In Baltimore the Baltimore City Department of Transportation runs a Special Events Office, and events on public space need a permit from it. The restroom plan is part of the file, applications are due at least six weeks before the event, and the organiser makes the application in person.
Key takeaways
- Events on public space, including City parks, foot races, parades, festivals and block parties over 200 participants, are covered.
- An application is due at least six weeks before the event, and earlier applications are cheaper, according to the city's guidance.
- The organiser applies in person, so the restroom plan should be printed and ready to take to the office.
- Private-property events, such as dances, festivals and sporting events, can need a permit from the Department of Housing and Community Development instead.
- No city portable-restroom requirement or unit count was found, so the plan is set from the event itself.
- The office confirms which triggers apply to a given event; this guide does not replace that confirmation.
Which events trigger the permit
The city's guidance lists the triggers: an outdoor event, temporary structures over 400 square feet, alcohol sales, more than 200 people, or any impact on public space.
Most public events in Baltimore meet at least one of those triggers. A block party with a closed street and a crowd of a few hundred meets two. A park festival with a stage and a food area meets several. The question for the organiser is not whether the event is public enough to need a plan, but which of the triggers it meets and therefore which office must review the file.
The guidance also names events in City parks, foot races, parades, festivals and block parties over 200 participants. Those are the events where the restroom plan is most often asked for, because the crowd is large and the space is shared.
- An outdoor event
- Temporary structures over 400 square feet
- Alcohol sales
- More than 200 people
- Any impact on a public space
The six-week deadline and why it matters
Applications for events are due at least six weeks before the event, and the city's guidance says an earlier application is cheaper, so the restroom plan should be finished well before the deadline.
A late application is harder to approve, and the restroom plan is one of the drawings most likely to be incomplete when a deadline is missed. Working back from the event date, the plan should be final several weeks before the application is due, so the organiser has time to review it.
Counting back six weeks from a Saturday event means the file must be complete by a Thursday or Friday several weeks earlier. A calendar kept against the event date is the simplest way to avoid missing it.
Who applies, and how
The organiser applies in person, so the restroom plan should be on paper, dated to the event, and matched to the figures in the rest of the file.
Because the application is made in person, the organiser carries the printed plan and a copy of the count and the servicing schedule. The office reviews the file as a whole, so the restroom drawing must agree with the closure plan, the crowd figure and the event hours in the application.
We prepare the restroom part as a separate drawing and schedule. The organiser attaches it and keeps a digital copy in case the office asks a question later.
Where the office is and how to reach it
The Special Events Office is part of the Department of Transportation. Its guidance gives more than one office address, so the organiser should confirm the location before going in.
Sources differ on the office address, so this guide does not print one. The organiser is asked to confirm the location with the office before the visit. A written question can be sent to the office's listed email address, and the reply kept with the file.
Answers about the permit are the office's to give. A restroom plan cannot resolve a question that belongs to the closure plan or to another part of the application, and the office is the right place to take it.
Private events and the other office
Private-property events can need a permit from the Department of Housing and Community Development rather than from the Special Events Office, so the first question is who the event belongs to.
A dance, a festival or a sporting event on private property can need a temporary special event permit from the Housing and Community Development department. That is a separate file, with its own form and its own timing.
Where an event is partly on public space and partly on private ground, both offices may be involved, and the restroom plan is attached to each file as it applies.
What the office is likely to ask about the restroom plan
The office usually asks about the count, the accessible units, the placement near streets and hydrants, and the servicing times, so those are the answers to have ready.
A question about the count is answered with the crowd figure and the busiest hour that the count was built from. A question about the accessible units is answered with the number and the route. A question about placement is answered by the drawing, with the hydrants and fire lanes shown.
A question about servicing is answered with the schedule and the close-out time. Having these four answers on one sheet makes the difference between a quick approval and a second round of questions.
After approval: keeping the plan true on the day
Once a permit is approved the restroom layout is the layout the crew builds, and any change needs the office's agreement in writing before the event.
A permit approval is for the layout in the file. A unit moved to a spot the office did not approve is a change, and it needs to be agreed. The supervisor on the day has the approved drawing and calls the organiser before moving anything it shows.
A record of any agreed change is kept with the file, so the organiser can show what was approved and what was changed.
A worked outline for an organiser
A worked outline shows the order of the steps for a Baltimore event: the triggers, the facts, the plan, the application and the answers to the office.
Step one is to check the event against the triggers. Step two is to gather the event facts in one place. Step three is to draw the restroom layout and count. Step four is to apply at least six weeks ahead, in person. Step five is to answer the office's questions against the same drawing.
Each step has a date. Working back from the event, the organiser sets the date for each step and keeps the list where the whole team can see it.
Where restroom questions usually come from
Most restroom questions from an office come from the crowd figure, the accessible units, the placement against hydrants and fire lanes, and the close-out time.
A crowd figure that differs from the application is the most common question. The plan must use the same figure as the application, or explain why it differs. An accessible unit that is not shown on the drawing is the next most common.
The office also asks where a unit stands against a hydrant, a fire lane or a street. The drawing answers that question if the distances are shown. A close-out time that falls after the permit's closing hour is the last common question, and it is easily avoided by setting the close-out in the plan.
Keeping the file true after approval
After approval the file is kept as the record of what was agreed, and any change is recorded and agreed with the office before the event.
The approved file is the reference for the day. The supervisor carries a copy, and any change in the field is noted against the drawing. A change that the office has not seen is not a change the organiser can rely on.
A short note of what changed, why and who agreed it, kept with the file, is the simplest protection for the organiser at the end of the event.
Events that cross the city line
An event that starts in the city and finishes in a county town, or that uses both sides of the line, is filed as two parts, each with the office that governs it.
A race or a parade that passes from the city into the county has two offices in its file. Each office reads only the part that falls under its own process, so the plan is split at the boundary and each half is drawn to its own rules.
The organiser keeps the two parts consistent, so the crowd figure, the closure times and the restroom counts agree across both files.
What a complete restroom section looks like
A complete restroom section has the count, the layout, the accessible units, the handwash stations, the servicing schedule and the close-out time, all dated to the event and matched to the other parts of the file.
Each item is shown on the drawing and in a short schedule beside it. The count carries its basis, the layout carries its distances, and the schedule carries its times. Nothing in the section should need the reader to ask a question to understand it.
A reviewer who finds a complete section moves on to the rest of the file, and a section that is missing one of those items is the one that gets sent back.
A final check before the application goes in is to read the restroom section as the office will read it, from the first line to the last, and to ask whether every number in it has a basis the office can see. Any number without a basis is the one the office will question, so it is either explained or changed before filing.
Frequently asked questions
Does every Baltimore event need a permit?
No. The city's triggers decide it, including use of public space, more than 200 people, alcohol sales and temporary structures over 400 square feet. The office confirms the position for each event.
When is the restroom plan due?
With the application, which is due at least six weeks before the event. The plan should be finished several weeks earlier.
Who makes the application?
The organiser, in person. The restroom plan is attached to it.
Is there a city rule for how many toilets an event needs?
None was found in the city's guidance. The count is set from the event and agreed with the office through the file.
What if my event is in a county park?
A park in the county is handled by the county's own process, not the city's Special Events Office.
What happens if the event is cancelled after filing?
Tell the office and the restroom supplier as soon as possible. Any unit placed is collected on the day, and the file is updated.
Can one plan cover two events in one week?
Each event has its own file and its own counts. A single drawing is possible only where the two events share the same site and the same dates.
Sources
- Baltimore City Department of Transportation, Special Events guidelines
- Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development, temporary special event permit
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