Decatur, GA Special Events & Permits: Block Party Permits (2026)

Section 86-153 of the Code of Ordinances for the City of Decatur, DeKalb County, Georgia, lists five categories of events exempt from the special event permit that Section 86-152 otherwise requires for any parade, demonstration or gathering that disrupts normal street or park use. ' That single clause is the block party permit's entire textual basis in Chapter 86: unlike the special event permit in Sections 86-154 through 86-158, the code does not set out a separate application form, fee, filing deadline or review standard for the block party permit itself, only that the office of the city manager, rather than the director of public safety who reviews special event permits, is the issuing office.

A resident who closes a city street for a party without first obtaining this city manager permit has not qualified for the Section 86-153(4) exemption, so the gathering instead falls under Section 86-152's general permit requirement enforced by the director of public safety. Separately, the noise ordinance in Section 42-60(3) exempts noise from events that have received permitted approval from the city during their approved hours, which reaches an approved block party's music or loudspeakers during the party's approved window. 00, up to six months in jail, or both.