[Adopted 5-6-2025 by L.L. No. 4-2025]
A. 
The City Council finds that aggressive acts associated with solicitation tend to intimidate persons in public places and can lead to disruption and disorder. Aggressive acts can also cause persons to avoid public places and lead to declining patronage of commercial establishments. Solicitation upon or near roadways tends to create a distractive and unsafe environment for pedestrians and motorists.
B. 
The City of Fulton enacts this legislation to protect residents, visitors, and businesses from threatening, intimidating, or harassing behavior associated with panhandling. This article ensures that public spaces remain safe, accessible, and welcoming for all while preserving the free flow of pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
C. 
This article is intended to prevent coercive, intrusive, and unsafe solicitation practices that may intimidate individuals, disrupt businesses, or impede public movement.
For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
AGGRESSIVE PANHANDLING
Soliciting in a way that causes a reasonable person to feel intimidated, threatened, harassed, or coerced. This includes, but is not limited to:
A. 
Physical contact: touching, grabbing, or blocking the path of an individual.
B. 
Persistent solicitation: continuing to request after being denied.
C. 
Following or obstructing: persistently walking alongside or blocking movement.
D. 
Using abusive language: threats, insults, or any speech likely to cause fear.
E. 
Soliciting near vulnerable areas: targeting individuals at ATMs, banks, schools, parking lots, or transit stops
AGGRESSIVE MANNER
A. 
Intentionally or recklessly making any physical contact with or touching another person in the course of the solicitation, or approaching within arm's length of the person, except with the person's consent; or
B. 
Following the person being solicited, if that conduct is intended to or is likely to cause a reasonable person to fear imminent bodily harm or the commission of a criminal act upon property in the person's possession, or is intended to or is reasonably likely to intimidate the person being solicited into responding affirmatively to the solicitation; or
C. 
Continuing to solicit within five feet of the person being solicited after the person has made a negative response, if continuing the solicitation is intended to or is likely to cause a reasonable person to fear imminent bodily harm or the commission of a criminal act upon property in the person's possession, or is intended to or is likely to intimidate the person being solicited into responding affirmatively to the solicitation; or
D. 
Intentionally or recklessly blocking the safe or free passage of the person being solicited or requiring the person, or the driver of a vehicle, to take evasive action to avoid physical contact with the person making the solicitation; or
E. 
Intentionally or recklessly using words intended to or likely to cause a reasonable person to fear imminent bodily harm or the commission of a criminal act upon property in the person's possession, or intended or likely to intimidate the person into responding affirmatively to the solicitation; or
F. 
Approaching the person being solicited in a manner that is intended to or is likely to cause a reasonable person to fear imminent bodily harm or the commission of a criminal act upon property in the person's possession or intended to or is likely to intimidate the person being solicited into responding affirmatively to the solicitation.
AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE (ATM)
A device, linked to a financial institution's account records, which is able to carry out transactions, including, but not limited to: account transfers, deposits, cash withdrawals, balance inquiries, and loan payments.
AUTOMATED TELLER MACHINE FACILITY (ATM)
The area comprised of one or more automated teller machines, and any adjacent space which is made available to banking customers.
BANK
All banks, saving and loan associations, credit unions, and savings banks.
PARKING AREA
An off-street area used for the temporary storage of self-propelled vehicles and available for public use, whether free, for compensation or as an accommodation for clients or customers. Parking areas shall also include parking garages, parking ramps, and municipal parking lots.
PUBLIC PLACE
Any area or building owned, leased, operated or controlled by or on behalf of any government, municipality, public authority or public corporation in the City of Fulton which is generally accessible by the public, including but not limited to any street, including the sidewalk portion thereof, park, playground, recreation area, school, or school grounds, building, facility, driveway, parking lot or parking garage, and the doorways and entrances to buildings and dwellings.
SOLICITATION/SOLICIT
Shall include, without limitation, the spoken, written, or printed word or such other acts or bodily gestures as are conducted in furtherance of the purposes of immediately obtaining money or any other thing of value.
The following actions are strictly prohibited within the City of Fulton:
A. 
Aggressive panhandling. No person shall solicit in an aggressive manner in any public place.
B. 
Solicitation in restricted areas. Panhandling is prohibited within:
(1) 
50 feet of an ATM, ATM facility, bank, or check-cashing business.
(2) 
20 feet of any transit stop, bus shelter, or parking area.
(3) 
50 feet of any public restroom, government building, or hospital entrance.
(4) 
Sidewalk cafes, restaurant outdoor seating, or drive-through lanes.
C. 
Solicitation of occupants in vehicles. No person on a sidewalk or alongside a roadway shall solicit from any occupant of a motor vehicle that is on a street or other public place.
D. 
Coercion or misrepresentation. Panhandlers may not:
(1) 
Falsely claim to be homeless, disabled, or a veteran.
(2) 
Pretend to provide a service (e.g., windshield cleaning) without consent.
Any person violating any of the provisions of this article is guilty of a violation and, upon conviction thereof, shall be subject to a fine of at least $50 and not to exceed $250 or imprisonment of not more than 15 days, or both such fine and imprisonment. In lieu of a fine, the court may impose an appropriate alternative sentence; provided, however, that an alternative sentence shall not be an unconditional discharge.
If any provision of this article is declared invalid or unconstitutional for any reason, the remaining provisions shall be severable and shall continue in full force and effect.