Kenton County, KY Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

Chapter 98 of the Kenton County Code of Ordinances prohibits camping or storing camping paraphernalia or personal property on public property the county uses for offices, parking, transportation, or other government purposes, or that it leases or manages jointly with another agency. CAMP or CAMPING is defined as using public property for temporary living accommodation through temporary shelters, recreational vehicles, or camping paraphernalia, and the code specifies that no camp may be established in less than 48 hours, so a passing occupation does not trigger the ban.

PUBLIC PROPERTY sweeps in green spaces, rights-of-way, sidewalks, alleyways, parking structures, and any other county-maintained space. 03 carves out two exceptions: areas the appropriate governmental authority designates as campgrounds or sleep facilities, and operable vehicles parked with the property owner's or manager's consent where no zoning law forbids it. 04 is civil, not criminal: violators first receive written notice naming the violator, the legal authority for the abatement, the specific location, the date and time of the cleanup, a warning that remaining items will be impounded, contact information to reclaim property, and a list of local shelters.

Property that creates an emergency, or that remains on site three days after notice, may be removed by an enforcement officer, defined to include sworn peace officers, County Emergency Management and Homeland Security officials, code enforcement officials, and county public works officials. The county must hold collected items in safe storage for at least 30 days before they are deemed abandoned and destroyed, though items reasonably deemed a public-safety threat, such as weapons, narcotics, or heavily soiled bedding, need not be preserved. Abandoned animals found with the property go to the County Animal Shelter, with fees waived if reclaimed in person within seven days.