Columbia, SC Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

Section 14-105(a) defines 'camp' as residing in or using a public street, sidewalk or park for private living accommodations, including erecting tents or temporary shelters, sleeping in a single place for a substantial prolonged period, or regularly cooking or preparing meals, and defines 'storing personal property' as leaving belongings like bedrolls, sleeping bags or backpacks unattended for a substantial prolonged length of time, excluding parked bicycles. Subsection (b) bans camping or storing personal property in any municipal park, playground, plaza, attraction or monument owned by the city.

Before anyone can be arrested, § 14-105(e) requires that they first receive an oral or written warning to stop, and proper signage giving conspicuous notice counts as a written warning under subsection (f). Subsection (g) exempts eleven categories of conduct, including medical emergencies, wheelchair users, people watching parades or festivals, patrons of sidewalk cafes, people in orderly ticket or service lines, and camping permitted by the Parks and Recreation Department. Officers apply a reasonableness standard weighing direct or circumstantial evidence of intent when deciding whether an exception applies (§ 14-105(h)). The section was adopted by Ord. No. 2007-068 and substantially amended by Ord. No. 2023-079 on August 1, 2023.