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

' Unattended personal property storage on public property is capped at a 10-by-10-foot area, and each person's occupied area must sit at least four feet from the next person's. Tents or other shelters must likewise be at least four feet from a different person's shelter, and if multiple tents or structures are placed side by side without a 12-foot firebreak between clusters, the combined footprint cannot exceed 700 square feet. The section separately bans dumping gray water, defined as waste water from baths, sinks, washing machines and other kitchen appliances, or black water (sewage) onto sidewalks, streets, parks, open spaces or storm drains.

It also prohibits creating or using an unpermitted electrical connection on public property, possessing combustible or flammable gas or liquids, and lighting fires except in City-installed cooking facilities under City regulations. Campers may not disturb wildlife dens, burrows or nests, cut vegetation, or excavate or terrace soil, and noise from a campsite cannot exceed the limits set for residential zoning districts under Chapter 17-16, measured at the nearest property line. A shelter cannot be erected under a tree canopy or in vegetation the Fire Marshal determines could carry fire to a nearby structure, or within 100 feet of a school.

010, with each day of a continuing violation charged as a separate offense, and the conduct is separately declared a public nuisance abatable under Chapter 20-68's enforcement provisions.