The Riverton City Council passed a new loitering ordinance on third and final reading this week.
The ordinance makes it illegal to loiter on “the property of another, which has been clearly designated or marked as ‘closed’ or ‘no loitering,’ without a lawful purpose and includes school premises or private property owned or leased by another.”
Loitering is defined as “the act of being idle, to wander aimlessly, or loafing,” according to the ordinance.
Riverton’s old loitering ordinance only applied to school properties, Riverton Police Department chief Eric Hurtado explained, but his agency “often” responds to complaints about people loitering or “prowling around businesses at night or when they’re closed.”
Mayor Tim Hancock agreed that “some of the discussion” that led to the ordinance change “had been really (about) businesses that are closed” and have “a clearly marked closed sign saying you can’t just go hang out there.”
The ordinance would also apply to a “private property or residential area” that is marked with a “no loitering” sign, he said.
For more information call the City of Riverton at 856-2227.