[Amended 2-10-2003 by Ord. No. 696; 9-14-2009 by Ord. No. 808; 4-23-2012 by Ord. No. 832]
A. 
The term "disorderly conduct" shall mean:
(1) 
Violent or rowdy behavior that endangers the life, limb, health or property of another or puts another person in reasonable fear of such injury to his or her person or property.
(2) 
Acts of violence, angry threats and/or abusive conduct that deters or is intended to deter another person from engaging in lawful conduct or pursuit of a lawful occupation.
(3) 
Actions that cause, provoke or may foreseeably tend to cause or provoke a fight, brawl or other riotous conduct that endangers the life, limb, health or property of another.
(4) 
Assembling or congregating with another person or persons for the purpose of causing, provoking or engaging in any fight or brawl.
(5) 
Jostling or roughly crowding or pushing any person in any public place, when such conduct is avoidable in the exercise of due care.
(6) 
Frequenting any public place with intent to obtain money from another by a fraudulent scheme, trick, artifice or device.
(7) 
Assembling with another person or persons or in crowds for unlawful purposes, including but not limited to the intent to engage in gaming, or to engage in any fraudulent scheme, device or trick to obtain any valuable thing, or to do bodily harm to another.
(8) 
Intentionally breaking jars, bottles or other glass items in or upon the streets, alleys, sidewalks or other public ways of the City or upon public property.
(9) 
Being present within a dwelling or place of business while gaming or the illegal sale or possession of alcoholic beverages or unlawful drugs is conducted, allowed or tolerated.
(10) 
Congregating with another or others in or on any public way so as to halt the flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic and refusing to clear such public way when ordered to do so by a law enforcement officer; provided, however, that persons congregating in or on a public way pursuant to a valid permit issued pursuant to Chapter 109 of the City Code shall not be deemed to be loitering.
B. 
A person may not engage in disorderly conduct.
C. 
A violation of this section shall be a municipal infraction punishable by a fine of $150.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to disturb the peace by:
(1) 
Uttering, in a public place, including in or on the premises of any place of business open to the general public, any lewd or obscene words or epithets in the presence or hearing of another to whom such conduct is offensive or unwelcome;
(2) 
Shouting or making other vocalizations, projecting amplified sound, or creating other loud and raucous noise between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. on Saturday or Sunday or on a state or federal holiday or between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on other days that is:
(a) 
Audible beyond the property line if generated on private property;
(b) 
Audible for a distance of more than 10 feet if generated on public property.
(c) 
Intended to disturb any service in a place of worship or any public meeting or of the assemblage of people to witness a lawful public speech or performance.
B. 
Noise generated by police, fire, emergency medical, or other governmental emergency personnel, or public utility workers, and noise generated by private persons for the purpose of protecting persons or property from injury or damage shall not be deemed to be disturbing the peace.
C. 
A violation of Subsection A of this section shall be a municipal infraction punishable by a fine of $150.
A. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to consume any alcoholic beverage as defined in Article 2B, § 1-102(a), of the Annotated Code of Maryland, or to possess an open receptacle containing any such alcoholic beverage, upon any of the streets, highways, sidewalks or public places of the City, or upon any private property without the consent of the property owner or a tenant of the property owner.
B. 
Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A of this section, the consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages is permitted pursuant to a valid permit or license issued by the Carroll County Liquor Board:
(1) 
On City-owned property during City-authorized events; or
(2) 
With the consent of the Carroll County Arts Council, Inc., on premises leased by said organization and located at 91 West Main Street, Westminster, Maryland, so long as said lease is in effect.
C. 
Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine of not more than $100 or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court.
A. 
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
LOITER
To stand around or remain, including to remain within a motor vehicle, or to collect, gather, congregate, or to be a member of a group or a crowd of people, in any public place or place open to the public, and to:
(1) 
Interfere with, impede, or hinder the free passage of pedestrian or vehicular traffic;
(2) 
Interfere with, obstruct, harass, curse at, or do or threaten to do physical harm to any person; or
(3) 
By words, acts, or other conduct:
(a) 
Cause a breach of the peace;
(b) 
Engage in disorderly conduct, as that term is defined in § 106-16 of this chapter;
(c) 
Disturb the peace, as that term is defined in § 106-17 of this chapter; or
(d) 
Engage in any conduct that violates local or state criminal laws.
PLACE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Any place to which members of the general public ordinarily have free access and any place to which members of the general public are invited, including but not limited to a privately owned place of business open to the general public; a public parking lot, a private commercial parking lot; a place of worship, cemetery, or place of amusement and entertainment, whether or not a charge of admission or entry thereto is made; and the elevator, lobby, halls, corridors, and areas open to the public of any store, office, or apartment building.
PUBLIC PLACE
Any public street, road, or highway, alley, lane, sidewalk, crosswalk, or other public way, or any public resort, place of amusement, park, playground, public building or grounds appurtenant thereto, public parking lot, or any vacant lot.
