Sanford, FL Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

Section 62-72 defines 'camp or camping' broadly as pitching or occupying 'a tent or other temporary shelter for sleeping or other habitation purposes,' including sleeping outdoors, using camping equipment, or cooking over an open flame, and lists evidence of camping such as being inside a sleeping bag, covered by blankets or cardboard, or having built a campfire. Subsection (b)(1) bars sleeping, camping, lodging or parking a vehicle overnight in a city park or facility without a permit. Subsection (b)(3) goes further, prohibiting camping 'on public property' anywhere in the city, 'except as may be specifically authorized by the appropriate governmental authority,' and states the prohibition 'applies at all times of day and night.' The ordinance builds in a homelessness-specific enforcement procedure: before any arrest, a law enforcement officer must ask the accused whether they are homeless (Sec.

62-72(c)(1)), and if so, must advise them of an available 'safe zone,' such as a shelter, and give them the option to relocate there instead of being arrested; if no safe zone is available, no arrest may be made at all (Sec. 62-72(c)(2)). Mere sleeping in public, without at least one other indicium of camping, is not itself a violation (Sec. 62-72(b)(4)). Separately, city staff can issue trespass warnings, good for up to one year on a first violation and up to two years on a second, with a right to appeal to the city's special magistrate within ten days (Sec. 62-72(d)). Violations are punishable under Sec. 1-7's general penalty of up to $500.00, up to 60 days in jail, or both.