Anaheim, CA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Sit-Lie Rules (2026)

020, adopted by Ordinance 6589 in October 2024, prohibits fixing in place, storing or leaving unattended personal property in a public right-of-way, and separately bars sleeping, lying or sitting on a movable chair, bucket, crate or cooler there outside a lawful permitted event. No one may sit, lie or sleep, or store property, on a median, public parkway or landscaped area (except in a landscaped area designed for sitting), and no one may sleep or lie on a transit bench, park bench, table or playground equipment.

The ordinance then lists ten specific buffer conditions under which sitting, lying, sleeping or storing property in the right-of-way is unlawful: where it obstructs ADA passage; within 10 feet of a driveway, ramp or loading dock; within 10 feet of a business entrance/exit; within 10 feet of a fire hydrant or Fire Department connection; within 10 feet of an ATM; within 10 feet of an EV charging station, parking pay station or meter; within 10 feet of a public restroom entrance; within 10 feet of a sidewalk ramp or street corner; where it unreasonably interferes with maintenance or use by vehicles, pedestrians or bicycles; and within 200 feet of any school or day care center.

Sitting to view a legally permitted parade or event is expressly carved out. 030 makes each violation punishable, at the City Attorney's discretion, as either an infraction or a misdemeanor, or enforceable through a civil abatement action; in lieu of arrest, a citing officer may instead take a consenting individual to a facility offering mental health, housing or substance abuse services.