New Hanover County, NC Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)
Key Facts
- Curfew for camping
- 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., county property
- Covered items
- Tents, cooking equipment, bedding
- Unattended property
- Deemed abandoned, may be disposed of
- Exemptions
- Emergency sheltering events, on-duty employees
- Enforcement
- Removal as trespasser under G.S. Ch. 14
- Adopted
- Ord. of 2-6-2023
Summary
New Hanover County bans camping, sleeping, or setting up tents, cooking equipment or bedding on any county-owned or leased property between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. under Sec. 38-34, absent posted signage or written county-manager permission. Unattended personal effects left behind can be deemed abandoned and disposed of by the county under Sec. 38-35(b).
Unless otherwise expressly authorized by public signage or written permission of the county manager or their designee, it shall be unlawful for any person to do any of the following on or within any property owned by or leased to the county:(a)Occupy, camp, sleep, or place, erect or utilize any tents, cooking equipment or bedding between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. or such other times as prohibited by signage, rule, policy, regulation, or law; and(b)Personal effects, including, but not limited to, clothing, food, bedding, or eating equipment, shall not be left unattended... For health and safety reasons, any personal effects left unattended pursuant to subsection 38-34(b) may be deemed abandoned and forfeited to the county for disposal at its election.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 15 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Sec. , or at any other hours barred by posted signage, rule, policy, regulation or law. A second clause forbids leaving personal effects, including clothing, food, bedding or eating equipment, unattended on that property. Two other clauses address specific spaces: county parking decks may only be used for parking and associated activities, and building entrances and associated areas are reserved for ingress and egress, not other uses. Subsection (f) exempts emergency management sheltering events and county employees performing their job duties from the camping and unattended-property bans, and subsection (g) exempts the general public who are inside a county facility to transact business from the unattended-property clause.
Sec. S. Chapter 14. Separately, for health and safety reasons, any personal effects left unattended in violation of the property clause may be deemed abandoned and forfeited to the county, which can dispose of them at its election, giving the county an explicit cleanup and disposal pathway for encampment materials left on its property. of 2-6-2023.
Violations & Fines
Anyone violating the camping, parking-deck, or entrance-use clauses of Sec. 38-34 may be removed by law enforcement as a trespasser and is subject to the state's general criminal trespass penalties under G.S. Chapter 14. Personal property left unattended in violation of the section may be deemed abandoned and forfeited to the county, which may dispose of it at its election, with no reimbursement provision written into the ordinance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone camp overnight on New Hanover County property?
What happens to belongings left behind at a county-property encampment?
Are there exceptions to the camping ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in New Hanover County
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