Dallas Office of Homeless Solutions and Sanitation post 72-hour notices before clearing encampments, bagging personal property for 90-day storage, coordinating with outreach teams to offer shelter placement and reduce repeat encampment formation along Trinity River and downtown.
Dallas encampment cleanup follows a written protocol coordinated by the Office of Homeless Solutions, Sanitation Services, Dallas Police, and Dallas Fire-Rescue. Outreach teams visit two to three times before cleanup, building rapport and offering Bridge Steps, Austin Street, OurCalling, or Family Gateway placement. A printed 72-hour notice is posted at the encampment site detailing the cleanup date, property storage location, and reclaim procedures. On cleanup day, residents may carry away personal items; remaining property is photographed, bagged, tagged, and stored at a city warehouse for 90 days. Hazardous waste, rotted food, soiled bedding, and drug paraphernalia are disposed under Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 366. Dallas Sanitation crews use HEPA-equipped vacuums and biohazard PPE.
Failure to remove items after notice generates no separate fine, but interfering with sanitation workers is a Class B misdemeanor under Penal Code 38.15. Private-lot owners may face Code Ch. 18 trespass-abatement obligations.
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See how Dallas's encampment sanitation rules stack up against other locations.
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