Alpharetta, GA Public Conduct: Aggressive Panhandling (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- § 30-16 Aggressive panhandling
- Continued-solicitation buffer
- 5 feet after a negative response
- Bank/ATM buffer
- 15 feet during hours of operation
- Vehicle solicitation in traffic
- banned, with emergency-repair exception
- Private property
- banned once owner objects or posts sign
- Protected activity
- picketing and protest exempted
- Adopted
- Ord. No. 902, § 10, 5-18-2026
Summary
The City of Alpharetta defines aggressive panhandling by six specific behaviors, including unwanted physical contact, following the person solicited, and blocking someone's path, and bans it citywide. Alpharetta Code of Ordinances § 30-16 also bans soliciting on transit, within 15 feet of banks and ATMs, on private property after being told no, and from motorists in traffic.
Aggressive panhandling means and includes: ... (4)In the course of soliciting, intentionally or recklessly blocking the safe or free passage of the person being solicited or requiring the person, or the driver of a vehicle, to take evasive action to avoid physical contact with the person making the solicitation. Acts authorized as an exercise of one's constitutional right to picket or legally protest shall not constitute obstruction of pedestrian or vehicular traffic; ... (b)Prohibitions. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, organization, or corporation to aggressively panhandle within any public area in the city or panhandle or solicit funds for the sole benefit of the solicitor:(1)In any public transportation vehicle, or bus or subway station or stop;(2)Within 15 feet of any entrance or exit of any bank or check cashing business or within 15 feet of any automated teller machine during the hours of operation of such bank, automated teller machine or check cashing business without the consent of the owner or other person legally in possession of such facilities.
Full Breakdown
Section 30-16, Aggressive panhandling, defines the term through six specific acts in subsection (a): intentionally or recklessly making physical contact without consent, following the person solicited in a way likely to cause fear of imminent bodily harm, continuing to solicit within five feet after a negative response, blocking a person's or vehicle's safe passage, using obscene or abusive language intended to intimidate, and approaching in a manner likely to cause fear or intimidation. Subsection (b) then bans aggressive panhandling, or solicitation for the solicitor's sole benefit, in specific locations regardless of whether it meets the aggressive definition: on any public transportation vehicle, bus, or subway stop; within 15 feet of a bank, check-cashing business entrance, or ATM during that business's hours of operation without the owner's consent; on private property once the owner, tenant, or occupant has objected or posted a no-solicitation sign; and from the operator of a vehicle in traffic, whether for window washing or for reserving a parking space, except for emergency repairs requested by the vehicle's occupants.
Subsection (c) expressly carves out constitutionally protected activity, stating the article regulates only the time, place, and manner of solicitation and does not reach picketing, protesting, or other protected speech. The ordinance was adopted by Ordinance No. 902, § 10, on May 18, 2026, part of a broader 2026 rewrite of chapter 30's offenses provisions.
Violations & Fines
It is unlawful for any person, firm, organization, or corporation to engage in any of the six aggressive-panhandling behaviors, or to solicit for the solicitor's sole benefit on public transit, within 15 feet of a bank or ATM during business hours, on private property after being told not to, or from a motorist in traffic. Constitutionally protected picketing or protest is expressly excluded from enforcement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes panhandling "aggressive" under Alpharetta's ordinance?
Can I solicit money near a bank in Alpharetta?
Can a property owner tell a panhandler to leave?
Does this ordinance affect protests or picketing?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alpharetta
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