Wyoming, MI Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Encampment Sanitation (2026)

Section 50-118 of the Wyoming Code of Ordinances does two jobs. Subsections (1) and (2) make it unlawful to enter public property, or an area of public property, that is not open to the public without permission from the government officer, employee or volunteer in charge, and unlawful to refuse to leave when that person asks. Subsection (3) then sets the camping rules that matter for encampments.

Under subsection (3)(a), nobody can sleep or camp on a public sidewalk, street or alleyway within 50 feet of the entry of any city building. Under (3)(b), nobody can sleep or camp in any city park or on any other city property between 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. Both bans apply unless a city officer, employee or volunteer authorized to give consent has agreed in advance, and a person who has consent must stay inside the terms of that consent. The consent has to come before the sleeping or camping starts.

Subsection (4) defines the key words. Camping means setting up or remaining in or at a campsite. A campsite is any place where bedding, sleeping bags or other bedding material, or a stove or other element used to heat or cook food, is placed for the purpose of maintaining a temporary place to live. A tent, a sleeping bag laid out on a bench, or a camp stove set up beside a car all fit that definition, because the test is the purpose of keeping a temporary place to live.

Penalties climb with each offense. The first is a municipal civil infraction with a $50 fine and the second is a municipal civil infraction with a $150 fine. A third and each later offense in the same calendar year is a misdemeanor, carrying up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $500. Beyond the fine, the court can order compliance with the Code and can order a responsible person to take or avoid specific actions to prevent a repeat.

Subsection (6) covers belongings. Vehicles, campers, trailers and other personal property that are not removed within 24 hours of the citation can be impounded and disposed of by the city at the property owner's expense. The ordinance was last amended by Ord. No. 1-25 on January 21, 2025, which added the graduated fine schedule and the removal and impound clause to the Code section that originated as § 10.101(41) of the 1983 Code.