San Mateo County, CA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- Ordinance Code Ch. 3.109 (2024)
- Warnings before citation
- 2 written warnings required
- Removal notice
- 72 hours, absent exigent circumstances
- Property storage
- 90 days at no cost
- Scope
- Unincorporated county public property only
Summary
Camping on public property in unincorporated San Mateo County is banned once an available shelter bed exists, backed by written-warning enforcement, a 72-hour removal notice, and 90-day storage of seized belongings.
(a)When there is an available Shelter Location for a person, it is unlawful and a public nuisance for that Person to place, erect, configure, construct, or maintain an Encampment on public property anywhere in the unincorporated area of the County.(b)Section 3.109.030(a) shall not be enforced against any Person unless that Person has declined an offer of an available Shelter Location or otherwise has access to shelter or the means to obtain it.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 47).
Full Breakdown
Ordinance Code Chapter 3.109 makes it unlawful and a public nuisance to place, erect, configure, construct, or maintain an encampment on public property in the unincorporated county when an available Shelter Location exists, but the section cannot be enforced against anyone who has not declined a shelter offer. A person must get two written warnings before a citation; failing to vacate 24 hours after the second warning is a misdemeanor. Before removal, the County generally must give 72 hours' written notice, and seized personal effects are stored 90 days at no charge.
Violations & Fines
Camping when shelter is available and refused; failure to vacate within 24 hours of a second written warning is a misdemeanor prosecutable in Superior Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this apply in Redwood City or San Mateo?
Can the county clear a camp without offering shelter?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Mateo County
California rules heatmap·Compare San Mateo County to another location·View the California homelessness & encampment rules overview
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