Kern County, CA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)
Key Facts
- Camping time limit
- 3 consecutive days/nights, same 200-ft spot
- Notice before clearing
- 48 hours, except exigent circumstances
- Belongings storage
- 60 days at Public Services Building
- Storage contact
- (661) 862-8891, 2903 Patton Way, Bakersfield
- Penalty
- Infraction plus Chapter 8.54 administrative penalty
- Adopted
- Ord. No. G-9368, effective 1-6-26
Summary
Kern County bans camping on public property for more than three consecutive days in the same spot, plus any semi-permanent structure. Before enforcement officers can clear a site, Section 8.30.060 requires an offer of shelter and a 48-hour posted notice, and removed belongings are tagged and stored for sixty days.
Unless authorized by permit or other applicable law, it is unlawful: A. To construct, place, or maintain on public property any semi-permanent structure, including but not limited to hand-built sheds and structures with metal or other heavy roofing and siding materials, for the purpose of sheltering one (1) or more persons. B. To camp on public property, including but not limited to using, placing or maintaining a tent, sleeping bag, blanket, or other materials for the purpose of sleeping, lying, or sheltering one (1) or more persons for more than three (3) consecutive days or nights in the same location. For purposes this section, the same location shall mean within two hundred (200) feet of the location in which the person camped on the pervious day or night. C. To camp within two hundred (200) feet of any posted notice to vacate or other official signage designating a location for encampment clearance or otherwise prohibiting sitting, sleeping, lying, camping, or placing personal property in that location.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 59 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
040 makes it unlawful, absent a permit, to build a semi-permanent structure on public property to shelter someone, or to "camp on public property, including but not limited to using, placing or maintaining a tent, sleeping bag, blanket, or other materials for the purpose of sleeping, lying, or sheltering one (1) or more persons for more than three (3) consecutive days or nights in the same location," with "the same location" defined as within two hundred feet of the prior night's spot. Camping is also barred within two hundred feet of a posted clearance notice and on any street, road, bike path or sidewalk in a way that blocks ADA passage.
060, county officials must first try to identify and offer shelter, navigation-center placement, or supportive services, then post a notice to vacate at least forty-eight hours before acting, listing the enforcement date, available shelter options, and how belongings will be handled; if enforcement doesn't start within two days of the noticed date, a fresh 48-hour notice is required. 080 requires the posted notice to state that unclaimed personal effects will be "deemed intentionally abandoned" and that owners can retrieve items or get housing information by calling (661) 862-8891 or visiting the Public Services Building at 2903 Patton Way, Bakersfield.
Non-hazardous belongings, including IDs, medication, eyeglasses, usable tents and operational bicycles or wheelchairs, are tagged and held for sixty days before being treated as abandoned, while soiled or hazardous items such as sharps, chemicals or waste-contaminated bedding can be discarded immediately without the storage requirement.
Violations & Fines
Violating Chapter 8.30's camping and encampment rules is an infraction under Section 8.30.110 and can also draw an administrative penalty under Chapter 8.54. Enforcement officers, defined to include the sheriff, park rangers and code enforcement officers, cannot act outside the 48-hour notice and shelter-offer process except in exigent circumstances involving an imminent threat to life, safety, health or infrastructure, in which case they must still give as much advance notice as reasonably possible and post where removed items are stored afterward.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can someone camp in the same public spot in Kern County?
Does the county have to warn people before removing a camp?
What happens to belongings left at a cleared encampment?
Is camping in an RV on public property covered by this rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kern County
California rules heatmap·Compare Kern County to another location·View the California homelessness & encampment rules overview
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