Lauderhill, FL Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Lauderhill Police Department officers and city code enforcement officers enforce the loitering ordinance codified at City Code § 14-39, first enacted by Ord. No. 76-486 in 1976 and last amended by Ord. No. 09O-11-165 in 2009. The section defines loitering as standing or remaining in or about any public street, public sidewalk, public overpass or public bridge, or other places listed in the section, then lists five specific offenses: obstructing, hindering or impeding pedestrian or vehicular traffic; remaining at a public school, college or university without enrollment, a relationship to a student or faculty member, or permission from someone authorized to grant it; staying on a public transportation facility after an employee has asked the person to leave; sitting or standing around a church, theater, public building or business establishment so as to obstruct its entrances; and lingering at a police station, county building, hospital or courthouse to solicit employment for legal services or sureties on criminal bonds.

A conviction is a misdemeanor carrying a fine of up to $500 and confinement in jail for up to 30 days. If a uniform code citation is issued instead of a criminal charge, the penalty schedule in Section 7½-3 of the Code applies rather than the misdemeanor range. Two neighboring sections address related conduct without duplicating it: Section 14-32 separately bars fishing from or loitering under any city bridge not designated for fishing, and Section 14-40 covers trespassing onto posted city property, each carrying its own penalty.

Because Lauderhill's loitering law lists concrete locations and conduct rather than a general vagrancy standard, an officer must tie a citation to one of the five enumerated offenses in subsection (b) to sustain it.