Public Conduct in Bakersfield, CA (2026)
6 verified public conduct rules for Bakersfield, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Aggressive Panhandling
Bakersfield Municipal Code § 9.32.020 bans soliciting in an aggressive manner in any public place, plus soliciting near banks, ATMs, bus stops and transit vehicles, in parking lots after dark, and on any public median strip.
Bakersfield Aggressive Panhandling Ban
Significant RestrictionsBakersfield Municipal Code §§ 9.32.010(B), 9.32.020
"Aggressive manner" means any of the following: 1. Approaching or speaking to a person, or following a person before, during or after soliciting, if that conduct is likely to cause a reasonable person to: a. Fear bodily harm to oneself or to another, damage to or loss of property, or b. Otherwise be intimidated into giving money, goods, or other things of value... 9.32.020 Unlawful solicitation...
Skateboarding Rules
Bakersfield Municipal Code § 10.52.010 bans riding a skateboard, bicycle, inline skates, or similar wheeled device on any sidewalk inside the central traffic district and Old Town Kern, and on the steps, landings, or entryways of city hall or any city-owned building. The ban lifts only where the city has specifically posted an area to allow those uses.
Bakersfield Sidewalk Skateboard Ban
Significant RestrictionsBakersfield Municipal Code § 10.52.010
Except as to areas which are specifically designated and posted to permit such uses, it is unlawful for any person upon a bicycle, skates (inline or otherwise), skateboard or by means of any coaster, toy vehicle or similar device to go upon any sidewalk in the central traffic district and/or Old Town Kern, as those terms are defined in Section 10.08.020, or upon the steps, landings, entranceway...
Loud Party Ordinance
Bakersfield Municipal Code Chapter 9.23 makes anyone responsible for a loud or unruly event, owner, tenant or permit holder, civilly liable for the city's full response cost if police or fire return to the same address a second time within 30 days after a written warning.
Bakersfield Loud-Party Host Liability
Significant RestrictionsBakersfield Municipal Code § 9.23.060
Any person or persons responsible for a loud or unruly event shall be civilly liable to the city for a service fee which shall represent all costs incurred by the city arising out of a second or subsequent response...to an address where: A. Any member of the police or fire department initially responded to the same address during the preceding thirty day period; B. At the time of making such in...
Loitering Rules
Bakersfield bars loitering in or near any public place under circumstances showing a purpose to engage in drug activity, using a police-listed set of behavioral factors to establish intent.
Bakersfield Drug-Loitering Prohibition
Significant RestrictionsBakersfield Municipal Code § 9.19.030
It is unlawful for any person to loiter in, on or near any public place in a manner and under circumstances manifesting the purpose of engaging in drug-related activity defined as offenses in chapter 6 and 6.5 of division 10 of the California Health and Safety Code.
Jaywalking
Bakersfield Municipal Code § 10.48.020 requires pedestrians to cross at a marked crosswalk anywhere inside the central traffic district, in any business district, or in a school zone: crossing mid-block in those areas is unlawful. The rule carves out one express exception: it does not apply inside a posted parking mall, where pedestrian movement is governed separately under Chapter 10.72.
Bakersfield Crosswalk-Only Crossing Rule
Some RestrictionsBakersfield Municipal Code § 10.48.020
A. No pedestrian shall cross a roadway other than at a crosswalk in the central traffic district or in any business district or in a school zone. B. This section shall not apply within any parking mall.
Public Alcohol Use
Bakersfield bans drinking or holding an open container of beer, wine or liquor on any street, sidewalk, alley, public parking lot or highway in the city, unless a Chapter 12.20 permit says otherwise.
Bakersfield Open Container Ban
Some RestrictionsBakersfield Municipal Code § 9.16.010
Except as otherwise allowed by Chapter 12.20 of the Bakersfield Municipal Code, no person shall drink or possess an open container of any beer, wine, or other alcoholic beverage on any street, sidewalk, pedestrian mall, alley, parking lot open to the general public, or highway in the city.
Looking for Kern County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Bakersfield city rules.
Public Conduct in Kern County →