Edmonds, WA Special Events & Permits: Block Party Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Block parties
- Exempt from special event permit, ECC 4.100.030(F)(4)
- Still must comply
- Applicable laws and regulations still apply
- Other exemptions
- Funerals, garage sales, city-contracted events
- Private residential events
- Up to 100 attendees also exempt, (F)(8)
- Penalty if permit was actually required
- Up to $1,000 fine or 90 days jail
Summary
Edmonds exempts neighborhood block parties from its special event permit requirement, though ECC 4.100.030(F) still requires the gathering to comply with applicable laws such as street use and safety rules.
F. Exemptions. ... The following activities and occurrences shall comply with applicable laws and regulations, but are exempt from the permit requirements of this chapter: 1. City contracted events. 2. Funerals and wedding processions. 3. Garage sales and rummage sales. 4. Neighborhood block parties. ... ... 8. A privately scheduled, nonreoccurring event upon private property in a residential zone with up to 100 persons attending.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 4444, passed August 3, 2026).
Full Breakdown
030(A) generally requires anyone conducting a special event within Edmonds to first obtain a special event permit from the city, and operating an event that needs one without a valid permit is unlawful. Subsection (F) lists ten categories of activity that are exempt from that permit requirement while still having to comply with applicable laws and regulations, and "neighborhood block parties" are listed at (F)(4), alongside funerals and wedding processions, garage and rummage sales, city-contracted events like the Edmonds Arts Festival, and a privately scheduled, nonrecurring residential-property event with up to 100 attendees under (F)(8).
100 is needed. 020(P) defines "special events" broadly as any event on public property or right-of-way, or a private-property event with a direct significant impact on traffic, rights-of-way, or the need for city emergency services, with a presumption of significant impact for any open-invitation event or one anticipating 100 or more attendees by private invitation, which is the backdrop against which the block party exemption operates.
Violations & Fines
A gathering exempt as a neighborhood block party under ECC 4.100.030(F)(4) does not need a special event permit, but if it exceeds the exemption (for example, becomes an open-invitation event with a direct significant impact on rights-of-way or emergency services) and proceeds without a permit, ECC 4.100.130(A) makes conducting a special event requiring a permit without one a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment up to 90 days, or both, with each day a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a neighborhood block party in Edmonds need a special event permit?
What other small gatherings are exempt from Edmonds's special event permit?
What happens if an Edmonds event that actually needed a permit doesn't get one?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Edmonds
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Block Party Permits in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Snohomish County handle block party permits.