West Bloomfield, MI Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Section 15-143 of the West Bloomfield Township Code, adopted originally as Ord. No. 63A in 1974 and amended by Ord. No. C-788 on March 24, 2014, defines the township's core anti-loitering and anti-panhandling rule. Subsection (a) borrows the definition of "public place" from Section 15-1. Subsection (b) is the general obstruction clause: a person may not obstruct free and uninterrupted passage of the public in a public place, but only after a West Bloomfield police officer has told that person to move on, meaning a warning must precede any citation.

Subsection (c), added in 2014, targets aggressive solicitation: while requesting or soliciting money, a person may not obstruct another's path, block a building, parking area or vehicle entrance, obstruct a safety path, sidewalk, street or right-of-way, interfere with pedestrian or vehicular traffic flow, follow behind, alongside or ahead of someone who has walked away or expressed disinterest, or touch another person without consent. Subsection (d) is a clear carve-out: none of these restrictions reach private property or a property owner's right to control the premises, so the section governs sidewalks, streets, parking lots and other public spaces, not yards or store interiors.

Because Section 15-143 does not set its own fine, a violation defaults to the Code's general penalty in Section 1-10: a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail and/or a $500 fine, with each day of continuing violation charged as a separate offense. The West Bloomfield Police Department enforces the section on the township's public streets, parks and shopping-center walkways.