Newport Beach, CA Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)

010, Sitting, Lying, or Sleeping or Storing, Using, or Maintaining or Placing Personal Property in the Public Rights-of-Way, bans several specific acts: fixing in place, storing, maintaining or leaving unattended personal property on public property (subsection A); setting up or maintaining a tent on public property (B); sleeping or lodging in a public restroom (C); sleeping on a public bench or bike rack (D); and sitting on a movable chair, bucket, crate or cooler, or sleeping, on a public plaza or right-of-way outside a lawful permitted event (E).

, though simply walking through without stopping is not a violation. Subsection G bans sitting, lying, sleeping or storing property on a public median, parkway or landscaped area. Subsection H is the core obstruction rule: no person may block public or private access by sitting, lying, sleeping or storing property on public property within 20 feet of an operational driveway, ramp or loading dock, within 20 feet of a fire hydrant or Fire Department connection, within 20 feet of a restroom, park, trail or path entrance, within 50 feet of an operational entrance or exit of a business or building open to the public, within 10 feet of an ATM or its access door, within 10 feet of an EV charging station, parking pay station or meter, within 10 feet of a sidewalk ramp or street corner, in a manner that unreasonably interferes with vehicles, pedestrians or bicycles, or within 500 feet of a college, school, day care center or cancer treatment center. 005, and 'storing' includes returning property within 1,000 feet of a prior citation location within 30 days.