Fort Collins's Public Conduct: The Rules That Matter

Every city handles public conduct a little differently. In Fort Collins, Colorado, there are 8 distinct rules that residents and property owners should be aware of. Some are stricter than what neighboring cities enforce, and others are more relaxed. Here is what you need to know.

Loitering Rules

Fort Collins targets loitering specifically around schools: Sec. 17-123 bars lingering on or within 100 feet of school grounds with intent to disrupt classes or endanger children, but only once a school administrator or officer has ordered the person to leave.

Key details: Governing section: City Code Sec. 17-123, Loitering about schools. Distance covered: School grounds or within 100 feet. Required trigger: Prior request to leave from staff or officer. Penalty class: Unclassified misdemeanor, Sec. 1-15(a). Maximum penalty: $2,650 fine and/or 180 days jail.

A violation of Sec. 17-123 has no separately designated penalty class in the Code, so it is punished as an unclassified misdemeanor under the general penalty at Sec. 1-15(a): a fine and surcharge up to $2,650, imprisonment up to 180 days, or both, with no jail time for anyone under 18 as of the offense date. Each day a person continues to loiter after being asked to leave can be treated as a separate offense under Sec. 1-15(a).

Public Urination

Fort Collins bans depositing human waste anywhere in the city that isn't a toilet or urinal. Sec. 17-103, Bodily Waste, covers public and private property alike and reaches excrement, vomit, and spittle in addition to urine, punishable as a misdemeanor under the Code's general penalty.

Key details: Governing section: City Code Sec. 17-103, Bodily waste. Covers: Excrement, vomit, spittle, other bodily waste. Where prohibited: Any public or private property, absent a receptacle. Penalty class: Unclassified misdemeanor, Sec. 1-15(a). Maximum penalty: $2,650 fine and/or 180 days jail.

A Sec. 17-103 violation is an unclassified misdemeanor under the Sec. 1-15(a) general penalty, carrying a fine and surcharge of up to $2,650 or imprisonment up to 180 days, or both, with each day of a continuing violation potentially charged separately. The City may additionally seek restitution under Sec. 1-15(g) for extraordinary enforcement costs tied to the incident.

Outdoor Smoking Restrictions

Fort Collins bans smoking and vaping in every public place in the City, on all City-owned property including parks and trails, throughout the Downtown Smoke-Free Zone, and within 20 feet of any smoke-free entrance or outdoor serving area. Violators face a petty-offense fine capped at $500 under Section 12-67.

Key details: Smoke-free buffer: 20 feet from any entrance or window. City-owned property: Smoking banned, incl. parks, trails, natural areas. Downtown Smoke-Free Zone: 8-block area, smoking banned outright. Covers vaping: Electronic smoking devices included in ban. Maximum fine: $500, capped below standard petty-offense limit.

Smoking anywhere the Article makes smoke-free, including within the 20-foot buffer or the Downtown Smoke-Free Zone, is a petty offense under Section 12-67. Fort Collins capped the maximum Chapter 12, Article III fine at $500 under Section 1-15(b), lower than the standard $2,650 petty-offense ceiling elsewhere in the Code, and each day of a continuing violation, such as an uncorrected missing no-smoking sign, counts as a separate offense.

This is not one of those rules that cities tend to ignore. Fort Collins actively enforces its outdoor smoking restrictions requirements.

Public Marijuana Use

Fort Collins Municipal Code Section 17-191 prohibits consuming recreational marijuana openly and publicly, and bans medical marijuana use in plain view of or in a place open to the general public. Possession is capped at one ounce recreational or two ounces medical, and marijuana clubs are separately banned.

Key details: Recreational public use: Banned if open and public, § 17-191(a). Medical public use: Banned if in plain view of public, § 17-191(b). Possession cap: 1 oz recreational / 2 oz medical. Marijuana clubs: Prohibited outright, § 17-192. City property: Transfer or display banned, § 17-193.

A Section 17-191 violation is prosecuted under the Chapter 1 general penalty, Section 1-15, with prima facie evidence under Subsection (h) built from possession or consumption anywhere in the City by someone under 21, or from visible marijuana-impairment characteristics. Underage first-time offenders who complete court-ordered substance abuse education and pay any fine can have their case sealed under Subsection (i). Fort Collins Police Services and Colorado State University Police both enforce the Section.

Compared to other cities, Fort Collins takes a harder line on public marijuana use. The enforcement and penalty structure reflects that.

