Santa Fe, NM Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Sit-Lie Rules (2026)

Santa Fe's code does not contain a stand-alone sit-lie ordinance targeting people who sit or lie on sidewalks. 8, 'Blocking or obstructing of sidewalks,' which sits in Chapter XXIII's special-uses-of-streets article. ' That catch-all clause is broad enough to reach any object or activity that physically blocks pedestrian passage, not just commercial displays, though the ordinance's structure and surrounding clauses show it was written to police street vending and merchandise displays rather than people. The section carves out exceptions for authorized Plaza and Plaza Park events, for properly placed newspaper vending machines that don't hinder pedestrian flow, and for street furniture placed at designated bus stops that doesn't encroach on an accessible path.

3 directs to 'diligently enforce the penal provisions of this section,' with the city attorney authorized to pursue legal action to carry the provisions into effect. Because there is no separate, numbered sit-lie prohibition anywhere else in the code, any enforcement action against a person sitting or lying on a Santa Fe sidewalk would have to be built on this general obstruction clause rather than on conduct-specific language.