Chatham County, GA Homelessness & Encampment Rules: Sit-Lie Rules (2026)

Code of Chatham County Sec. 21-1305 makes it unlawful to sleep on public sidewalks, streets, or alleyways at any time, to sleep in any pedestrian or vehicular entrance abutting a public sidewalk, or to sleep on, under, or on the approaches to any bridge, citing individual and public safety. A separate prohibition at Sec. 21-1302(7) and the operative rule tied to it bars "interference with ingress and egress": standing, sitting, lying down, or using personal property on public property or in a county park in a way that materially blocks entrances or exits, appears intended to block access, and occurs without the property owner's written permission.

Before anyone can be arrested under this Article, Sec. 21-1303 requires that a law enforcement officer first issue an oral or written warning to stop the conduct; only a second, continued violation after that warning can lead to arrest or removal from the premises. The ordinance carves out real exceptions: people down due to a medical emergency, wheelchair users, permitted parade attendees, sidewalk cafe patrons, people on public benches (short of camping on them), people waiting in a bus zone, and people queued in an orderly line for tickets, building entry, shelters, or meal service.

Children asleep in a stroller while carried by a supervising adult are also exempt. The Article applies only in unincorporated Chatham County; it does not reach Savannah's separate downtown ordinances.