Fort Lauderdale, FL Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Sit-Lie Rules (2026)

Sec. 16-72, the loitering and prowling ordinance, contains a distinct sit-lie clause at subsection (b): it is unlawful, after first being warned by a law enforcement officer or where a no-loitering sign has been posted, to loiter, stand, sit or lie on any public or quasi-public sidewalk, street, curb, crosswalk, walkway area, mall or that portion of private property used for public purposes, if doing so unreasonably hinders or obstructs pedestrians or vehicles, or blocks free access to a building entrance open to the public.

Unlike subsection (a), the general loitering-and-prowling offense that requires circumstances creating justifiable alarm for safety and gives the person a chance to explain their presence before arrest, subsection (b) is triggered purely by obstruction after a warning or a posted sign, with no separate safety-alarm finding needed. Subsection (a) still applies to loitering more broadly and preserves the identify-and-explain procedure: an officer must ask the person to identify themselves and explain their presence, and no conviction stands if that explanation, believed at the time, would have dispelled the officer's concern.

A third clause at subsection (c) separately targets loitering for the purpose of soliciting prostitution, with its own known-offender and repeated-solicitation factors, and again requires the officer to give the person a chance to explain before any arrest. All three clauses trace back to Code 1953 Sec. S. Sec. 021.