Antioch, CA Public Conduct: Aggressive Panhandling (2026)

Adopted by Ord. 1066-C-S in 2006, this article targets a specific traffic-safety hazard rather than panhandling generally. 301 describe solicitors standing in street medians causing drivers to roll past limit lines, stop in confusing spots, miss green lights while reaching for money, or become distracted from pedestrians and other vehicles; the article is enacted under the city's police power (Cal. art. XI, § 7) and Cal. Penal Code § 647(f). 302 defines SOLICIT broadly to include requesting an immediate donation of money or anything of value by spoken, written, or printed word, or merely standing or sitting in the designated area, and defines SOLICITOR as anyone who stands, sits, or remains at or near the center of a street or highway, in a median or otherwise, to solicit.

303, makes it unlawful to solicit money, sell goods or services, or hold or wear an advertising or directional sign from at or near the center of a street or highway or median strip, from at or near the center of a privately owned driveway intersecting a public street where the solicitor stands in the right-of-way, or from such a driveway median where the property owner has filed a written enforcement request with the Chief of Police and posted the property. 301(H) expressly says the article is not meant to limit anyone's constitutional right to solicit funds, protest, or engage in other protected activity outside these median locations. 01.