Marion, OH Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Section 311.02 of the Marion Codified Ordinances, in the Traffic Code chapter on obstruction and special uses of public ways, covers every parade, procession or assemblage upon any street or highway. It also covers any attempt to block off a street or highway area. The prohibition reaches a person, a group of persons or an organization, so both the organizer and a participant fall under it.

The application is made on a form available from the office of the Safety/Service Director. The form must contain the information reasonably necessary to a fair determination of whether a permit should be issued. It must be filed in the Safety/Service Director's office not less than five days before the time intended for the parade, procession or assemblage.

The permit is not automatic. Under division (C) it can be refused or canceled on three stated grounds: the resulting conditions would unreasonably hinder the movement of traffic; they would require pulling enough police officers or firefighters to deprive the municipality of normal police and fire protection; or they would be reasonably likely to provoke disorderly conduct or create a disturbance.

Under division (D), the permit or any order that accompanies it can limit the event or set reasonable conditions. The code names the hours, the places of assembly and of dispersal, the route of march or travel, and the streets, highways or portions of them that can be used or occupied. An organizer should expect the approved route and times to be written into the permit itself.

The code lists R.C. § 4511.07(C), the state power to regulate processions or assemblages, as the statutory reference for this section. The enforcement mechanism is the general traffic penalty: the section points to §§ 309.01 and 309.02 of the Traffic Code.