Burien, WA Public Conduct: Aggressive Panhandling (2026)

Burien Municipal Code § 9.80.400 is the city's only begging provision in the criminal code. Subsection (1) makes it a crime for any person to engage in aggressive begging in any public place in the city, as the terms are defined in the section. The City Council adopted it in 1993 as part of the original Burien criminal code.

The definitions do the work. "Aggressive begging" means to beg with intent to intimidate another person into giving money or goods. "Beg" means to ask for money or goods as a charity, whether by words, bodily gestures, signs or other means. "Intimidate" means to coerce or frighten into submission or obedience. Because intent to intimidate is part of the definition, a prosecutor has to prove that mental state, and BMC 9.05.080 requires every element of a city offense to be proved by competent evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.

"Public place" is defined broadly: any road, alley, lane, parking area, sidewalk or any place, private or otherwise, adopted to and fitted for vehicular or pedestrian travel that is in common use by the public with the consent, expressed or implied, of the owner or owners, and also any public playground, school grounds, recreation grounds, parks, parkways, park drives, park paths and rights-of-way open to the use of the public. A privately owned parking lot open to the public is therefore covered.

Parks have an additional rule. BMC 7.30.310 bars soliciting, selling or peddling any goods, services, food or drink in a park area except by concession contract or facility use permit issued by the department. A Chapter 7.30 violation is a class 1 civil infraction with a $250.00 fine under BMC 7.40.010.