Eden Prairie, MN Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Subdivision 1 of Section 9.33 defines the term loiter for the whole section as covering three distinct situations: obstructing the free and unhampered passage of pedestrians or vehicles, interfering with any person lawfully on the premises by obstructing passage, or refusing to move on when a peace officer reasonably requests it to preserve or promote public peace and order. That third prong means the ordinance can be triggered by a lawful police order even where the conduct otherwise would not obstruct anyone. Subdivision 2.A then applies that definition: it is unlawful for any person to loiter upon public property, with a single carved-out exception for parks, where the ordinance's loitering ban does not apply.

The exception is significant because a separate provision, Subdivision 2.B, independently bars sleeping on streets or in or upon public buildings or structures without any park exception, so a person could still be cited for sleeping in a park even though loitering there is permitted. Section 9.33 sits within Chapter 9's Public Protection, Crimes and Offenses provisions, alongside neighboring sections on disorderly conduct, noisy parties, and curfew, and is enforced the same way: by the Eden Prairie Police Department, with a violation punishable as a misdemeanor under the Chapter 9 general penalty clause in Section 9.99 absent a more specific stated penalty.

The ordinance does not require an officer to issue a warning first, though the third definitional prong effectively builds a move-on request into most enforcement encounters before a citation follows a refusal.