Berkeley County, SC Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Berkeley County Code of Ordinances Chapter 38, Article VIII governs public boat landings, the recreational areas where the county's loitering rule is written down. " It sits alongside consuming alcohol or illegal drugs, discharging a firearm outside lawful self-defense or official duty, setting off fireworks, disorderly conduct, loud music, grilling with an open flame, building an unauthorized fire, using the landing for a social or community event without a permit, unpermitted commercial advertising or sales, loading or unloading cargo or passengers for hire, operating ATVs or off-road vehicles, swimming or water-skiing within 50 feet of the landing while boats launch, and defacing county or state signs and equipment.

The county council adopted this article because rising boating traffic had brought "overcrowding, increased littering, public intoxication, underage drinking, loitering, inadequate parking facilities" and safety hazards to the landings, per the findings of fact in Section 38-151. Enforcement runs through the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office and Berkeley County Code Enforcement under Section 38-153, which authorizes a uniform traffic ticket, warrant, or other lawful process on observation of a violation or a reliable tip. This is a site-specific rule tied to county-owned or county-maintained boat landings and their adjacent parks, swimming areas and natural areas as defined in Section 38-150; the code does not extend a general loitering ban to streets, sidewalks or private property countywide.