Chapter 9.40
INTERFERENCE WITH VEHICLE AND PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC
Sections:
9.40.040 Solicitation from vehicle occupants prohibited.
9.40.010 Unlawful.
It shall be unlawful for any person to obstruct, hinder, or impede the lawful course of travel of any motor vehicle or bicycle upon the public streets, alleys, or parking areas within the City or to obstruct, hinder, or impede the lawful use, by any pedestrian, of the public streets, sidewalks, alleys, parking areas, pathways, or trails within the City. (Ord. 1773 § 1, 1988).
9.40.020 Violation – Penalty.
Any person violating MTMC 9.40.010 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by not more than 90 days in jail and/or $1,000 fine. (Ord. 2676 § 3, 2015; Ord. 1773 § 2, 1988).
9.40.030 Aggressive begging.
A. Any person who engages in aggressive begging in any public place in the City as those terms are defined by this section is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by not more than 90 days in jail and/or $1,000 fine.
B. As used in this section:
1. “Aggressive begging” means to beg with intent to intimidate another person into giving money or goods.
2. “Begging” means to ask for money or goods as a charity, whether by words, bodily gestures, signs or other means.
3. “Intimidate” means to coerce or frighten into submission or obedience.
4. “Public place” means any road, alley, lane, parking area, sidewalk, or any place, private or otherwise, adapted to and fitted for vehicular or pedestrian travel that is in common use by the public with the consent, expressed or implied, of the owner or owners; and any public playground, school grounds, recreation grounds, parks, parkways, park drives, park paths, or rights-of-way open to the use of the public. (Ord. 2676 § 4, 2015; Ord. 2385 § 1, 2005).
9.40.040 Solicitation from vehicle occupants prohibited.
A. The purpose of this section is to promote the City’s fundamental interest in public peace, health, and safety, by regulating acts of solicitation that occur at locations and under circumstances specified herein which pose substantial risks to vehicular and pedestrian safety.
B. No person shall solicit from the occupants of any vehicle and be physically present within or subsequently enter a prohibited roadway.
C. As used in this section:
1. “Enter” means to cross the vertical plane of the edge of a prohibited roadway. It includes crossing the vertical plane by a part of a person’s body or any extension thereof.
2. “Prohibited roadway” means state route, on-ramp or off-ramp to Interstate 5, or principal arterial, and also the first 100 feet of a road that intersects a state route, on-ramp or off-ramp to Interstate 5, or principal arterial, as measured from the edge of the state route, on-ramp or off-ramp to Interstate 5, or principal arterial.
a. “Prohibited roadway”:
i. Includes any portion of a road traveled by vehicles;
ii. Includes the first five feet beyond the edge of a paved shoulder where there is no sidewalk;
iii. Includes medians, which may be denoted by a physical barrier or solid yellow pavement markings;
iv. Excludes all sidewalks and curbs.
3. “Solicit” means:
a. Either orally or in writing, directly or by implication to ask, beg, request or plead for employment, goods, services, financial aid, monetary gifts, or any article representing monetary value, for any purpose;
b. Either orally or in writing, to sell or offer for immediate sale goods, services, or publications;
c. To distribute without remuneration goods, services, or publications; or
d. To solicit signatures on a petition or opinions for a survey.
D. Prohibited roadways, with the exception of roadways within 100 feet of a state route, or on-ramp or off-ramp to Interstate 5, or a principal arterial, established herein are delineated upon the official map, entitled “Prohibited Roadways as Defined by MTMC 9.40.040(C)(2) and Referenced in MTMC 9.40.040(D),” as adopted as part of this code by reference as if set forth herein. The official map shall be filed in the office of the City Clerk. It shall be the duty of the City Attorney to cause the official map to be updated and maintained by having changes entered that the City Council may approve.
E. Any person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.
F. The following are not violations under this section:
1. Activity authorized pursuant to Chapter 10.20 MTMC “Special Events” or Chapter 12.10 MTMC “Parks and Recreation – Rules and Regulations.”
2. A person summoning aid in an emergency situation. (Ord. 2676 § 5, 2015).