Washoe County, NV Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Sit-Lie Rules (2026)

392, adopted by Ordinance No. 1715 and effective April 5, 2024, defines four categories of "obstructive use" on public sidewalks, roads, and highways in unincorporated Washoe County. The third category bars sleeping outright: "Sleeping upon a public sidewalk, road, and/or highway" is an obstructive use regardless of whether it physically blocks anyone. The ordinance does not ban sleeping on every sidewalk in the county; subsection 2 confines the prohibition to four locations: within or under any crosswalk, including sidewalk portions on a median or traffic island; within 150 feet of any crosswalk; within 150 feet of any intersection of public roads, highways, or a road and private driveway; and within 150 feet of any school.

Because Washoe County's collector and arterial roads are laced with signalized and unsignalized crosswalks, the 150-foot buffers cover most sidewalk frontage in commercial corridors such as those in Sun Valley and Spanish Springs, even though the statute is not framed as a countywide curfew on sleeping outdoors. The code carves out narrow exceptions for public safety equipment, permitted construction or utility work, and any use "permitted and/or licensed by the Washoe County," none of which cover unauthorized sleeping. A violation is charged as a misdemeanor, giving deputies discretion to cite, arrest, or refer a person to services before filing charges. 392 at once.