Long Beach, CA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Sit-Lie Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Restricted hours
- 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
- Covers
- public property, incl. rights-of-way and sidewalks
- Definition of "camp"
- tents, shelters, non-designated cooking setups
- Default charge
- misdemeanor, or infraction at Prosecutor's discretion
- Exception
- City-designated overnight camping locations
Summary
Long Beach bans camping on any public property, including sidewalks and other rights-of-way, between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., under Municipal Code § 9.42.110. The ban covers tents, other temporary shelters, and non-city-designated cooking facilities set up inside or outside a vehicle, and it applies citywide except on public property the City has specifically designated for overnight camping.
Unless otherwise provided, it shall be unlawful for any person to camp on public property (including rights-of-way), whether improved or unimproved, whether inside or outside a vehicle, between the hours of ten p.m. of one (1) day and five a.m. of the next day, except public property designated for overnight camping. ... For the purposes of this Section, the term "camp" shall mean the use of tents or other temporary shelters, or non-city designated cooking facilities.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 52 Update 1 | City Charter: Supplement 5).
Full Breakdown
42, the trespassing chapter, and was adopted by Ord. C-6984 in 1992 and amended by Ord. C-7103 in 1993. It defines "camp" narrowly, in Subsection C, as using tents, other temporary shelters, or cooking facilities not designated by the City: a definition built to reach improvised overnight encampments on sidewalks, parkways, and other public rights-of-way rather than daytime sitting or resting. , and it applies to both improved and unimproved public property, inside or outside a vehicle, unless the specific location has been designated by the City for overnight camping.
010's separate general trespassing prohibition rather than narrow it, so a person camping on private property without consent can still be charged with ordinary trespass on top of, or instead of, a camping violation. Because the section sits in the trespassing chapter rather than the noise or nuisance chapters, its enforcement default is the section's own penalty clause, which tracks the code's standard misdemeanor/infraction split.
Violations & Fines
A violation of the overnight camping ban is a misdemeanor under § 9.42.110(D), but the City Prosecutor has discretion to instead charge and prosecute it as an infraction. There's no separately stated dollar fine within the section itself: a misdemeanor charge defaults to the Chapter 1.32 general penalty of up to $1,000 and/or six months in jail, while an infraction carries a lesser, capped fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone be cited for sleeping outside during the day in Long Beach?
What counts as "camping" under the ordinance?
Is the camping ban a misdemeanor or a lesser offense?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Long Beach
California rules heatmap·Compare Long Beach to another location·View the California homelessness & encampment rules overview
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