B. 
Prohibited conduct. It shall be unlawful for a person who is loitering to fail to obey the direction of a uniformed or otherwise properly identified police officer to cease such conduct or to move on; provided, however, that nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit orderly picketing or other lawful assembly, and provided further that a person shall be deemed to have complied with an order to move on if such person removes himself or herself to a location:
(1) 
Upon private property;
(2) 
Within a structure in which he has permission or a lawful right to be and remain; or
(3) 
At least 1,500 linear feet from the location from which he or she has been ordered to move.
C. 
Penalties. Any person violating Subsection B of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine of not more than $100 or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court; provided, however, that no person shall be charged with a violation of this section unless and until the charging officer has first warned the person of the violation and the person has failed or refused to stop the violation.
A. 
As used in this section, the term "panhandling" means any solicitation, made in person upon any sidewalk, public place or park in the City, in which a person requests an immediate donation of money or other gratuity from another person and includes but is not limited to seeking donations:
(1) 
By vocal appeal or in exchange for observing a musical, singing, or other street performance; or
(2) 
Where the person being solicited receives an item of little or no monetary value in exchange for a donation, under circumstances where a reasonable person would understand that the transaction is, in substance, a donation.
B. 
Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A of this section, the term "panhandling" shall not include passively standing or sitting, or performing music, singing or engaging in other street performance with a sign or other indication that a donation is being sought, without any vocal request other than in response to an inquiry by another person.
C. 
It shall be unlawful to engage in an act of panhandling on any day after sunset or before sunrise.
D. 
It shall be unlawful at all times to engage in an act of panhandling when either the panhandler or the person being solicited is located:
(1) 
At a bus stop;
(2) 
In any public transportation vehicle or public transportation facility;
(3) 
In a vehicle that is parked or stopped on a public street or alley;
(4) 
In a sidewalk cafe; or
(5) 
Within 20 feet in any direction from an automatic teller machine or entrance to a bank.
E. 
It shall be unlawful at all times to engage in an act of panhandling in an aggressive manner, including any of the following actions:
(1) 
Touching the solicited person without the solicited person's consent.
(2) 
Soliciting a person while such person is standing in line or waiting to be admitted to a commercial establishment;
(3) 
Blocking the path or the vehicle of a person being solicited or the entrance to any building or vehicle;
(4) 
Following behind, ahead or alongside a person who walks away from the panhandler after being solicited;
(5) 
Using profane or abusive language, either during the solicitation or following a refusal to make a donation, or making any statement, gesture, or other communication which would cause a reasonable person to be fearful or feel compelled; or
(6) 
Panhandling in a group of two or more persons.
F. 
Each act of panhandling prohibited by this section shall constitute a public nuisance, and each individual solicitation of each individual person shall constitute a separate violation.
G. 
A violation of Subsection B, C, or D of this section shall constitute a municipal infraction subject to a fine of $150.
A. 
No person shall urinate or defecate in, from or upon any street, highway, sidewalk, alley, plaza, park, public building, public property, private parking lot, or in any place open to the public or exposed to public view. This section shall not apply to urination or defecation utilizing appropriate fixtures in any rest room or other facility designed for the sanitary disposal of human waste.
B. 
Violation of this section shall be a misdemeanor and shall be punishable by a fine of $250 or imprisonment for a period not exceeding six months, or both.
[Added 2-24-2020 by Ord. No. 920]
A. 
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
SMOKING
Has the meaning given to the term in COMAR 10.19.04.02.
VAPING
The heating of nicotine, cannabis, or other substances by means of a device that vaporizes and releases the substance into the air.
B. 
Prohibited conduct.
(1) 
Smoking, vaping, and possessing lighted or ignited nicotine or cannabis products is prohibited in every place where smoking is prohibited by state or local law or regulation.
(2) 
A business establishment shall not permit any person to engage in smoking or vaping in or upon its premises in violation of this section.
C. 
Exception. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection B of this section, smoking, vaping and possessing lighted or ignited tobacco, nicotine or cannabis products are permitted inside a lawfully established vape shop, licensed cannabis dispensary, or other similar business established for the primary purpose of permitting patrons to smoke or vape or to sample smoking or vaping products.
D. 
Other laws. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to authorize smoking or vaping in violation of any federal or state law or regulation.
E. 
Violations and penalties.
(1) 
A person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $50.
(2) 
Any business establishment that violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of $100 for a first violation; $200 for a second violation within any twelve-month period; and $500 for each additional violation within any twelve-month period.
(3) 
An addition to the penalties provided in Subsection E(2) of this section, multiple violations of this section by a business establishment are declared to be a public nuisance, which may be abated by the City by restraining order, preliminary and permanent injunction, or other means provided for by law, and the City may take action to recover the costs of the nuisance abatement.