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

080, part of the parks and public places chapter Ordinance No. 1113 rewrote in January 2024, prohibits three overlapping things: sitting or lying on a public sidewalk, street, landscaped area, curb, staircase, bike or walking path, or building doorway; leaving a blanket, sleeping bag, cardboard box, chair, stool or other object in those same locations; and sitting or lying on a public bench in a way that blocks other people from sharing it. A separate clause bars intentionally sitting or lying down in a way that obstructs pedestrian or vehicular traffic in a park or public place, defined elsewhere in the chapter as walking, standing, placing an object, sitting or lying so as to block passage or force someone to take evasive action (Sec.

010). No one can be cited on a first encounter: the ordinance requires the city manager or an enforcing officer to first notify the person that the conduct violates the section, and only a later violation after that notice supports a citation. The ordinance carves out eight exceptions, including sitting or lying necessitated by a physical disability or a mobility device such as a wheelchair or walker, viewing a legally conducted parade, an involuntary medical emergency, a permitted commercial use of the sidewalk, participation in a permitted festival, rally or demonstration, conduct on privately owned property with the owner's consent, and conduct protected by the state or federal constitution, including peaceful protesting, picketing, signature gathering and leafleting.