Acworth, GA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Sit-Lie Rules (2026)

Section 54-3(c) reaches further than the park-camping rule in the same code section: it is unlawful to camp, to sleep, or to store personal property, to sit or to lie down on any public street, where "public street" is defined in § 54-3(a) to include all public streets, rights-of-way, highways, public sidewalks, public benches, public parking lots, and medians. That sweeps in ordinary sidewalks and benches, not just travel lanes. A related subsection, § 54-3(d), separately bans the same conduct anywhere on public property when it interferes with ingress or egress from buildings, covering doorways and entrances beyond the street definition.

As with the park provision, an officer must give an oral or written warning under § 54-3(e) before arresting anyone for a first violation. The section then carves out ten specific exceptions in § 54-3(f): medical emergencies, wheelchair users sitting on sidewalks, parade attendees, sidewalk cafe patrons, people lying down at outdoor performances or fireworks shows, anyone using a public bench or chair, bus-stop waiting areas, orderly ticket or entry lines including lines for shelters or meal programs, and children asleep in a stroller or being carried.

Those exceptions make the ordinance a targeted street-obstruction and camping rule rather than a blanket ban on sitting in public, since normal sidewalk activity like waiting for a bus or a table is expressly protected. The rule was rewritten in full by Ord. No. 2005-02 in January 2005 and last amended by Ord. No. 2021-16 in July 2021.