Duluth, MN Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Sit-Lie Rules (2026)

Section 45-1 of the Duluth Legislative Code prohibits any group or company of persons from assembling on a highway or sidewalk in a way that obstructs free passage unless the gathering has first secured a permit under Article V of the same chapter, the city's special-events law. Article V defines a covered special event broadly: any sponsored gathering on a public street, sidewalk, walkway, alley, right-of-way or other public property that interferes with normal vehicular or pedestrian traffic and may require city services, including a public assembly of more than 25 people held for a common purpose as a result of prior planning under Sec.

45-47(j). Organizers must apply to the city clerk's office at least 14, 30 or 90 days ahead depending on expected attendance under Sec. 1, and the special events committee, chaired by the city administrator, reviews applications against public-safety criteria such as available police resources, traffic flow and emergency access under Sec. 3 before issuing a permit. m. A group that blocks a sidewalk or street without going through this process is not merely subject to a civil fine: Sec. 45-1 makes the conduct a straight misdemeanor.

The Duluth Police Department is the enforcing agency and can cite or arrest participants in an unpermitted obstruction. The current penalty language was adopted by Ordinance No. 10904 on July 29, 2024, the same year the city updated its companion sidewalk-skating ordinance.