Dearborn Heights, MI Public Conduct: Aggressive Panhandling (2026)

City Code § 20-3(a) makes it unlawful to beg in any place, by words, gestures or displaying a sign, without the consent of the property's owner or lessee or other legal authority, and a violation is a misdemeanor upon conviction. Section 20-3(b) defines "certain regulated areas" as any public alley, right-of-way, street, highway, or the strip between the property line and the street curb; begging there triggers a rebuttable presumption of no consent, though a person can rebut it by showing a license issued under City Code § 28-4.

Outside those regulated areas, § 20-3(c)(1) applies a presumption specific to residential districts (zoned R1, RM or MHP under Chapter 36): if the property owner posted a conspicuous no-soliciting notice, lack of consent is presumed; without a posted notice, the city must instead prove the person kept begging after being told to stop by the owner, lessee, or their agent. In commercial, office or manufacturing districts (C1, C2, C3, CX, O, M1, M3 or MX under Chapter 36), § 20-3(c)(2) presumes no consent outright, without needing a posted notice or a stop request. These distinctions mean enforcement varies sharply by where in the city the begging occurs and whether the property has posted signage.