Battle Creek, MI Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Section 1020.17 of the Battle Creek Codified Ordinances, titled Parades; permit required; violation is a misdemeanor, bars anyone from conducting a parade upon any street without first obtaining a permit as outlined in Chapter 410, specifically UTC Rule 447 Local Amendment. Section 410.04 is where the City of Battle Creek amends the Uniform Traffic Code and says rule numbers in that chapter refer to the like numbered rules of the Uniform Traffic Code.

Rule 447 says a procession or parade shall not occupy, march or proceed along any roadway unless pursuant to a permit issued under the authority of the City Manager by the City Clerk. Parades of the forces of the United States armed services, the military forces of this state, and the police and fire departments are carved out. The permit is issued only upon the advice and consent of the Traffic Engineer, the Police Department and the Fire Department. The Michigan Department of Transportation must also give advice and consent whenever a state trunk line highway or state business route is involved.

The fee comes from the schedule in Section 802.24 of the Business and Taxation Code. Rule 447 directs that the fee take into consideration traffic, time of day, day of the week and the route over which the parade is proposed to travel, so a downtown weekday route and a side-street route are priced on their own facts.

A parade organizer should also read Chapter 815. Section 815.02(b) lists a parade among the events that count as special events, and Section 815.03 makes it unlawful to hold a special event on a City street, park or public area without a special event permit. Section 815.03(b) says that permit is in addition to any other permit required by local ordinance. Special event applications go to the City Clerk not less than thirty days ahead, and an aggrieved applicant can appeal to the License Review Board within ten days of the City Clerk's decision.