Chesapeake, VA Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Sec. 74-21 defines a "procession" or "parade" as "any march, demonstration, procession or motorcade consisting of people, animals, or vehicles, or a combination thereof, upon the streets, sidewalks or other public areas within the city with an intent or likely effect of attracting public attention that interferes with or has a tendency to interfere with the normal flow or regulation of pedestrian or vehicular traffic." A "public assembly" is defined separately as "any meeting, demonstration, picket line, rally or gathering of more than ten people for a common purpose as a result of prior planning" that similarly interferes with normal traffic flow on public property open to the general public.

Subsection (c) sets tiered filing deadlines keyed to anticipated size and street impact: applications may be filed no earlier than one year out, but must be filed at least 30 days before an event of 499 or fewer people and/or requiring only a dead-end or cul-de-sac closure, 60 days before an event of 500 to 1,000 people needing a minor-street traffic detour, or 90 days before an event over 1,000 people or one closing a major intersection or network of streets. The city manager or designee must then issue the permit within 15 business days, evaluating whether the route will unreasonably disrupt traffic, whether it would divert so many police, fire or EMS personnel that other parts of the city suffer, whether the organizer has designated enough monitors, and whether the event conflicts with another already-permitted event. A non-refundable processing fee applies before issuance, though it can be waived on a written hardship showing that free-expression rights would otherwise be curtailed. Late applications can still be accepted if city resources remain available and the applicant shows in writing that circumstances did not reasonably allow earlier filing.