Alexandria, VA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)
Key Facts
- Camping ban
- any posted public park, § 6-1-8(a)(6)
- Definition covers
- sleeping, bedding, tents, vehicles, cooking
- Base violation
- class 4 misdemeanor
- Refusing officer's order
- separate class 2 misdemeanor
- Sign spacing on linear parks
- every 1,000 feet
Summary
Alexandria bans camping or using any public park for living accommodations under City Code § 6-1-8(a)(6). The ordinance defines camping broadly to include sleeping, laying out bedding, storing belongings, or setting up a tent, vehicle or shelter for sleeping, and makes a violation a class 4 misdemeanor.
(a) Within the boundary of any public park in the city, it shall be unlawful for any person, contrary to an official sign, to: ... (6) camp or use the park for living accommodations; ... (e) As used in this section: ... (2) A camp or use the park for living accommodations shall mean sleeping, making preparations to sleep (including laying down bedding), storing personal belongings, making a fire, using a vehicle, tent, shelter or other structure for sleeping, digging or earth breaking, or undertaking cooking activities. Any of the listed activities constitute camping or the use of the park for living accommodations when it reasonably appears, in light of all the circumstances, that the person, in conducting the activities, is in fact using the area as a living accommodation, regardless of the actual intent of the person... (f) Enforcement and penalties: (1) This section shall be enforced by any police officer, and, in addition, by any employee of the department of recreation, parks, and cultural activities authorized in writing by the city manager to enforce this section. (2) Any violation of the provisions of subsection (a) shall be punished as a class four misdemeanor.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 156 | Zoning: Supplement 103).
Full Breakdown
' Subsection (e)(2) defines that phrase broadly: sleeping, preparing to sleep including laying down bedding, storing personal belongings, making a fire, using a vehicle, tent, shelter or other structure for sleeping, digging or earth breaking, or cooking. Any of those activities counts as camping when it reasonably appears, considering all the circumstances, that the person is using the area as a living accommodation, regardless of the person's stated intent or other activities underway. The city manager decides which parks get posted signs listing the prohibited conduct, weighing the park's type, intended uses, proximity to residential areas, and other public-order factors, and signs must go at every principal entrance and, on linear parks, at intervals of no more than 1,000 feet.
Enforcement under (f) runs through police officers and any department of recreation, parks and cultural activities employee the city manager has authorized in writing. The director may also issue written permits exempting a specific gathering, game or event from some or all of the posted prohibitions under (g)(3).
Violations & Fines
A first-level violation of the camping ban under subsection (a) is a class four misdemeanor under § 6-1-8(f)(2). If a person refuses or fails to stop the conduct after a police officer or authorized parks employee specifically directs them to cease, that refusal is a separate, more serious class two misdemeanor under (f)(3). Section 6-1-8(g)(1) makes these provisions cumulative, so the city can pursue this violation alongside any other applicable code provision.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is sleeping in an Alexandria public park illegal?
What counts as 'camping' under Alexandria's park rules?
What happens if I refuse to leave when a park officer tells me to stop camping?
Can the city issue a permit allowing an overnight event in an Alexandria park?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Alexandria
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