Butte County, CA Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Blocking pedestrians
- Unlawful under Sec. 15-14(a)
- Blocking entrances
- Unlawful under Sec. 15-14(c)
- Near schools
- Loitering barred under Sec. 15-14(d)
- Applies to
- Unincorporated Butte County only
- Penalty
- Up to $1,000 fine / 6 months jail
Summary
Butte County's Sec. 15-14 makes it unlawful to loiter or stand on a public highway, alley, sidewalk or crosswalk in a way that annoys pedestrians or blocks their free passage, to loiter at the entrance of a church, theater, store or other public assemblage so as to obstruct it, or to loiter about a school where children are present.
It shall be unlawful for any person to:(a)Loiter or stand in or upon any public highway, alley, sidewalk or cross-walk, or other public way open for pedestrian travel or otherwise occupy any portion thereof in such a manner as unreasonably to annoy or molest any pedestrian thereon, or as to obstruct or unreasonably interfere with the free passage of pedestrians...(c)Loiter, stand, or sit in or at the entrance of any church, hall, theatre, moving picture theatre, store, or place of public assemblage so as to obstruct such entrance.(d)Loiter about any school or public place at or near which school children attend.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 61).
Full Breakdown
Section 15-14, dating to Code 1952 § 95 and rewritten by Ord. No. 1075 in 1970, defines four distinct unlawful acts in the unincorporated area. Subsection (a) bars loitering or standing on a public highway, alley, sidewalk, crosswalk or other pedestrian way, or otherwise occupying any portion of it, in a manner that unreasonably annoys or molests a pedestrian or obstructs or unreasonably interferes with free passage. Subsection (c) separately bars loitering, standing or sitting at or in the entrance of a church, hall, theatre, moving picture theatre, store or other place of public assemblage so as to obstruct that entrance.
Subsection (d) bars loitering about any school or public place at or near which schoolchildren attend, a provision aimed at protecting students on their way to and from campus. A companion subsection, (b), separately addresses sitting, lying or sleeping on sidewalks and is enforced as its own distinct rule. Because Sec. 15-14 applies only to the unincorporated area, it does not reach conduct inside Chico, Paradise, Gridley or Biggs, which are separate incorporated jurisdictions. The Butte County Sheriff's Office enforces the section, and, as with the rest of Chapter 15's miscellaneous offenses, no independent penalty clause is written into Sec. 15-14 itself.
Violations & Fines
Sec. 15-14 sets no penalty of its own, so violations of subsections (a), (c) or (d) default to the Sec. 1-7 general penalty: a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment in county jail for up to six months, or both, with every day of a continuing violation charged as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as illegal loitering in Butte County?
Is it illegal to loiter outside a store's entrance?
Does the ordinance target loitering near schools?
What is the penalty for loitering under Sec. 15-14?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Butte County
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