Columbia, SC Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Sit-Lie Rules (2026)

Section 14-105(c) makes it unlawful to camp, sleep, store personal property, sit or lie down on any 'public street' as the section defines it, a term that reaches public streets and highways, public sidewalks, public benches, public parking lots and medians. Subsection (d) separately bans the same conduct, camping, sleeping, storing property, sitting or lying down, on any other public property where it interferes with ingress or egress from buildings. As with the park camping rule in the same section, no arrest can occur until the person has received an oral or written warning (§ 14-105(e)), and posted signage satisfies that warning requirement (§ 14-105(f)).

The eleven exceptions in § 14-105(g) directly protect common sidewalk activity: people sitting because of a medical emergency, wheelchair users on sidewalks, people sitting to watch a parade, patrons of sidewalk cafes, people lying down at festivals or concerts, people on public benches, bus-stop waiters, orderly ticket or service lines including shelter or meal lines, and children asleep in strollers. Law enforcement applies a reasonableness standard, weighing the direct or circumstantial evidence of a person's intent, when deciding whether conduct falls into an exception (§ 14-105(h)).

The provision was adopted by Ord. No. 2007-068 in 2007 and rewritten by Ord. No. 2023-079 on August 1, 2023, which added the current warning procedure and exception list.