Melbourne, FL Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

City Code Sec. 52-9 makes it unlawful to engage in "public camping or sleeping" anywhere on public property within Melbourne's boundaries. 0231(1)) and covers overnight lodging in a tent, temporary shelter, or bedding, or simply residing overnight outdoors without shelter, from sunset to sunrise. It excludes sleeping in a lawfully registered and insured vehicle parked somewhere it may legally be, and excludes recreational camping on property designated for that purpose. "Public property" reaches city rights-of-way, parks, city-owned buildings and their grounds, and other municipally owned land.

A companion section, Sec. 52-10, separately bans "camping" (a broader combination of sleeping, erecting shelter, storing belongings, or cooking/heating equipment used for living-accommodation purposes) on public property unless the city manager or a designee authorizes it, judged on the totality of the circumstances including how long the activity persists. Enforcement under both sections works the same way: a law enforcement officer directs the person to vacate, and continued noncompliance after that warning exposes the violator to ordinance enforcement, including custodial arrest, and to trespass proceedings under Sec.

40-6. Both sections state they apply evenhandedly to everyone engaged in the prohibited conduct, regardless of any message being conveyed. The bans were adopted after Florida's 2024 camping-and-sleeping statute required cities to either prohibit public camping or designate certified sites; Melbourne chose the prohibition model rather than certifying encampment locations.