Southampton Village, NY Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

The Southampton Village Code regulates public camping by banning it in named places rather than through a stand-alone encampment ordinance. The main rule is § 80-1O, one of the acts made unlawful on the ocean beach, the area from the first rank of the ocean dunes south to the low-water line of the Atlantic Ocean and running between the Village's easterly and westerly boundary lines. It bars camping or spending the night in a vehicle, trailer, tent or temporary structure of any kind, and it bars erecting any structure, shanty, tent or other shelter there. Article III of Chapter 80 carves a narrow exception for permitted special events, where the Village Fire Marshal can issue a tent permit at Cooper's Neck Beach, Dune Beach or an oceanfront owner's own property.

Section 82-1 reaches vehicles away from the beach: no person shall sleep in any stationary motor vehicle parked on any street, park, recreation area, beach access road or parking area owned, controlled, operated or maintained by the Village, between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. The beach rules in § 80-1 also prohibit littering and being on the beach while intoxicated to the extent normal faculties are impaired.

Shinnecock Inlet Park is the one place the Code treats camping as an allowed use. Under Chapter A120, § A120-2, campers must be self-contained, camping is limited to three consecutive days with 48 hours before the same person can camp again, no freestanding tents or structures are permitted, the camping area must be cleaned before leaving, and only established dumping stations can be used. Section A120-1D describes self-contained as being equipped with a flushable toilet with an adequate holding tank. Vehicles also need a valid Suffolk County Department of Parks beach use permit to enter the park. Those park rules are sanitation conditions on recreational campers. None of the camping sections sets out a procedure for removing people or cleaning up an encampment, so enforcement runs through the penalty clauses.