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

Section 62-50 of the Kingsport Code of Ordinances, adopted by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen as Ord. No. 6831 on 11-19-2019, is the section that governs shelters and belongings left on public property in the City of Kingsport. It never uses the word homeless. It regulates objects and structures. Subsection (b) defines public right-of-way as real property that is offered by dedication for public use and used or accepted as a public right-of-way. Subsection (c) then makes it unlawful to erect, install, place, leave, or set up any type of encroachment, structure, or object, including items used for shelter, whether temporary or permanent, on or in that right-of-way. The one temporary carve-out in (c) is an item that is easily moved and used to facilitate First Amendment rights, and the subsection adds that nothing in it prohibits the exercise of rights preserved by the First Amendment or by Article I, sections 19 and 23 of the Tennessee Constitution. Subsection (d) declares these items a public nuisance.

Subsection (e) lists exceptions: merchandise being received or delivered, unless it stays longer than two hours; material deposited for less than two hours, unless deposited with the intent to interfere with free passage; utility services; items under a special-event permit from the community services division, inspected by the fire marshal; U.S. mailboxes; property owner rights under Tennessee law; and items governed by other Code provisions such as sidewalk cafe dining facilities, trees and shrubs, garbage, vehicles and signs.

Subsection (f) is the cleanup protocol. The public works department and the city police department are authorized and directed to administer and enforce the section. The city can abate a structure or object only if it is not occupied or attended to by a person. Unless the item poses a danger to the public or obstructs vehicular or pedestrian movement, a written warning must first be posted on it requiring removal within 24 hours of the time listed on the notice. If it remains after the 24 hour period, or is relocated or reappears on the right-of-way, it can be removed without further notice. The responsible person or entity pays the city's removal expense. Removed property can be disposed of by the city unless the owner claims it at the office of the city manager within 30 days after removal.

Two neighboring sections cover camping. Section 62-28 makes it unlawful to camp, camp out, sleep, lodge or take up residence in any camper, van, bus or other motor vehicle on the public streets or in any park or public place, except at designated sites. Section 66-98 makes it unlawful to camp overnight in any public park, except at Bays Mountain Park or in special programs approved by the director.