Shoreline, WA Special Events & Permits: Block Party Permits (2026)

SMC § 12.15.130 opens by stating the city's policy against street closures directly: "the city will discourage street closures and strongly discourage arterial street closures." Any closure still has to follow the section's standards unless the underlying right-of-way permit sets different terms. Organizers must post signs at each end of the roadway to be closed, and at every adjoining intersection, no later than three calendar days before the closure. If a residential street closure, such as a block party, runs longer than 12 consecutive hours, the organizer must also prepare a detour route plan and publish public notice in the newspaper of record at least three calendar days ahead; nonemergency arterial closures need that same newspaper notice regardless of how long the closure lasts.

Before any closure, the permittee must notify four agencies in writing at least three calendar days out: the Shoreline Police Department, the Shoreline Fire District, the Shoreline School District, and the King County Transportation Division, since a closed residential street can affect bus routes, school pickup, and emergency response. SMC § 12.15.130(F) treats these as minimum standards, so the director can add further notification requirements case by case. Because a street closure is itself a right-of-way use under SMC § 12.15.030(D), the same permit application, fee, and 10-working-day filing deadline in SMC § 12.15.040 apply, and violations are enforced as a public nuisance under SMC § 12.15.200 through Chapter 20.30 SMC.