St. Petersburg, FL Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Sit-Lie Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- City Code § 20-73
- Restricted hours
- Sunrise to sunset only
- Zone
- Downtown core + pier district
- Enforcement
- Officer must warn before citing
- Max penalty
- $500 fine or 60 days jail
- Adopted
- Ord. No. 872-G, 1-24-2008
Summary
St. Petersburg bans sleeping, lying or reclining during daylight hours, sunrise to sunset, within two large downtown/waterfront zones and the municipal pier district. Section 20-73 covers the right-of-way, including sidewalks, roughly from Fifth Avenue North to Fifth Avenue South east of Sixteenth Street, plus First Avenue North to South between Sixteenth and Thirty-First Streets.
(b)Prohibitions.(1)It shall be unlawful and a violation of the Code for any person to sleep, lie, or recline in or on any part of the prohibited zone during daylight hours.(2)For purposes of this section, "prohibited zone" means, collectively, all of the following areas:a.The right-of-way, which shall include any public sidewalk, in the area from the northern right-of-way of Fifth Avenue North to the southern right-of-way of Fifth Avenue South and the western right-of-way of Sixteenth Street east to Tampa Bay.b.The right-of-way, which shall include any public sidewalk, in the area from the northern right-of-way of First Avenue North to the southern right-of-way of First Avenue South between Thirty-First Street and Sixteenth Street.c.Any public path for vehicular or pedestrian travel within the municipal pier district.(3)For purposes of this section, "daylight hours" means the period from sunrise to sunset.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 54).
Full Breakdown
" The ban only runs during "daylight hours," defined as sunrise to sunset, and only inside a mapped "prohibited zone" covering the downtown core between roughly Fifth Avenue North and Fifth Avenue South east of Sixteenth Street, a second strip between First Avenue North and South from Sixteenth to Thirty-First Streets, and any public path within the municipal pier district. As with the general sidewalk-obstruction rule, enforcement is warn-first: a law-enforcement officer must ask the person to move to an area where sleeping is not prohibited, and no citation follows if the person moves and stays out of the zone until sunset that day.
Four exceptions keep the rule from reaching every use of a bench or umbrella: a medical emergency, using a City-placed object like a bus bench or downtown bench for its intended purpose, conduct under a valid Code permit, and a passenger who falls asleep while being legally transported through the zone. The ordinance was adopted in January 2008 (Ord. No. 872-G) and amended in June and December 2019 (Ord. Nos. 373-H and 407-H) to align its penalty and notice language with the City's related right-of-way sleeping sections.
Violations & Fines
A person cited under section 20-73 is subject to the Code's general penalty in section 1-7: a fine up to $500.00, imprisonment up to 60 days, or both, with each day of a continuing violation charged separately. No citation issues on a first encounter, only a repeat violation after the officer's notice and request to move is punishable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where exactly does the daylight sit-lie ban apply?
Is nighttime sleeping covered by this section?
Will I be cited the first time I'm found lying on a sidewalk in the zone?
Are there any exceptions to the daylight ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in St. Petersburg
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Sit-Lie Rules in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Pinellas County handle sit-lie rules.