El Dorado County, CA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Sit-Lie Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- County Code Section 9.55.050
- Sleeping ban
- No sleeping on public property, narrow exceptions
- Sidewalk rule
- No sitting, lying or sleeping that blocks passage
- Adopted
- Ordinance No. 5221, effective Jan. 28, 2025
- Enforcement
- Any law enforcement officer countywide
- Penalty
- Misdemeanor under Chapter 1.24 general penalties
Summary
El Dorado County bars sleeping on public property outright, with narrow exceptions for young children, permitted campers and on-duty employees on break, and separately bars sitting, lying or sleeping on sidewalks, streets or alleyways whenever it blocks pedestrian or vehicle passage. Law enforcement officers enforce both bans countywide under the 2025 anti-camping chapter, Section 9.55.050.
Sec. 9.55.050. - Sitting, lying, or sleeping on public and private property. A.No person shall sleep on public property. This provision does not apply to any of the following:1.Children aged five years or younger.2.A person camping as otherwise authorized under this Code, including Sections 9.46.220 and 9.55.060.3.An employee that is responsible for the management, operation, or control of the subject public property during work hours may sleep on public property or in their vehicle on public property during recognized employee meal and rest breaks if otherwise permitted to do so by their employer.B.No person may sit, lie, or sleep on public sidewalks, streets, alleyways so as to obstruct vehicular or pedestrian use thereof, or in any pedestrian or vehicular entrance to public or private property abutting a public sidewalk, as a matter of individual and public safety.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 13 Update 4).
Full Breakdown
050, adopted January 28, 2025 by Ordinance No. 5221 as part of the County's rewritten camping and public-space chapter, splits the restriction in two. 040 defines "public property" to include "streets, sidewalks, alleys, improved or unimproved land, parks, or trail facilities," plus land within 100 feet of the high-water mark of a County-managed lake or waterway. 060, and an on-duty employee responsible for that property who sleeps in a vehicle or on-site during a recognized meal or rest break with employer permission. Subsection B is broader in location but narrower in trigger: it reaches sitting, lying or sleeping on public sidewalks, streets or alleyways, or in any pedestrian or vehicle entrance abutting a sidewalk, but only when the conduct obstructs vehicular or pedestrian passage, framed by the ordinance as a matter of individual and public safety. 24. 020 limits the chapter countywide to the unincorporated territory and exempts conduct otherwise authorized by County ordinance or state or federal law.
Violations & Fines
Violating either the sleeping ban or the sidewalk-obstruction rule in Section 9.55.050 is a misdemeanor under Section 9.55.110, punished according to the general penalties in Chapter 1.24. Any law enforcement officer has citation authority under Section 9.55.030, and a person with personal property or a tent on scene can also be cited separately for unlawful storage under Section 9.55.070.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sleep in my car at a County park during a break?
Is sitting on a sidewalk always illegal in El Dorado County?
What's the penalty for violating the sit-lie rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in El Dorado County
California rules heatmap·Compare El Dorado County to another location·View the California homelessness & encampment rules overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.