Kent County, DE Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Kent County Code § 161-4A lists exceptions to the county's noise-disturbance rules, and Subsection A(7) states plainly: 'Parades. Parades and public gathering for which a waiver has been issued.' That sentence means a parade is not automatically exempt from Chapter 161; the exemption only attaches once the Division of Inspections and Enforcement has issued a waiver for that specific event. The waiver mechanism is spelled out in § 161-4C: the Division 'shall have the authority, consistent with this section, to grant special waivers,' and any organizer seeking one 'shall file a written application with the Division of Inspections and Enforcement,' showing that bringing the parade's sound sources into strict compliance with the noise chapter would create an unreasonable hardship on the applicant, the community, or for another stated purpose.

The Division decides the application by balancing the hardship of denial against the noise impact on nearby residents and property, and a granted waiver can carry conditions, including time limits on the activity, under § 161-4C(4); it terminates if a condition is broken. Kent County's parks chapter separately requires a facility-use permit under § 168-5 if a parade route or assembly point uses county park property, but the noise waiver in Chapter 161 is the specific mechanism that lets a parade run outside the county's normal 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. and ambient-decibel limits.