Cape Coral, FL Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

Cape Coral Code of Ordinances §§ 12-144 and 12-145, adopted by Ord. No. 2-25 on January 22, 2025, define public camping or sleeping as lodging overnight, from dusk until dawn unless another period is specified, in a temporary outdoor habitation evidenced by a tent, cooking equipment, or stored belongings such as bedding or backpacks, or lodging overnight outdoors without any shelter at all. The definition excludes sleeping overnight in a lawfully registered and insured vehicle parked somewhere it may lawfully be, and excludes city-authorized recreational camping under § 12½-4(f)(1)-(3).

City Property is defined broadly to cover every public right-of-way, sidewalk, parking lot, easement, street, alleyway, park, and the surrounding grounds of any city-owned building, including grass and wooded areas beyond the structure itself. Section 12-145 bans public camping or sleeping on any City Property outright, and separately bans it on public sidewalks, streets, or alleyways, and in any pedestrian or vehicular entrance abutting a public sidewalk, at any time as a matter of individual and public safety. Before any enforcement, law enforcement must first order the person to stop and leave; officers may issue a written trespass warning for the specific property, valid for one year and logged by the Cape Coral Police Department. If the person refuses to leave, arrest follows under Fla. 09.