Special Events

NOTE TO EVENT ORGANIZERS:  PLEASE CHECK THE TENTATIVE EVENT LIST TO ENSURE THE DATE OF YOUR EVENT DOES NOT CONFLICT WITH ANOTHER EVENT. DUE TO THE LARGE IMPACT ON POLICE RESOURCES, NO OTHER EVENTS CAN TAKE PLACE ON THE DATE A "C" EVENT IS SCHEDULED.  DUE TO THE POSSIBLE LARGE IMPACT ON POLICE RESOURCES, IF AN "A" AND "B" EVENT ARE REQUESTED FOR THE SAME DATE, ONE MAY BE DENIED.

Event Categories:

Category A: Category A events have a low impact on police services.  These events may or may not need officers to be hired, but wouldn't exceed the hiring of two (2) officers.

Category B: Category B events have a moderate impact that would constitute the hiring of a supervisor and two (2) or more officers.

Category C: Category C events have a high impact on police resources that includes the utilization of up to all available officers, excluding officers and dispatchers working active patrols.  These events often require the ordering in of dispatchers and officers to man the events.

Letter to Event Organizers - July 5, 2023

There are a large number of public events held every year in the Town of Stonington. We welcome these events, and want to support them, including through planning appropriately for the impact on the Stonington Police Department. We believe the new process outlined below will add clarity and streamline the work required of our event organizers to secure a permit. We request your cooperation in completing all steps by the due dates. 

The forms which are required for special events are as follows:

Application for Use of Town Property: this form is completed for all events and must have an approval signature from the Chairman of the Board of Police Commissioners.  Approval signatures from the Board of Selectman (if your event is held at a town owned location such as Donahue Park or the Town Dock). The Waterfront Commission approval will be needed if your event takes place on a waterway.

Borough Application: if your event is being held in the Stonington Borough, you will need to contact the Borough Town Hall and obtain approval from their Board of Warden and Burgesses.  They will provide the form and information for their approval process.  A copy of this form must be given to the Police Department with your other required paperwork.

Certificate of Insurance: the insurance requirements are outlined in the Town of Stonington Special Event Policy.  Both the Town of Stonington and Stonington Police Department must be named as “Additional Insured” with regard to liability on the certificate.

Application for State Highway Use Permit: if your event will take place on a State roadway (Route 1, Route 1A, Route 2, Route 234, Route 27, Route 184) you must complete this form and submit it to the State of Connecticut Department of Transportation no less than 90 days prior to your event.  Please be advised that if you fail to meet the required deadline, the permit may not be issued and your event request can be denied. This form must be signed by the Chairman of the Board of Police Commissioners, indicating local traffic authority approval, at the time it is presented to and approved by the Board of Police Commissioners.

You are being provided the tentative 2024 list of events, which indicates what paperwork is required for your event and the due dates for each.  The tentative list is a list of projected events that have not been finalized or approved and is used for reference purposes only.  You are also being provided the tentative master list of events in the Town of Stonington, created using the 2022 information.

These are the steps you should take to ensure the successful approval of your event:

Look at the 2024 tentative event list to find your event and determine what paperwork is needed.

Pay extra special attention to all due dates.  If you fail to meet due dates you risk the event not receiving final approval!

You must attend a Board of Police Commissioners meeting a minimum of two (2) weeks in advance in order to gain approval for the event.  If you are required to have a Highway Use Permit, please refer to the Special Events spreadsheet for further consideration of date requirements. This allows police, fire, and ambulance personnel to create operational plans to provide public safety and assign personnel for the event.  The Board of Police Commissioners meets on the second Thursday of each month at 5:00 p.m. at Police Headquarters.  A list of meetings is being provided to you.  When you determine what meeting you would like to attend, please e-mail your request to spdevents@stonington-ct.gov and your event will be placed on that meeting agenda.  

You will have to provide a description for your presentation to the Board of Police Commissioners that includes such things as roads to be used, the number of people expected to attend, the number of people involved in the event, the duration of the event, and any other factors that may affect public safety such as lighting, and anticipated impact to surrounding roads to include I-95.

If you are requesting a road closure for the event, you will need to provide a detailed map.

If you want final Board of Police Commissioners approval the night you attend the meeting, you must present all of the requirements outlined in this letter a minimum of seven (7) days prior to the meeting.  This will allow the Commissioners time to review all submitted paperwork.

Please note that the Board of Police Commissioners might require input from residences and businesses impacted by the event prior to approval.

All events categorized as C events must schedule an in-person meeting with police, fire, and ambulance personnel prior to the event.

If you have any questions, please contact Natalie Mitchell at 860-599-7510 or e-mail spdevents@stonington-ct.gov