Kirkwood, MO Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Section 17-74 of the Kirkwood Code, adopted by Ordinance No. 10378 and amended by Ordinance No. 10735 in November 2021, defines public place broadly to include any place the general public has a right to resort to for business, entertainment or other lawful purpose, expressly naming the front or immediate area of a store, shop, restaurant, tavern or other business, plus public grounds, areas and parks. Against that definition, the section makes it unlawful to stand or remain idle, alone or with others, in a way that knowingly and actually obstructs a public street, highway, sidewalk or other public place or building by hindering vehicle, traffic or pedestrian passage; interferes with the free ingress, egress or regress to or from a business or property; or blocks the entrance to a business establishment without a lawful purpose and against the wishes of the owner, lessee, managing agent or person in charge.

The section builds in a warning step before criminal liability attaches: when someone causes any of these obstructions, a police officer or other law enforcement officer must first order that person to stop and to move on or disperse, and only a knowing failure or refusal to obey that order is itself chargeable as a violation. This structure means simply standing in a group on a sidewalk is not, by itself, an offense in Kirkwood; the offense is refusing an officer's lawful order to move after an actual obstruction has occurred.

Chapter 17 sets no specific fine for Section 17-74, so a conviction is punished under the general penalty at Section 1-14: not less than $5 nor more than $1,000, imprisonment up to three months, or both.