Public Alcohol Use

Fort Collins Municipal Code Section 17-141 bans carrying an opened container of alcohol or drinking on any street, sidewalk, alley or public place, in a vehicle, or on school and college grounds, unless the City Manager or the institution authorizes it. Licensed liquor premises are exempt.

Key details: Banned locations: Streets, sidewalks, alleys, vehicles, campuses. Exempt premises: Places duly licensed to sell alcohol. Opened container test: Any container not sealed by the manufacturer. Maximum penalty: $2,650 fine or 180 days jail. Enforcing agency: Fort Collins Police Services.

Section 17-141 does not set its own fine schedule, so a violation defaults to an unclassified misdemeanor under Section 1-15(a): up to a $2,650 fine, up to 180 days in jail, or both, through Fort Collins Municipal Court. Fort Collins Police Services are the primary enforcing agency, and the ordinance is frequently cited together with public nudity or disorderly conduct charges from the same chapter.

Jaywalking

Fort Collins doesn't ban random midblock crossings citywide, but Traffic Code Section 803 requires any pedestrian who crosses outside a marked or intersection crosswalk to yield to every vehicle on the roadway, and bans crossing anywhere except a marked crosswalk between two signalized intersections. Diagonal intersection crossing is also illegal unless a sign or signal specifically allows it.

Key details: Governing section: Traffic Code § 803. Signalized blocks: Crosswalk-only, no exceptions. Unsignalized blocks: Allowed if yielding to traffic. Diagonal crossing: Banned unless signed/signaled. Enforced by: Fort Collins Police Services.

A Section 803 violation is enforced as a Fort Collins Traffic Code infraction, cited by Police Services officers under the general penalty and procedure provisions of Part 17; a pedestrian found in violation can be issued a penalty assessment notice or summons to Municipal Court. Because Subsection (1) shifts right-of-way duty to the pedestrian, a jaywalker involved in a crash also faces a much weaker civil claim against the driver.

Loud Party Ordinance

Fort Collins Municipal Code Section 17-132 holds a host criminally liable when a private social gathering of five or more people becomes a nuisance gathering under Section 17-131, defined by disruptive conditions like rioting, unlawful open containers, excessive noise or public urination. Hosts also risk paying the City's abatement costs.

Key details: Gathering size threshold: Five or more persons. Host liability section: Municipal Code § 17-132(a). Cleanup grace period: 12 hours after police contact. Abatement bill appeal window: 10 days to City Manager. Unpaid lien penalty: 10 percent added after 30 days.

Hosting a nuisance gathering under Section 17-132(a) is a misdemeanor punishable under Section 1-15, and a host disputing an abatement bill has ten days from assessment to request an administrative review hearing before the City Manager under Section 17-133(c). Section 17-132(c) treats a documented attempt to disperse the crowd, backed by contact with Fort Collins Police Services or CSU Police, as a mitigating factor in sentencing and cost apportionment.

This is one of the stricter rules in Fort Collins's municipal code. If you are unsure whether your situation complies, it is worth checking with the city before proceeding.

Skateboarding Rules

Skateboarding is banned in Fort Collins's natural areas except on a roadway or designated trail, per § 23-193(a)(8). In City parks and recreation areas it is allowed only on a sidewalk, roadway, parking area or designated trail unless a posted sign opens the area, under § 23-203(b)(5), and reckless skateboarding is banned outright in both.

Key details: Natural areas rule: Skateboarding only on roadway/designated trail. Recreation areas rule: Only sidewalk, roadway, parking area, trail. Reckless skateboarding: Separately banned in both settings. Natural-areas penalty: Petty offense, § 1-15(h) fine. Recreation-area penalty: Misdemeanor, § 1-15(a) fine/jail.

A violation of the natural-areas skateboard rule is a petty offense under § 23-193(f), punishable by a fine under § 1-15(h); reckless skateboarding in a natural area is a misdemeanor, punishable by fine or jail under § 1-15(a). In a recreation area, most § 23-203 violations, including out-of-bounds and reckless skateboarding, are misdemeanors under § 23-203(f), also fined or jailed under § 1-15(a).

The Bottom Line

Fort Collins is tougher than many cities when it comes to public conduct. Out of the 8 rules covered here, 3 are rated strict. If you are a homeowner, renter, or business owner in Fort Collins, take the time to understand these requirements before they become a problem. Most violations come with fines, and some repeat violations can escalate.

These rules come from Fort Collins's publicly available municipal code. For complete penalty schedules, exemption details, and answers to common questions, see the individual ordinance pages throughout this guide.