Lenexa, KS Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Chapter 3-11 makes it unlawful to engage in, participate in, aid, form, start, permit, or allow another to conduct a parade without first obtaining a permit from the City. The definition is broad: a parade, procession, motorcade, march, pageant, review, ceremony, or exhibition of people, animals, vehicles, or any combination on a public street, sidewalk, or other City property, held with the intent of attracting public attention so as to impede or interfere with free use of that property.

The application goes on a City form and must be filed ten working days before the event, with the completed request form and a nonrefundable fee set by the City Council. The City Manager can waive the ten day period after weighing the date, time, place, nature of the event, expected participants and City services needed, if he determines the waiver presents no hazard to public safety. When the standards in Section 3-11-A-6 are met, the permit is issued no later than five days before the event.

Those standards include: no undue interference with street use or emergency vehicles, no substantial safety or traffic hazard, no significant adverse environmental impact, an expeditious route, origin and termination points inside the City, and no clash with another parade, festival or public event already scheduled. A parade held for the sole purpose of advertising a product or designed purely for private profit does not qualify.

The applicant pays all City departmental service charges and the actual repair or replacement cost of any City property damaged. A cash deposit covering the City Manager's estimate is due at least three days before the permit takes effect, and any shortfall is billed and due within ten days. The permit cannot be denied on political, racial, religious, or gender grounds. A denied applicant can be offered a different date, time, location or route and has five days to accept in writing, or can appeal to the City Council through the City Clerk before the parade date.

Funeral processions, school-supervised student activity, governmental agencies and Title 4 special events are outside the chapter.