Lodi, CA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- LMC Ch. 8.04, enacted Ord. 2028 (12-18-2024)
- Clean-up notice period
- Minimum 48 hours before removal
- Stored item retention
- At least 90 calendar days
- No-notice abatement
- Allowed for imminent health/safety threats
- School buffer
- No camping within two blocks of a school
- Private property duty
- Owner must remove encampments or pay abatement costs
Summary
Lodi bans camping and encampments on all public property, including streets, sidewalks, parks and city lots, under Municipal Code Chapter 8.04. The city posts 48-hour clean-up notices before removing tents and belongings, and can abate immediately without notice when a site poses an imminent health or safety threat.
A.It is unlawful for any person to:1.Camp or to maintain an encampment in or upon any public property, including in any street, sidewalk, park, city parking lot, or open space.2.Sleep on public sidewalk, street, alleyway, median, parkway or right-of-way, city parking lot, or in any pedestrian or vehicular entrance to public or private property abutting a public sidewalk, at any time as a matter of individual and public safety. ... 4.Camp, possess camp paraphernalia, maintain an encampment, or sleep, in the following locations:i.Within two blocks of a school ... ii.In any park, open space, waterway, or banks of a waterway;iii.Within any transit center, public parking garage, public parking lot, or bus shelter. ... A.Written Notice Required Prior to Abatement.1.A written notice of clean-up will be posted on each tent or structure and in any other distinct areas of the encampment or outdoor or tent assembly providing notice of the date of clean-up and giving a minimum of forty-eight hours for persons to remove their personal property.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 68).
Full Breakdown
020 makes it unlawful to camp, maintain an encampment, or sleep on public sidewalks, streets, alleys, medians, rights-of-way, city parking lots, parks, open space, waterways or within two blocks of a school, and it separately bars camping in any transit center, public parking garage, or bus shelter. 010(E) as one or more temporary, makeshift or hand-built structures, including tents, not authorized by the property owner. The chapter was enacted new by Ordinance No. 2028 on December 18, 2024, repealing an older version that only regulated permitted outdoor and tent assemblies.
110 sets the abatement procedure: the city posts a written clean-up notice on each tent or structure giving a minimum of 48 hours for people to remove personal property, and that notice must explain how to claim stored items. After 48 hours, code enforcement may abate the site on the posted date; abatement can be delayed up to another 48 hours without reposting, but a longer delay requires the city manager to post a new notice. 110(C)(2): the item appears to belong to someone, has apparent value and utility, poses no health or safety risk, and can be safely retrieved.
24 (Lost and Unclaimed Property). Unsanitary, soiled, hazardous, perishable, oversized or contraband items are summarily destroyed or transferred for proper disposal. 110(D) allows the city manager to summarily abate an encampment without any prior notice when the violation poses an imminent threat to public health or safety, including securing the site with fencing or barricades. 110(E); if they fail to do so, the city may abate the violation and bill the owner for all abatement costs.
Violations & Fines
Camping or maintaining an encampment on public property violates Section 8.04.020 and is enforced through the Section 8.04.110 abatement process rather than a chapter-specific fine schedule. Unlawful camping and other municipal code violations are prosecuted under the general penalty in Section 1.08.010: a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine and six months in jail, or an infraction carrying $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second within a year, and up to $500 for each further violation, with each day of a continuing violation charged as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much warning does Lodi give before clearing an encampment?
Can Lodi remove an encampment without any notice?
What happens to belongings collected during abatement?
Where in Lodi is camping specifically prohibited?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lodi
California rules heatmap·Compare Lodi to another location·View the California homelessness & encampment rules overview
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Encampment Sanitation in Nearby Cities
How other cities in San Joaquin County handle encampment sanitation.