Oakland, CA Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

160 that separately bars sitting, lying or sleeping on a public highway, alley, sidewalk or crosswalk except when a person's physical disability requires it. 170 reaches conduct one step further: standing still, not just sitting, becomes unlawful once it obstructs or unreasonably interferes with the free passage of pedestrians on any public highway, alley, sidewalk, crosswalk or other public way, or once it blocks the normal use of the entrance to a house of worship, hall, theater, moving picture theater or other place of public assemblage.

20, so it predates Oakland's current codification and has stood without amendment through the code's most recent updates in this chapter. It carries no permit, registration or licensing process; there is no way to make loitering-that-obstructs lawful, unlike the City's nearby special-event and mobile-vending permit chapters. C. 010: any person who violates a provision of the Oakland Municipal Code without a specified penalty is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, with each day of a continuing violation charged as a separate offense.

250, which once penalized loitering on Housing Authority property, was repealed in 2018 and no longer applies. 050 imposes a narrower, unrelated infraction for loitering near posted industrial or utility property while carrying a tool or explosive capable of causing damage.