Lawndale Municipal Code Ch. 12.31 Coercive Solicitation

The public streets, sidewalks, and other public places within the city should be readily accessible and available to residents and the public at large. The use of these areas by person engaged in the form of solicitation which intimidates and menaces others, or conversely commits passive-aggressive solicitation by their presence at a location in which business occurs for the sake of accepting monies, or by purposeful action engages in endangerment of themselves and the public at traffic intersections by parading signage asking for donations, or by engaging in actions with the expectation of compensation, interferes with and hinders the rights of others to use these public places for the purposes which they were intended. It is not the intent of this chapter to completely prohibit solicitation. Rather, it is the purpose of this chapter to provide an additional enforcement tool to protect persons and businesses (and the potential or actual customers of such businesses) from those who would accost, harass, or intimidate by begging or soliciting in a manner that causes fear, intimidation, or harassment in the solicitee or that endangers the solicitee or solicitor.

(Ord. 813-96 § 1; Ord. 1205-25, 6/3/2024)

Unless the particular provisions or the context otherwise requires, the definitions contained in this section shall govern the construction, meaning, and application of words and phrases used in this chapter.

"Solicit"

means to ask another by word or gesture for money or for some other thing of value.

"Solicit by harassing or menacing"

means to do any of the following while soliciting:

Intentionally block or impede the passage of the solicitee;

Touch the solicitee with the intent to intimidate or coerce;

Follow the solicitee, going behind, ahead or along side of him or her, with the intent to intimidate or coerce;

Threaten the solicitee, by word or gesture, with physical harm; or

Abuse the solicitee with words which are offensive and inherently likely to provoke an immediate violent reaction.

(Ord. 813-96 § 1)

A. It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in any aggressive solicitation on any public property, including any city park, city building, and public street, highway, sidewalk, or public right-of-way. It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in any aggressive solicitation on any private property without the express written consent of the owner of the private property.

B. This section does not apply to charitable or religious solicitations that is not aggressive, as defined in this section.

C. This section does not apply to protected speech activities or other activity protected by law.

D. "Aggressive solicitation" means any of the following:

1. Approaching or speaking to a person, or following a person before, during or after soliciting, if that conduct is likely to cause a reasonable person to:

a. Fear bodily harm to oneself or to another, damage to or loss of property, or

b. Otherwise be intimidated into giving money, goods, or other things of value;

2. Intentionally touching or causing physical contact with another person or an occupied vehicle without that person's consent in the course of soliciting, asking or begging;

3. Intentionally blocking or interfering with the safe or free passage of a pedestrian or vehicle by any means, including unreasonably causing a pedestrian or vehicle operator to take evasive action to avoid physical contact in the course of soliciting, asking or begging;

4. Using violent or threatening gestures toward a person before, during or after soliciting;

5. Persisting in closely following or approaching a person, after the person solicited has been solicited and informed the solicitor by words or conduct that such person does not want to be solicited or does not want to give money or any other thing of value to the solicitor; or

6. Loitering around a business engaged in financial services in a manner that is likely to cause a reasonable person to fear loss of property or physical or other coercion into giving up property to the solicitor.

E. Definitions. For purposes of this section, "solicitation" means to ask for or solicit money, property, or other favor, regardless of value.

F. Each and every violation of this section, shall constitute a separate violation, a public nuisance, and shall be subject to all remedies and enforcement measures authorized by this code.

(Ord. 813-96 § 1; Ord. 1205-25, 6/3/2024)

This chapter shall not apply to solicitations, including solicitations by or on behalf of a duly licensed non-profit or charitable organization, where the act(s) of solicitation engaged in by the solicitor does not otherwise violate Section 12.31.030.

(Ord. 813-96 § 1)