New Braunfels, TX Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

Section 86-1(a) defines "city owned property" broadly for this chapter: the Faust Street Bridge and the land beneath it on both banks of the Guadalupe River, the Lincoln Street River Exit ("Last Public Exit"/"Last Tubers' Exit"), any property the parks and recreation department controls or maintains, and every city park, playground, or cemetery. Within that footprint, subsection (b) bars overnight camping outright, subsection (c) bars erecting tents "by campers or for campers," and subsection (d) bars overnight parking of any portable building, camping unit, or motor vehicle.

The only escape valve is subsection (f): a written exemption granted in advance by the city council or city manager. Enforcement is procedural rather than instant-arrest: subsection (g) requires the city manager, parks director, police chief, a park ranger, or a police officer to first issue a "notice to depart," oral or written, and gives the person up to 30 minutes to comply. Only failing to leave within that window converts the encampment into a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed $500. The rule traces to Code of 1961 Section 14A-1 and was most recently amended by Ordinance 2026-11 on February 23, 2026, showing the city continues to actively enforce it against unauthorized camping on public land rather than relying on a separate citywide public-camping statute.