Pacifica, CA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Sit-Lie Rules (2026)

Chapter 9 of Title 4 governs conduct on fishing piers owned or operated by the City, principally the Rev. Herschell Harkins Memorial Pier, known locally as the Pacifica Pier. Section 4-9.02(n) makes it unlawful to loiter, sit, lie, or stand upon a municipal pier or the entrance thereto, or otherwise occupy any portion of it, in a manner that unreasonably annoys or molests any person there or that obstructs or unreasonably interferes with the free passage of persons using the pier. The prohibition sits alongside other pier-only conduct rules in the same section, including bans on camping at any time, possessing alcohol, and vending within fifty feet of the pier.

Section 4-9.01.1 sets the enforcement track: unless a subsection is separately listed as a misdemeanor, every violation of Chapter 9, including the loitering and sit-lie prohibition in subsection (n), is an infraction punishable under Section 1-2.01 of the Code. Chapter 9's misdemeanor list covers only firearm discharge, property damage, and harming animals or birds on the pier, so a sit-lie citation under subsection (n) is charged as an infraction rather than a misdemeanor. Park Rangers, appointed by the City Manager under Section 4-9.04, are specifically tasked with enforcing Section 4-9.02.

Pacifica's municipal code, as staged for this review, does not contain a parallel sit-lie or sidewalk-obstruction ordinance covering the City's general streets and sidewalks; the free-passage rule in subsection (n) applies only to the pier itself.