Asheville, NC Public Conduct: Aggressive Panhandling (2026)

Sec. 11-5(a) defines "forcing oneself upon the company of another" to include continuing to solicit someone within eight feet after a negative response, blocking their passage, or otherwise compelling them to accede. Sec. 11-5(b)(1) then lists citywide prohibited acts: accosting or forcing oneself upon another; soliciting within 20 feet of a bank entrance or ATM; soliciting inside an active outdoor dining or merchandise area; soliciting within eight feet of a transit stop or taxi stand, or inside a transit vehicle; soliciting someone waiting in line to enter a business; touching the person without consent; blocking a path, building or vehicle entrance or exit; using obscene, threatening, or fighting words; using gestures meant to compel; soliciting "after dark" (a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise); or soliciting while intoxicated or after illegal drug use.

Sec. 11-5(b)(2) goes further and bans all panhandling, aggressive or not, inside three mapped "high traffic zones": Zone 1, the downtown core bounded by Biltmore, Southside, French Broad, Haywood, Montford, Cherry, Broadway, Chestnut, Central, Woodfin, Valley, Marjorie, Davidson, Eagle and Market; Zone 2, the Biltmore Village Historic District; and Zone 3, the Patton Avenue/I-240 interchange area. Subsection (d) preserves lawful newspaper distribution as an exception. The ordinance was most recently amended by Ord. No. 5170 (9-9-25), following earlier amendments by Ord. No. S. Supreme Court panhandling and free-speech rulings.