West Bloomfield, MI Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

The camping ban sits in Chapter 15, Article IV, Division 2 (Trespass) of the Code of Ordinances, alongside the Township's general trespass provision in Section 15-86(a). Section 15-86(b), most recently amended by Ordinance No. C-836, Section 1, adopted July 15, 2024 (the ordinance traces back to Ordinance No. 63A, Section 61, adopted June 3, 1974), makes it unlawful for any person to camp or park overnight on any public property. The Code's definition of 'camp' is intentionally broad: it covers constructing or occupying any structure, shelter, or motor vehicle intended for temporary human use for any length of time, so the ordinance reaches everything from a tent pitched near Township parkland to a car or RV left overnight in a Township parking lot, park, or road right-of-way.

'Public property' is not separately defined in this division, so the ordinance applies wherever the Township, rather than a private owner, controls the land. The accompanying state law reference points to MCL 750.552, Michigan's similar trespass statute, but the Township enforces camping violations under its own Code. Because Section 15-86(b) does not carry its own designated fine, it falls under the Code's general misdemeanor default in Section 1-10(a): any violation not specifically labeled a municipal civil infraction is a misdemeanor. The West Bloomfield Police Department and the Township's appointed ordinance enforcement officer, authorized under Section 1-13, both have authority to investigate and cite camping violations anywhere in the Township, including its public lakefronts and parks.