Reading, PA Special Events & Permits: Block Party Permits (2026)

Chapter 576, Part 12, the 'Parade and Special Events Ordinance,' defines a block party as 'a large public party in which many members of a single neighborhood congregate, either to observe an event of some importance or simply for mutual enjoyment' under § 576-1202, and folds it into the Part's general permit requirement at § 576-1203: no person may conduct, facilitate, promote, manage, aid or solicit attendance at an event until the applicable permit issues. Applications go to the City online or at the Police Department Traffic Office under § 576-1204, and § 576-1204(A)(2) sets the filing deadline at 30 days before the planned event, shorter than the 90-to-180-day window a special event permit needs.

B, though late fees can apply. Section 576-1204(D) lists eleven required application items: the applicant's name and contact information, the organization's name and contact information if any, the event's location, purpose, date and expected attendance, an acknowledgment the applicant accepts the site 'as-is,' a copy of the applicant's driver's license, and, at (D)(11), 'the petition document which must be signed by 75% of the residents/businesses affected by the proposed closure,' the threshold that makes a block party permit meaningfully harder to obtain than the comparable community-site-reservation permit, which carries no petition requirement.

B, block party fees, including barricade fees, are set by City Council's fee schedule, but no security deposit is required, unlike a special event permit. A denied or restricted applicant can seek review: § 576-1213 lets an aggrieved person ask the Mayor by registered mail to review the Chief of Police's action, with a decision due within 10 days, or within 3 days for a late-application denial.