San Bernardino, CA Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Municipal Code § 12.44.030
- Chapter title
- Ch. 12.44, Obstructions
- Required intent
- Willful and malicious
- Charge level
- Infraction (escalates on 4th)
- Origin
- Ord. 120, 1892; amended 1978-1985
Summary
San Bernardino requires public streets, sidewalks and crosswalks to stay free of obstructions, including people, and bans willfully sitting, standing in or blocking them so as to hinder passage. Municipal Code § 12.44.030 in the Obstructions chapter carries an infraction penalty under § 1.12.010.
It is unlawful for any person to willfully and maliciously stand or sit in, obstruct or occupy any public street, sidewalk or crosswalk, or sit, stand in, obstruct or occupy any public stairway, escalator, elevator, passageway or sidewalk in or immediately surrounding a public mall or building owned, operated or maintained by the city, or stand, sit in, occupy or obstruct the entrance or exit to and from any public hall, meeting place and public building within the boundaries of the city, so as in any manner to obstruct the free passage thereon or to hinder, molest or annoy any person while passing along the same.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-2: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. MC-1666, passed 8-5-2026).
Full Breakdown
44 titled Obstructions, declares that the city's public streets, sidewalks and crosswalks, along with stairways, escalators, elevators, passageways and sidewalks around public malls or city buildings, and entrances and exits to public halls and meeting places, must be kept free from all obstructions, expressly including obstructions caused by human beings. Subsection (B) then makes it unlawful for any person to willfully and maliciously stand or sit in, obstruct or occupy a public street, sidewalk or crosswalk, or a public stairway, escalator, elevator or passageway, or the entrance or exit to a public hall or building, in a manner that obstructs free passage or hinders, molests or annoys anyone passing along it.
The section requires willful and malicious intent plus an actual obstruction effect, so incidental standing that does not block or bother anyone does not violate it; a person camped across a sidewalk forcing pedestrians into the street, or blocking a building entrance to harass people entering, fits squarely within it. The chapter's roots go back to Ordinance 120 from 1892, and it was substantively amended by Ordinance 3711 in 1978, Ordinance 3950 in 1980, and Ordinance MC-460 in 1985. 030. 030's median-island loitering ban are narrower measures, a school-hours minor curfew and a median-safety rule, not the city's general obstruction law.
Violations & Fines
A violation of § 12.44.030 is an infraction under subsection (C), punishable per the general penalty schedule at § 1.12.010: up to $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second within a year, and $500 for a third, with a fourth infraction in the same year charged as a misdemeanor exposing the violator to up to six months in county jail and a $1,000 fine. Courts may also order reimbursement of the city's investigation and enforcement costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to sit on a San Bernardino sidewalk?
Does San Bernardino have a separate general loitering law?
What is the penalty for blocking a sidewalk entrance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Bernardino
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Loitering Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in San Bernardino County handle loitering rules.