The City of Dearborn has established the following policy regarding neighborhood block parties:

Block party permits can be obtained from the City Clerk’s office at the Dearborn Administrative Center, 16901 Michigan Avenue.  The Clerk’s office is generally open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for City holidays.

Residents are allowed to block off one or two blocks of a street for their gathering.

Applications to hold block parties must be received 48 hours before the planned event. There is a $25 fee for each permit. A petition, included with the application, must be signed by the residents. The petition must have the signatures and addresses of  50 percent of the residents on the street to be barricaded. The original petition will be valid for five years and a new petition will have to be submitted every five years thereafter. (However, if complaints are received from citizens at any time, you will be required to submit a new petition)

Both the application and the petition are available at the City Clerk’s office or by completing the forms attached above.

After obtaining a permit, party organizers must get the barricades from the Department of Public Works, 2951 Greenfield, the business day before the block party. Call the Department of Public Works at 943-2075 to check for hours, usually 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Barricades should be returned the day after the event.  The party sponsor will be charged $60 per barricade if they are damaged or not returned within five days.

Vehicles, picnic tables, trash cans, and other such items cannot be used to block the street.

Streets still need to be accessible to emergency vehicles during the party, and residents not participating in the event still must be allowed access to their property at all times.

All streets must be cleared and re-opened for traffic no later than midnight on the evening of the party.

The ordinance permits police to revoke a block party permit “if it is deemed to be in the best interest of the residents of the city.”.

(When closing off streets, do not block street access with a motor vehicle, picnic tables, trash receptacles, etc. Only city issued barricades may be used for this purpose.)