Howell, NJ Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)
Key Facts
- Adopted
- 10-1-2024 by Ord. No. 24-39
- Covered places
- Streets, sidewalks, public parking lots, parks, other public property
- Conduct
- Sleeping, camping, or setting up a dwelling or lodging
- Enforcer
- Howell Township Police Department
- Fine on conviction
- $200 minimum to $1,500 maximum
- Refusal to leave
- Trespass liability
Summary
Howell Township Code § 220-13, added 10-1-2024 by Ord. No. 24-39, bars sleeping or camping, or setting up any temporary or permanent dwelling or lodging, on public streets, sidewalks, parking lots, parks or other public property. Police order the person to leave, and refusal exposes the person to trespass liability and chapter penalties of $200 to $1,500.
No person shall sleep, camp, or otherwise establish any type of temporary or permanent place of dwelling, lodging, or living accommodation, in or on public streets, sidewalks, public parking lots, public parks or other public property in the Township. Whenever the Police Department determines that any person is in violation of these provisions, the Police Department shall order that person to leave. Any person who shall fail or refuse to leave such public property after being ordered to do so by a police officer may be liable for trespass along with any other violations and penalties contained in this chapter. ... Any person, firm or corporation that shall be convicted of violation of a provision of this chapter shall, upon conviction thereof by any court of competent jurisdiction by law to hear and determine the matter, be subject to a minimum fine of $200 and maximum fine of $1,500.
Full Breakdown
Section 220-13 of the Howell Township Code, added 10-1-2024 by Ord. No. 24-39, bars any person from sleeping, camping, or otherwise establishing any type of temporary or permanent place of dwelling, lodging, or living accommodation in or on public streets, sidewalks, public parking lots, public parks or other public property in the Township. The wording reaches sleeping on its own, camping, and setting up a place to live, and the list closes with other public property in the Township.
The enforcement step is built into the section. Whenever the Police Department determines that a person is in violation, the Police Department shall order that person to leave. A person who fails or refuses to leave the public property after being ordered to do so by a police officer is exposed to trespass liability along with any other violations and penalties contained in Chapter 220.
The section does not set out a cleanup protocol. It has no notice period, no storage or disposal rules for belongings, and no referral to services; the text stops at the order to leave and the trespass consequence.
Penalties come from § 220-14, amended 8-17-2015 by Ord. No. O-15-28: a minimum fine of $200 and a maximum fine of $1,500 on conviction. The ordinance that added § 220-13 also renumbered the former § 220-13, Violations and penalties, as § 220-14. Section 220-7, on urinating in public, sits in the same chapter.
Violations & Fines
The sequence is order first, enforcement second. The Police Department orders the person to leave; refusal exposes the person to trespass liability along with other violations and penalties in Chapter 220. A conviction under § 220-14 carries a minimum fine of $200 and a maximum fine of $1,500, imposed by a court of competent jurisdiction. Section 220-14 applies to any violation of a provision of Chapter 220.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to sleep in a Howell Township park or on a sidewalk?
What happens when police find someone camping in Howell Township?
Does Howell Township's code set a cleanup or property-storage process?
When was the camping ban adopted?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Howell
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