Homelessness & Encampment Rules in Thousand Oaks, CA (2026)
3 verified homelessness & encampment rules for Thousand Oaks, California, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Sit-Lie Rules
Thousand Oaks restricts sitting, lying down, or sleeping in public places, like sidewalks, streets, and doorways, when it blocks pedestrian or vehicle traffic. Sleeping in public is banned outright between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., but the overnight ban (10 p.m.–6 a.m.) only applies if shelter beds are actually available and there's a viable alternative. Sleeping in COSCA-designated Open Space is banned at all hours.
Homelessness: Sit Lie Rules
Some RestrictionsThousand Oaks Municipal Code (TOMC) § 5-8.09(c) (Prohibition on Sitting and Lying in Certain Public Places)
(1) No person shall sit or lie down upon a public place or in doorways or entrances to buildings in such a way as to impede pedestrian or vehicular traffic. ... (3) No person shall be permitted to sleep in a public place between the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (4) No person shall be permitted to sleep in a public place between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. unless there are no sleepi...
Encampment Sanitation
Thousand Oaks bans camping and storing personal property, tents, cots, sleeping paraphernalia, anywhere on public land, including parks, open space, and parking lots. Before removing unlawfully stored belongings, the City must post a notice at the site giving 72 hours to move the property; after that, it's treated as intentionally abandoned and subject to destruction.
Homelessness: Sanitation Encampments
Significant RestrictionsThousand Oaks Municipal Code (TOMC) § 5-8.08(c), (d) & (g)(1) (Regulation of Camping)
(c) Unlawful camping. It shall be unlawful for any person to camp, occupy camp facilities or use camp paraphernalia in any public place, except as otherwise provided in this section. (d) Storage of personal property in public places. It shall be unlawful for any person to store personal property, including camp facilities and camp paraphernalia, in any public place, improved or unimproved, exce...
Bridge Housing Siting
Thousand Oaks requires emergency shelters to sit at least 300 feet apart, staff one person per 15 clients around the clock, and cap a resident's stay at six months unless the site is a low-barrier navigation center. Security, sanitation, and reporting duties are all spelled out in the zoning code.
Thousand Oaks Emergency Shelter Standards
Significant RestrictionsThousand Oaks Municipal Code (TOMC) Sec. 9-4.2525(d), (e)(11)
(d) No emergency shelter shall be located less than three hundred (300') feet from another emergency shelter. (e) Each emergency shelter shall provide on-site management at all times while the shelter remains open, consisting of a minimum of one staff person per fifteen (15) clients that enforces and complies with the following requirements: ... (5) No individual shall be denied shelter because...
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County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Thousand Oaks city rules.
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