Pomona, CA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing sections
- City Code Sec. 46-603 to 46-606
- Adopted
- Ord. No. 3969, Nov. 18, 2002
- Covers
- Camping, property storage, vehicle sleeping
- Applies to
- Parks, streets, sidewalks, city buildings
- Camp paraphernalia includes
- Tarps, cots, sleeping bags, hammocks
Summary
Pomona outright bans camping, storing personal property, and sleeping in vehicles on any public park, street, sidewalk or other public property under City Code Sec. 46-603 through 46-606. The findings behind the ordinance state that such uses interfere with the public's right to use those areas and create a risk of harm to everyone using them.
Camp means, in light of all of the circumstances, residing in or using a public park or other public property for living accommodation purposes such as making preparations to sleep overnight, between the hours of sunset to sunrise, including the laying down of bedding for the purpose of sleeping or storing personal belongings, blankets, sheets, other bedding material, luggage, backpacks, kitchen utensils, cookware and similar material; erecting, maintaining or occupying any structure with natural or artificial material, including a building or tent; making any fire or using any tents; regular cooking of meals; living in a parked trailer, camper shell, motor home, or any motor vehicle as defined by the Vehicle Code; or setting up or using any camp paraphernalia. Unless otherwise permitted by law, it is unlawful for any person to camp or use camp paraphernalia in or on any public park, street, sidewalk or other public property.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: City Code: Supplement 31).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 46-601 defines "camp" broadly to cover sleeping preparations between sunset and sunrise, laying down bedding, storing belongings, luggage, backpacks, kitchen utensils and cookware, erecting a tent or structure, building fires, cooking meals, or living in a parked trailer, camper shell, motor home or other vehicle, and "camp paraphernalia" to include tarps, cots, sleeping bags and non-city cooking gear. Sec. 46-602 grounds the ban in a finding that public streets and areas "should be readily accessible and available to residents and the public at large" and that camping, storage and sleeping there "interferes with the rights of others to use the areas for which they were intended" and creates a risk of harm.
Sec. 46-604 separately bans storing any personal property on a public park, street, sidewalk or other public property, and Sec. 46-605 bans occupying a parked trailer, camper shell, motor home or motor vehicle for sleeping or living in any public park, place or street, defining "occupy for the purpose of sleeping or living" to include any stay not directly tied to driving. Sec. 46-606 adds a standalone ban on sleeping on any public street, sidewalk, walkway or paseo, or on the grounds of any city-owned or city-maintained building or facility. All four sections trace to Ordinance No. 3969, adopted November 18, 2002.
Violations & Fines
Each of Sec. 46-603 through 46-606 makes the prohibited conduct "unlawful," tying enforcement to the Code's general penalty provisions for unlawful acts. The ordinance's own findings frame the conduct as an interference with the public's right to use city property and a risk of harm to users, which the city cites as the basis for camping, storage and sleeping citations rather than treating the areas as available for those uses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is camping on a Pomona sidewalk or in a public park illegal?
Can someone store belongings on a Pomona street or sidewalk?
Does Pomona's camping ban cover living in a parked vehicle?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pomona
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