Palm Desert, CA Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Chapter 10.64 delegates parade and local special event permitting to the city manager, citing Section 21101 of the California Vehicle Code. Section 10.64.020 defines a parade broadly: any parade, march, ceremony, show, exhibition, pageant or procession of any kind, or any other similar display, in or upon any street, park, or other public place in the city. A march or a pageant therefore needs the same permit as a traditional parade.

Applications go to the city manager on a form furnished by that office. Under § 10.64.040 the verified application must be filed not less than fifteen days before the proposed date, and the city manager can waive the fifteen-day requirement when the investigation can be accomplished in a more timely fashion. The application lists the route with starting and termination points, the approximate number of persons, animals and vehicles, start and end times, whether the parade will occupy all or a portion of the street width, assembly areas, the Parade Chairman's name, address and telephone number, and a statement agreeing to hold the city free and harmless in a form satisfactory to the city attorney.

Section 10.64.050 sets five findings the city manager must make before issuing: no substantial interruption of safe and orderly movement of other traffic along the route; no diversion of so many police officers that normal police protection to the city is prevented; no undue interference with fire, police or ambulance service near assembly points; no undue interference with firefighting or other emergency equipment; and no reasonable likelihood of injury to persons or property.

The city manager must act within two days after filing, and a denial states the reasons and is mailed to the applicant's address of record (§ 10.64.070). A denied applicant can appeal to the city council by written notice filed within five days after the mailing of the rejection (§ 10.64.080). Once a permit is granted, copies go to the chief of police, the fire chief, the director of public works, the director of planning, the state highway patrol, the county sheriff's office and affected transit or utility operators (§ 10.64.090).