Jackson, TN Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

Adopted by Ordinance #2025-13 in December 2024, Jackson Municipal Code §§ 11-901 through 11-906 create the City of Jackson, Tennessee's camping and encampment framework. Section 11-901 separately bars sleeping on public sidewalks, streets, alleys or in doorways at any time, letting a violator be removed from the premises immediately. Section 11-902 defines "camping" as setting up or remaining at a "campsite," meaning any place where bedding, a stove or a fire is placed to maintain a temporary living space, and bans camping on any sidewalk, street, alley, right-of-way, park, bench or other public property or under any bridge or viaduct, unless the mayor declares an emergency exemption or the city council exempts a specific special event by resolution.

Before clearing an existing campsite, § 11-903 requires the police department to post a twenty-four (24) hour advance removal notice and, at the same time, notify a local social-services agency that serves homeless individuals of the campsite's location; only after that 24-hour window passes may police remove the campsite and any personal property left behind. Section 11-904 lets police immediately discard unsanitary items or property with no apparent value, while retaining weapons, drug paraphernalia or suspected evidence, and requires everything else to be stored for at least thirty (30) days so the owner can reclaim it.

Section 11-905 lets a sentencing court weigh in mitigation whether the person cleaned up their own bedding and litter once warned. Section 11-906 caps the fine at fifty dollars ($50.00) per day under a municipal citation, lets the judge refer the person to social services, and allows the city attorney to pursue a public-nuisance injunction or a repeat-offender camping ban for continuing violations.