Fayetteville, NC Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Section 17-36 of the Fayetteville Code of Ordinances prohibits loitering in any public place or on private property that creates a danger of breach of the peace, obstructs pedestrian or vehicle passage, obstructs or interferes with any person lawfully present, or blocks entrances, exits, or parking areas of a business. Separate subsections extend the ban to city-owned or operated parking facilities (loitering there is unlawful unless the person is parking, an employee, or conducting authorized city business), to loitering manifesting a purpose of drug-related activity (repeatedly flagging down passersby or vehicles, exchanging suspected drugs, or behaving in a manner raising reasonable suspicion of drug activity), to non-students loitering on school grounds during school hours without administrative permission, and to loitering in bus stops, transportation facilities, or transit vehicles that interferes with operations or other passengers.

The ordinance exempts people waiting for transit, exercising constitutional speech, protest, or assembly rights, conducting legitimate business, or acting as emergency responders. Before any arrest or citation, an officer must first order the person to disperse and leave the area; a charge requires probable cause plus documentation of the specific conduct observed. The ordinance took effect under Ordinance No. S2025-023, § 1, adopted August 25, 2025.