Permit fees and event fees; percentage of admission or participation fees due to the city; waiver.

Houston Code of Ordinances § 25-13

in effect

Sec. 25-13. - Permit fees and event fees; percentage of admission or participation fees due to the city; waiver. (a) Any additional fees for special events including rentals, vending licenses and permits (collectively, "event user fees") shall be established by the city council by motion, and may be amended from time to time. Copies of the schedule of event user fees shall be maintained for public inspection in the offices of the city secretary and MOSE. (b) In the event an admission fee is charged by a special event organizer or any person or entity in conjunction with a special event and in the absence of a revenue sharing agreement under section 25-17 of this Code, the fee applicable thereto shall include ten percent of the gross revenue derived from the special event, in addition to any other applicable fees established by city council. MOSE shall require an accounting of all pre-sale tickets that were sold, the use of consecutively numbered admission tickets, recording cash registers or other reasonable methods to ensure accurate accounting of receipts and revenues derived from such activities. (c) MOSE shall establish uniform procedures relating to reservations, deposits and the manner for paying applicable event user fees. (d) The MOSE director, with the concurrence of the appropriate director may waive fees for city produced or city sponsored special events or any special event designated by the mayor to honor, observe, or celebrate any occasion of special significance to the city provided funds are available in the respective departmental budgets to provide the necessary city services during the special event. (e) Except as otherwise provided in this Code, or in any agreement authorized under this Code or any ordinance of the city, MOSE shall endeavor to ensure reimbursement of the costs of providing city personnel and other city services for a special event. (f) In reaching a determination of city costs for purposes of this section, the MOSE director shall consult with the appropriate director for a determination of the necessary city employee staffing and other required city services. Unless fees are waived under this article, the special event organizer shall be obligated to pay all such fees and shall furnish a deposit in the form of cash, cashier's check, money order, or security bond in an amount sufficient to cover such fees. (g) If a special event is conducted in such a manner as to substantially exceed or deviate from the size or nature of the special event as applied for and permitted and such occurrence causes the city to provide additional services of any city department in connection with the special event, or if upon the inspection of the reserved area and all city property used in conjunction with the special event a determination is made that city property has been damaged or destroyed as a result of the special event, the MOSE director shall furnish the special event organizer with an accounting of the costs incurred as a result of such services or damage and the special event organizer shall be responsible for prompt payment thereof. (h) All application processing fees shall be remitted to the city's general fund. (Ord. No. 2010-911, § 2(Exh. A), 12-1-2010)

Source: City of Houston, Code of Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/houston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH25SPEV_ARTISPEVEN_S25-13PEFEEVFEPEADPAFEDUWAFetched: 10/26/2026