Burlington, WI Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Sit-Lie Rules (2026)

City Code § 204-2, "Causing obstructions," is Burlington's sit-lie tool: it targets people who block pedestrian or vehicle passage rather than the act of sitting itself. Subsection A makes it unlawful to obstruct a street, bridge, sidewalk or crossing by lounging or loitering there after a police officer requests the person move on, so a first request to move is required before the conduct becomes a violation. Subsection B goes further for groups: loafing or loitering in groups or crowds on public streets, alleys, sidewalks, crossings, bridges or other public places is prohibited outright whenever it prevents, interferes with or obstructs the ordinary free use of those places by others passing along and over them, with no prior warning required for that group version.

The companion sections in Chapter 204 reinforce the same theme: § 204-3 bars loafing or loitering on streets, sidewalks, adjacent doorways, entrances, crossings, bridges or private premises without an owner's invitation after a police officer or person in authority asks the person to move, and § 204-4 (amended 10-1-2013 by Ord. No. 1971(5)) extends the rule to depots, theaters, dance halls, restaurants, stores, public sidewalks, parking lots and other assembly places, allowing enforcement without a verbal request if a posted "No Loitering" sign is present.

Chapter 204 was adopted 1-5-1988 by Ord. No. 40, so this obstruction ban predates the City's current noise and property maintenance ordinances by decades and has stood largely unchanged.