Benton County, WA Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- BCC 7.08, Teen-Age Dance Board
- Loitering ban
- Bars ineligible persons, ages 15-19, from dance premises
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor under BCC 7.08.080
- Permit fee
- $15/year, $5/quarter, or $1 per dance
- Board composition
- 5 members: sheriff, school superintendent, 3 appointees
- Applies to
- Unincorporated Benton County only
- General loitering law
- None exists outside teen-dance chapter
Summary
Benton County's code carries no general anti-loitering ordinance for the unincorporated area; the only loitering prohibition on the books targets teen-age dances. Under BCC 7.08.060, anyone under 15 or over 19, or otherwise ineligible for admission, is barred from loitering around the premises where a permitted teen-age dance is being held.
(g) No person under the age of fifteen (15) or over the age of nineteen (19) shall attend any teen-age dance or loiter around or about the premises at which such dance is being held. (h) It shall be unlawful and shall constitute a violation of this section for any person who is not eligible for admittance to a teen-age dance to loiter around or about the premises at which such dance is being held.
Full Breakdown
Benton County has never adopted a general anti-loitering ordinance for its unincorporated area; Washington county ordinances reach only unincorporated territory, while Kennewick, Richland, West Richland and Prosser enforce their own city codes. The single loitering restriction anywhere in the Benton County Code sits inside Chapter 7.08, the 1965 ordinance that created a five-member Teen-Age Dance Board to license teen dances countywide. The board is composed of the Benton County Sheriff or a delegate, the county's School Superintendent or a delegate, and three members appointed by the Board of County Commissioners to staggered two-year terms (BCC 7.08.020).
Anyone who wants to conduct or sponsor a teen-age dance must first obtain a written permit from the board (BCC 7.08.030), backed by a fee paid to the County Auditor of $15 a year, $5 a quarter or $1 per dance (BCC 7.08.070). BCC 7.08.060(g) sets the attendance window at fifteen through nineteen and separately bars anyone in that bracket from loitering around the dance premises without attending, while subsection (h) extends the same loitering ban to any other person who is not eligible for admittance to the dance.
The chapter also bars alcohol on or near the dance floor, requires adult supervision, and cuts off dancing at midnight absent a board-approved extension (BCC 7.08.060(a)-(f)). No comparable loitering standard appears anywhere else in the county's code, so outside this narrow teen-dance context, loitering in unincorporated Benton County is not separately regulated by county ordinance.
Violations & Fines
Violating any provision of Chapter 7.08, including the loitering ban in BCC 7.08.060(g)-(h), is a misdemeanor under BCC 7.08.080. A dance sponsor or permit holder tied to a violation also risks the Teen-Age Dance Board revoking or suspending the dance permit under BCC 7.08.050, with a right of appeal to the Board of County Commissioners. Loitering outside a licensed teen-age dance has no county ordinance basis for enforcement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Benton County have a general loitering ordinance?
Who does the loitering ban in BCC 7.08.060 apply to?
What happens if someone violates the loitering rule?
Does this rule apply inside Kennewick, Richland or Prosser?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Benton County
Compare Benton County to another location·View the Washington public conduct overview
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