Carroll County, MD Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Section 94.078, part of the Parks and Recreation chapter (Chapter 94) enforced by county park Managers and attendants, prohibits four categories of conduct inside any county park: sleeping or protractedly lounging on seats, benches, or other park areas; loud, boisterous, threatening, abusive, insulting, or indecent language; any disorderly conduct; and behavior tending to breach the public peace. The chapter's definitions section, § 94.003, limits PARK to areas in the unincorporated portions of the county owned or used by the county, so the loitering ban reaches county-owned parks outside incorporated towns such as Westminster or Sykesville, which enforce their own municipal park rules separately.

Section 94.078 traces to the 2004 Code § 155-29 and Ord. 71, passed 11-10-1988, and has not since been amended. A park attendant, Manager, or law enforcement officer who observes a violation can issue a citation, and § 94.079 separately requires anyone in a park to produce a permit on request, letting officers enforcing § 94.078 also check for authorized use. Someone whose conduct shows they are more likely than not to violate this chapter again faces suspension or a permanent ban from park premises under § 94.114, ordered by the Director of the Department of Recreation and Parks.

Violation of § 94.078, like most sections in Chapter 94, is a misdemeanor under the chapter's catch-all penalty section, § 94.999(A), punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or up to six months in the Carroll County Detention Center; only the separate parking-after-closing offense in § 94.034 carries a lighter $25 fine instead.