LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Clark County may roll back special event fees after pushback from small community groups.
The fees range from $250 to $5,000, on top of other permit costs.
Vendors at the Bruce Trent Farmers Market say cutting these fees could help keep spaces like the market going and open the door for more small businesses in Clark County.
Owen Carver, a small business owner in Clark County, opened his coffee shop, Cafe Do Paraiso, nearly 10 years ago. He started selling his coffee at local farmers markets around 2018.
“I probably hopped around like six or seven different farmer markets over the years starting around 2018,” Carver said.
Those markets became more than just sales opportunities, he said. They became a network of support and a community of entrepreneurs helping him navigate running a small business.
“There are all these hidden costs in being at a Farmer’s market,” Carver said.
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Fee structure
Clark County charges farmers markets a premium event fee. The county’s current fee schedule includes two layers of fees.
The first layer is a tiered special event application fee based on attendance:
| Anticipated Attendees | Application Fee |
|---|---|
| 0 – 499 | $250 |
| 500 – 999 | $500 |
| 1,000 – 4,999 | $1,000 |
| 5,000 – 14,999 | $2,500 |
| 15,000+ | $5,000 |
The second layer includes additional permit fees by event type:
| Event Type | Fee |
|---|---|
| Music Concert Permit | $400 |
| Rodeo | $300 + $45 application |
| Auctioneer | $500 annual + $50 one-time + $45 application |
| Carnival/Circus | $200 annual + $45 application |
| Outdoor Festival | $45 application + annual business license fee |
| Holiday Events | Fees vary (call 702-455-4111) |
| Liquor Caterer | $10/day per service location |
Coordinators say that cost is then passed down to vendors, who either absorb it or pass it on to customers.
Proposed changes
The Office of Sports & Special Events does not currently assess a separate Special Event Fee.
The original proposed ordinance included both an application fee based on anticipated attendance and additional Special Event fees. Those proposed Special Event fees included $350 per day for events with seven or fewer concessionaire/vendor stations, $50 per vendor station per day for events with eight or more concessionaire/vendor stations, and a lane closure fee assessed by Clark County Public Works, when applicable.
Following stakeholder feedback and further evaluation, the revised proposal removes the separate Special Event fees and instead establishes a single application fee structure based solely on anticipated event attendance.
A Clark County spokesperson said the Office of Special Events was created by the Board last year with efforts focused on better aligning requests for large-scale public events across impacted departments that provide oversight and approval.
“As this initiative has continued to move forward, the County does receive feedback from various groups and the public about how this might be helping or hindering efforts,” the spokesperson said.
Jasmine Kurys, manager at the Bruce Trent Farmers Market, said dozens of vendors set up shop weekly. Without the special event fee, they could do even more for the community, she said.
“Everything that we add, let’s say live music, that’s another fee if we want free games or cooling stations,” Kurys said.
“The fees are a percentage of the commissions made at the entire market, so the better the market, the bigger the fee,” she said.
A public hearing is set for July 7 at 10 a.m., where county commissioners will discuss the fees.
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