Melbourne, FL Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Section 40-4(a) makes it unlawful to loiter or trespass in a municipal parking garage or a municipal-owned or -operated surface parking lot at a time or in a manner not usual for law-abiding individuals, under circumstances warranting justifiable and reasonable alarm or immediate concern for the safety of persons or property nearby. Subsection (b) lists circumstances officers may weigh in that determination: taking flight when a law enforcement officer appears, refusing to identify oneself, manifestly trying to conceal oneself or an object, or being found in the garage or lot during posted closed hours where signage, fencing or another structure gives notice against entering or remaining.

Before making an arrest, unless flight or other circumstances make it impracticable, the officer must give the person a chance to dispel that alarm by asking them to identify themselves and explain their presence and conduct; a conviction cannot stand if the officer skipped this step or if the explanation given, if believed by the officer at the time, would have dispelled the concern. 021, and is limited to municipal parking garages and city-owned or -operated surface parking lots rather than private lots or general public streets. Subsection (c) makes a violation punishable as a municipal ordinance offense under the Code's general penalty provision, Section 1-14.