Santa Clara, CA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

SCCC § 12.50.010(b) defines "camping" broadly as residing in or using a public street, publicly owned property, public park, or other prohibited public place for living accommodation, lodging, or sleeping purposes, evidenced by staying for prolonged or repeated periods with possessions such as sleeping bags, bed rolls, blankets, hammocks, luggage, backpacks, kitchen utensils, cookware, or food, cooking or eating meals there, or lodging in a parked vehicle. The ordinance applies "regardless of his or her intent," so a person does not need to admit they are living there for the conduct to qualify.

Subsection (c) lists eight categories of "prohibited public places" covered by the ban: public streets, sidewalks, alleyways and rights-of-way; publicly owned property; public parks; public parking lots, whether publicly or privately owned; public landscaped areas maintained under a public easement; private property that is readily accessible to the general public or open to common use or view; vacant lots; and drainage culverts and basins. The only carve-out is for a location formally designated as a public campground under federal, state, or local law.

Enforcement runs through SCCC § 12.45.010(a), Enforcement of Title 12, which routes violations to the City's general penalty provision, § 1.05.070, letting the City Attorney's office pursue camping violations criminally, civilly, or administratively at its discretion. Section 12.50.020 clarifies that the chapter does not replace or limit the City's separate ability to pursue trespass or nuisance-abatement remedies under other state or local law.