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

Section 3-36, "Sleeping on Public Rights-of-Way Prohibited," is a single, unqualified sentence: it is unlawful to lie or sleep upon any street, sidewalk, or public right-of-way, or any portion of one. Unlike the jaywalking rule in the same article, this section is not limited to business districts; it applies citywide, on any public street, sidewalk, or right-of-way. It sits in Chapter 3, Article 1 alongside the separate sidewalk-obstruction ban in Sec. 3-35 and the standing-in-roadway ban in Sec. 3-34, but each targets different conduct: Sec.

3-34 covers standing or sitting that blocks traffic, Sec. 3-35 covers loitering that blocks pedestrians or entrances, and Sec. 3-36 covers lying down or sleeping specifically, regardless of whether it blocks anyone. Because Sec. 3-36 does not appear on the infraction list in Sec. 1(a), a violation is charged under the city's general penalty clause, Sec. 1-18, as a misdemeanor: up to a $500 fine, up to six months in the City or County Jail, or both. Sec. 1-19 further deems any violation a public nuisance the City may summarily abate, with each day the condition continues counted as a new and separate offense, so an encampment or a person repeatedly found sleeping in the right-of-way can face escalating exposure rather than a single citation.