Placentia, CA Public Conduct: Jaywalking (2026)

Section 13.68.020 of the Placentia Municipal Code is titled "Jaywalking in business district prohibited," and it is a single sentence: no pedestrian shall cross a roadway other than by a crosswalk in any business district. It does not bar mid-block crossing in every part of the city. Its reach depends on the definition in § 13.04.020, which treats a highway as a business district when, for a distance of six hundred feet on one side, fifty percent or more of the contiguous property fronting the highway is occupied by buildings in use for business, or when both sides collectively meet that test over a distance of three hundred feet. The section adds that a business district can be longer than those distances if the same ratio exists.

Two companion rules apply beyond business districts. Section 13.68.030 says no pedestrian shall cross a roadway at any place other than by a route at right angles to the curb or by the shortest route to the opposite curb, except in a marked crosswalk. Section 13.68.040 says no person shall stand or walk in any roadway other than in a safety zone or in a crosswalk if that interferes with the lawful movement of traffic; the rule does not apply to a public officer or employee, or to a public utility employee, when necessarily in the street in the line of duty.

Crosswalks themselves come from § 13.68.010, which has the public works director establish, designate and maintain crosswalks at intersections and other places by devices, markings or lines on the roadway when vehicular and pedestrian traffic movement require them for public safety.

Under § 13.08.010 the chief of police is responsible for enforcing the city's traffic laws and the state vehicle laws applicable to traffic in the City of Placentia, and officers of the Placentia Police Department or other persons the chief authorizes carry out that enforcement.