Ridgewood, NJ Special Events & Permits: Parade Permits (2026)

Chapter 207, adopted May 14, 2008 by Ordinance No. 3116, defines a 'parade' broadly under § 207-2 as any march, demonstration, procession, motorcade, ceremony, exhibition or pageant on Village streets, sidewalks, parks or other public grounds intended to attract public attention and that interferes or tends to interfere with normal traffic flow, expressly including walk-a-thons, bike-a-thons and fun-runs. Section 207-3 requires a permit from the office of the Chief of Police before anyone may engage in or conduct a parade, though funeral processions, school activities under school supervision, government agency operations, and events held entirely on Village property under the Department of Parks and Recreation are exempt.

Applications must reach the Chief of Police's office no fewer than 10 business days and no more than 90 business days before the parade date, accompanied by a $15 application fee that is waived if the sponsor signs a statement asserting the event is First Amendment expression. Under § 207-4, the application must detail the route, start and end points, expected crowd and vehicle count, parade hours, whether street closures are needed and which streets, assembly locations and spacing between units, use of sound amplification, food sales and a cleanup plan.

Section 207-5 lets the Chief deny a permit for reasons including scheduling conflicts, undue diversion of police resources, interference with fire equipment or school activities in session, a purely commercial or unlawful purpose, or a false or incomplete application. The Chief must act within three business days under § 207-6, and a denial can be appealed in writing to the Village Manager within three business days under § 207-7. Before the permit issues, § 207-8 requires the applicant to sign an indemnification agreement and carry public liability insurance of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate, though the insurance requirement can be waived for a verified First Amendment event that shows the cost is an unreasonable burden.