Alpharetta, GA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

Section 30-7, Urban camping and improper use of property, defines 'camp' broadly to include erecting tents or temporary shelters, sleeping in one spot for a substantial prolonged period, or regularly cooking meals on a public street or in a public park. 'Public street' is defined to include public sidewalks, rights-of-way, benches, parking lots, and medians, and 'public park' covers all city-owned parks, playgrounds, plazas, attractions, and monuments. Three separate prohibitions apply: camping outside a designated or permitted area (b), storing personal property such as bedrolls, luggage, or backpacks on a public street or in a public park (c), and interfering with ingress and egress to buildings, driveways, or streets (d).

A fourth provision, subsection (e), separately bars anyone other than an owner, leaseholder, employee, or rightful occupant from sleeping, residing, storing property, or lying down outside on private property without permission. Enforcement is graduated: subsection (f) bars arrest for urban camping until the person has received an oral or written warning to cease, and only a failure to comply after that warning exposes the person to arrest; city officials may still remove debris or property that poses a legitimate health and safety concern or an immediate, substantial environmental danger.

Subsection (g) lists eleven exceptions, including medical emergencies, government contractors on the job, parade and sidewalk-cafe patrons, people lying down at festivals or concerts, bus-stop waiting, ticket lines, strollered children, and city-permitted camping such as scout groups. The section was adopted by Ordinance No. 670 in 2012, amended by Ordinance No. 725 in 2016, and most recently amended by Ordinance No. 902, § 2, on May 18, 2026.