ST. CLAIRSVILLE — A permit is now required when “mass gatherings” are held in Belmont County.

Earlier this month, the Belmont County Board of Health amended its Sanitary Code to state that a permit must be secured in order to hold an event attended by more than 200 people that lasts more than six hours. The regulation applies to events not held by the state or a political subdivision that are staged in places not designed to accommodate such an assembly, such as a licensed campground.

To obtain a permit for a mass gathering, an organizer must complete the health department’s application 30 days prior to the event. It must be accompanied by plans, reports and specifications deemed necessary by the health commissioner.

For not-for-profit events, the application fee is $50; for-profit events must pay a $300 fee. A $50 fee for a late application is being waived for the remainder of 2025 to allow time for the public to become familiar with the new regulation.

Some people have speculated on social media that the new rule represents an effort to prevent political protests from taking place in Belmont County, but Deputy Health Commissioner Rob Sproul said that is not the case.

“It’s not political,” he said, noting that most rallies and protests do not last for six hours. “It’s about public safety.”

Instead, he said the board took up the issue in the wake of an outdoor event that prompted law enforcement, fire and emergency medical personnel to approach the board with concerns about public safety.

He said one of those concerns was ease of access to the facility in the event of an emergency.

“The fairgrounds are designed for public access,” Sproul cited as an example. “It has access roads for quick response, so there is no problem with law enforcement getting there. It has flush toilets, proper sanitation. Everything is planned, as any event should be.”

Sproul said large, lengthy gatherings held at facilities designed to accommodate them are exempt from the permit requirement.

“Too many people think they can throw together a couple of food trucks and have a festival,” he added. “But there is not enough forethought for public safety.”

Sproul added that this regulation is not the first of its kind and is not unique. He said several other Ohio counties already have mass gathering rules in place.

Sproul also pointed to the Carnes Center as an event venue that would be exempt from the requirement.

“The Carnes Center is designed for weddings, people hold gun bashes there,” he noted. “It has already been assessed by the fire marshal. It has flush toilets and county water. It has the thought behind it — a set number of people can go there and safely conduct an event.”

Sproul added that If someone feels their event should be exempt, they can discuss it with the board. He said someone who wants to hold a wedding on their farm, for example, could bring that proposal to the board, which meets at noon the second Monday of each month at the county emergency Management Agency headquarters off Ohio 331 west of St. Clairsville.

“Too many people are reading too much into it,” he said of the new regulation.