Alpharetta, GA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Sit-Lie Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- § 30-3(b)(9) and (b)(10)
- Trigger
- impeding pedestrian or vehicular flow
- Prerequisite
- officer must order person to clear first
- Repeat-offender rule
- no further warning after 2+ prior orders
- Classification
- disorderly conduct
- Last amended
- Ord. No. 745, 7-17-2017
Summary
In the City of Alpharetta, standing, remaining, or congregating on a sidewalk, street, overpass, or public way in a way that blocks pedestrian or vehicular traffic is disorderly conduct. Alpharetta Code of Ordinances § 30-3(b)(9)-(10) requires a city police officer or other lawful authority to order the person to clear the space before an arrest can follow, unless the person has already ignored two or more such orders elsewhere in the city.
(a)It shall be unlawful for any person to disturb or endanger the public peace or decency by any disorderly conduct.(b)The following acts, among others, are declared to be disorderly conduct: ... (9)Congregate with another or others in or on any public way so as to halt the flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic, and to fail to clear that public way after being ordered to do so by a city police officer or other lawful authority;(10)Stand or remain in or about any street, sidewalk, overpass, or public way so as to impede the flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic, and to fail to clear such street, sidewalk, overpass or public way after being ordered to do so by a police officer or other lawful authority; provided, however, no further order by a police officer or other lawful authority shall be required when such person has previously engaged in similar acts and has been ordered on two or more occasions by a police officer or other lawful authority to clear any other street, sidewalk, overpass or public way in the city;
Full Breakdown
Section 30-3 of the Code of Ordinances, City of Alpharetta, Georgia lists twelve specific acts as disorderly conduct. Two apply directly to sitting, standing, or blocking a public way: subsection (b)(9) covers two or more people who congregate on a public way so as to halt vehicular or pedestrian traffic and then fail to clear it after a city police officer orders them to; subsection (b)(10) covers a single person who stands or remains in or about a street, sidewalk, overpass, or public way so as to impede traffic flow and fails to clear it after being ordered.
Crucially, the ordinance builds in a warning requirement: a person cannot be charged simply for sitting or standing in a spot that happens to block foot or vehicle traffic; the officer must first order the person to move. The one exception removes that protection for repeat offenders: if the same person has already been ordered on two or more prior occasions to clear a different street, sidewalk, overpass, or public way anywhere in the city, no further warning is required before enforcement. The Alpharetta Department of Public Safety enforces this chapter.
The section traces to Code 1989, § 13-3, originally adopted by Ordinance No. 87 in 1962 and last amended by Ordinance No. 745 on July 17, 2017. A state law reference in the code ties the provision to Georgia's general disorderly conduct statute, O.C.G.A. § 16-11-39, but the sidewalk-clearing standard itself, and its order-then-arrest structure, is Alpharetta's own local text.
Violations & Fines
A violation requires two things in sequence: conduct that impedes vehicular or pedestrian flow on a street, sidewalk, overpass, or public way, and a failure to clear the area after a city police officer or other lawful authority orders the person to move. Anyone who has already been ordered to clear a public way on two or more prior occasions anywhere in the city can be charged without a fresh warning. Both group congregating (b)(9) and solitary standing or remaining (b)(10) are covered separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I just sit on a sidewalk in Alpharetta?
Do officers have to warn me before citing me?
Does this cover groups, not just individuals?
Who enforces this in Alpharetta?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alpharetta
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