Richmond, VA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

Section 8-273, titled "Camping, tenting or lying on benches," sits in the Parks and Recreation article of Chapter 8 governing use of public grounds. Its text reaches beyond parks: it names "any public grounds, parks, playfields, playgrounds or any public property owned or maintained by the City," so a person cannot pitch a tent, set up camp, or "quarter" overnight on any city-owned parcel, from a park lawn to a plaza or vacant municipal lot. A companion clause in the same section separately makes it unlawful to lie on benches located within that same public property, reaching daytime resting as well as overnight camping.

The Richmond City Charter backs this rule with a broad grant of authority: Charter § 2.04(c) gives the City power to regulate use of "parks, playgrounds, playfields, recreational facilities... and other public property," and puts all such property "under the police jurisdiction of the city," authorizing any City police officer or appointed special policeman to make arrests for violations of ordinances adopted under that section. Related sections in the same article reinforce the camping ban: § 8-267 separately bars entering areas the Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities has closed to public use, and § 8-280 fixes standard park hours at sunrise to sunset (extended to 10:30 p.m. for lighted facilities April through October) and makes unauthorized after-hours occupancy a Class 4 misdemeanor.

Section 8-273 itself does not list a fine amount or misdemeanor class, so it defaults to the Code's general penalty rule. Richmond City Code § 1-16 provides that when no specific class is stated, a violation "shall be deemed to be a Class 1 misdemeanor," punishable by a fine of not more than $2,500.00 or confinement in jail for not more than 12 months, or both. Because § 1-16(c) also treats each continuing day of violation as a separate offense, an encampment left in place across multiple days can generate multiple chargeable violations rather than a single citation.