Portsmouth, VA Special Events & Permits: Block Party Permits (2026)

Section 22-12(b)(5) defines 'public assembly' as any meeting, demonstration, picket line, rally or gathering of any kind that occupies any traditional public forum within the city and interferes with or is likely to interfere with the normal flow or regulation of pedestrian or vehicular traffic, and a residential street closed for a block party fits that definition. Subsection (c)(1) makes it unlawful for any person to conduct or participate in a public assembly in a traditional public forum without a written permit. A gathering of 30 or fewer people held somewhere other than a street is exempt under (c)(2)(h), so a small front-yard cookout does not need a permit, but closing the street itself does.

Applications for an assembly that will block or close a major street, or require heavier police presence than normal, must reach the city manager or designee at least 30 calendar days ahead under § 22-12(d)(1)a; all other assemblies need only ten business days' notice under (d)(1)b. Every application discloses the organizer's contact information, the exact dates, times and locations, the expected number of people and vehicles, and any sound equipment or signage planned. A nonrefundable administrative fee applies, along with liability insurance for larger events, though noncommercial neighborhood gatherings may request an exemption from both under (e)(4).

The city manager must issue or deny the permit within 15 business days for the larger 30-day-notice category, or five business days otherwise, and can only refuse it on the traffic, safety, staffing or fee grounds spelled out in (f)(2), never based on the content or purpose of the gathering.