. First Amendment Events planning to use the Courthouse grounds or surrounding property must contact the County at 805-568-2441.