(A) Prohibited conduct. It shall be unlawful for any person to loiter, loaf, wander, stand, or remain idle either alone or with others in a public place in such manner so as to violate any provision of the subdivisions of this section which follow:
(1) No person shall obstruct any public street, public highway, public sidewalk, or any other public place or building by hindering or impeding, or do any act tending to hinder or impede, the free and uninterrupted passage of vehicles, traffic, or pedestrians.
(2) No person shall commit, in or upon any public street, public highway, public sidewalk, or any other public place or building, any act or thing which is an obstruction or interference to the free and uninterrupted use of property or with any business lawfully conducted by anyone in or upon or facing or fronting on any such public street, public highway, public sidewalk, or any other public place or building, all of which prevents the free and uninterrupted ingress, egress, and regress therein, thereon, and thereto.
(3) No person shall loiter, stand, sit, or lie in or upon any public property, sidewalk, street, curb, crosswalk, walkway area, parking lot, mall, or other portion of private property open for public use so as to unreasonably block, obstruct, or hinder free passage of the public.
(4) No person shall, without consent of the owner or occupant, unreasonably block, obstruct, or hinder free access to the entrance of any building or part of a building open to the public.
(5) No person shall loiter, stand, sit, or lie in any area where a sign prohibiting loitering has been posted.
(6) No person in any public or private place shall use offensive, obscene, or abusive language, or grab, follow, or engage in any conduct which unreasonably tends to arouse alarm, anger, fear, or resentment in another.
(B) Violations and exemptions.
(1) Violations. When any person causes or commits any of the acts enumerated in (A) and is ordered by the owner, agent, manager, or person in charge of the premises, or by any law enforcement officer, to stop causing or committing such acts and to move on or disperse, and fails or refuses to obey such an order or returns to the premises within 24 hours after having been so requested or ordered shall be guilty of a violation of this section.
(2) Exemptions. Acts authorized as an exercise of a person’s constitutional right to freedom of speech and assembly shall not constitute a violation of this section.
(C) Penalty. Any person who shall knowingly violate this section shall, upon conviction thereof, be guilty of a misdemeanor and punished according to law.
(Ord. 95, passed 10-10-95) Penalty, see § 130.99
Cross-reference:
Nuisances; crowds obstructing streets and sidewalks, see § 91.18
Nuisances; profane or obscene language and disturbance of the peace, see § 91.17