All approved block parties qualify to receive a Block Party Grant. Each grant will reimburse eligible expenses up to $300 per event plus applicable permit fees. The following rules guide the block party grant program:

• Block parties must be approved by the City through a Neighborhood Block Party Application.
• The City will reimburse eligible expenses up to $300 per event plus current road closure permit fee if required.
• Applicants may receive reimbursement for one block party per year or until funding has been depleted.
• Eligible expenses for reimbursement may include, but are not limited to:
• Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages
• Paper goods
• Entertainment (example: DJ or face painter)
• Rental of road barriers for street closures
• Ineligible expenses for reimbursement include:
• Alcohol
• Inflatables (bouncy houses)
• Stages and/or risers
• To receive reimbursement, the block party host listed on the approved Neighborhood Block Party Application submits a reimbursement form and itemized receipts to the City Manager’s Office. The receipts are reviewed by staff and the City will authorize reimbursement for qualifying expenses up to $300.
• Entry to block parties that receive City grant funds shall be free of charge.
• Everyone who lives in a block that receives City grant funds for a block party must be invited to the party. No one who lives on the block may be excluded.

For more information, contact the Special Events Liaison at 707-648-8616 or email specialevents@cityofvallejo.net.

A neighborhood block party is a one-block closure on a residential street. Applicants should be a resident of the block or a neighborhood resident association. Block parties should not impact buses or cause traffic circulation issues. Additional restrictions apply, including the following:

• Maximum of 8 hours between the hours of 7:00 am and 10:00 pm.
• Maximum of 75 people, or the most the space can safely accommodate, whichever is less. 
• If more than 75 people, a Special Events Permit is required per Vallejo Municipal Code.
• Open alcohol container laws apply.
• No vendors or commercial activities.
• BBQ/grilling is allowable, but we prefer that it be located on private property.
• A bounce house is allowable on private property but not on public property.
• Food truck allowable.
• No advertising or promotion beyond the immediate neighborhood.
• Tents should be limited to simple 10x10 pop-ups.
• No stages.
• Sidewalks must remain open and unobstructed.
  Crosswalks can't be obstructed and no intersections can be closed.
• Regulation barricades are required for all street closures and are not supplied by the City.

(If you want to do something more complicated than is allowed for neighborhood block parties, you might consider applying for a regular special event.)

You may request “no parking" for some or all of the block. It may be necessary in some cases, depending on the size of the street and what you are planning. You have to make the request at least two weeks in advance of the closure date. Posting the street as “no parking” is not a good idea for most block parties. We especially want to avoid any situation where residents' cars might get towed. Instead, we encourage applicants to pursue informal options. Plan an event that doesn’t need much, if any, “no parking” posting. Circulate flyers on the block a couple times in the week beforehand to ask people to move their cars for the event.

You will need to keep some local access, even if there is "no parking." You have to allow cars left on the street after the closure starts to leave. You should escort them through the event and out through the barricades for safety. But you should not allow cars onto the street to park after it's closed, even if it's not posted as "no parking." After all, it is a closed street. You do have to allow cars in or out for any off-street parking. So you cannot block driveways in use with your event. Again, you should escort these cars through the event for safety.

Note that the permit for a block party is just to close the street and does not change other City (or State or Federal) regulations. You may need other permits (with other fees) depending on the activities at your event. But a typical block party should not need anything beyond the street closure permit.

A complete application will include:

1. Online application
2. Site plan / detailed diagram of event layout

If you do not submit a complete application with the site plan, we may reject your application. And if you do not answer any follow-up questions in a timely manner, we also may reject your application.

You will need to submit a site plan/diagram as part of your application. The site plan should show the entire block you want to close. It should include all the objects and stuff you are planning on putting in the street. You should show any tables, popup tents, large game equipment, barbecues, and/or bounce houses. You can use maps, computer drawing programs, or hand drawings to create the site plan. It just has to show all the required elements, reasonably to scale and with their dimensions. And it has to have enough accuracy and detail for City staff review.

You will need to show the following on the site plan:

1. A 14-foot emergency access clear zone running straight through the closure — free of any objects, though people can be in it (for things like games, dancing, and sports).
2. Barricades at both ends of the block.
3. Bounce house, if any, with dimensions, to scale, and where it will be set up.
4. 10x10 tents shown, if any, to scale and where they will be set up.
5. Areas in which you will set up any objects, such as tables or barbecues, with dimensions. (We don't need tables and chairs shown individually - just outline the area they'll be in.)
6. Location(s) of safety monitors.
7. Anything else to be placed in the street or on the sidewalk.

Make sure to label all elements of the site plan. Include areas that will have local access during the event. If you will be requesting any “no parking” posting, please show where.

You need to keep an unobstructed path of the travel for pedestrians on the sidewalks. Accessibility ramps, crosswalks and intersections should not have any objects placed in them.