Warwick, RI Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Sit-Lie Rules (2026)

Section 40-8(a) makes it unlawful to loiter, loaf, wander, stand, or remain idle, alone or with others, in a public place in a way that obstructs a public street, highway, sidewalk, or other public place or building by hindering the free passage of vehicles, traffic, or pedestrians, or that otherwise interferes with a business's or property's free ingress and egress. Section 40-8(b) requires a police officer or other law enforcement officer who observes that conduct to order the person to stop and to move on or disperse; refusing or failing to obey that order is itself a violation of the section.

The ordinance doesn't ban sitting or lying on a sidewalk by name; it targets loitering that obstructs passage, and the trigger is the officer's dispersal order rather than the act of sitting alone. A related provision, Section 40-9, separately bars picketing before or about a private residence, reflecting the same chapter's focus on keeping public ways and doorsteps clear of prolonged, obstructive occupancy. 00, imprisonment of up to 30 days, or both, with each day of a continuing violation charged as a separate offense.