CAMPING IN PUBLIC AREA PROHIBITED.
Austin City Code § 9-4-11
in effect§ 9-4-11 - CAMPING IN PUBLIC AREA PROHIBITED.
(A) In this section:
(1) PUBLIC AREA means an outdoor area accessible to the public including a street, highway, park, parking lot, alleyway, pedestrian way, and the common areas of a school, hospital, apartment building, office building, transport facility, or business.
(2) CAMP means the use of a public area for living accommodation purposes including:
(a) storing personal belongings for an extended period of time;
(b) making a camp fire;
(c) using a tent or shelter or other structure for a living accommodation;
(d) carrying on cooking activities; or
(e) digging or earth breaking activities.
(3) HOMELESS SHELTER means a supervised publicly or privately operated facility that is designed to provide temporary living accommodations for individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate residence while providing them with social services and other assistance to find a home and that is designated by the city as a shelter.
(B) Except as provided in Subsection (D), a person commits an offense if the person camps in a public area that is not designated as a camping area by the Parks and Recreation Department.
(C) Unless a law enforcement officer determines that there is an imminent health or safety threat, a law enforcement officer must, before citing a person for a violation of this section, make a reasonable effort to:
(1) advise the person of a lawful alternative place to camp;
(2) advise the person, to the best of the law enforcement officer's knowledge, of available shelter or housing; and
(3) contact, if reasonable and appropriate, a city designee who has the authority to offer to transport the person or provide the person with services.
(D) A person is materially endangering the health or safety of another person or of themselves, or is rendering impassable or impeding the reasonable use of a public area making usage of such area unreasonably inconvenient or hazardous if the person is camping on a sidewalk.
(E) A person is camping if the person engages in any of the activities listed in Subsection (A)(2) if it reasonably appears, based on the totality of the circumstances, that the person conducting the activity is using a public area for living accommodation purposes, regardless of the person's intent or engagement in other activities.
(F) This section does not apply to permitted camping or cooking in a park in compliance with park regulations.
(G) Subsection (B)(2) does not apply to a person who is sitting or lying if the person is:
(1) in the right-of-way because of a medical emergency;
(2) operating or patronizing a commercial establishment that conducts business on the sidewalk under Title 14 (Streets and Use of Public Property) of the Code;
(3) participating in or viewing a parade, festival, performance, rally, demonstration, or similar event;
(4) sitting on a chair or bench that is supplied by a public agency or by the abutting private property owner;
(5) sitting within a bus stop zone while waiting for public or private transportation; or
(6) waiting in a line for goods, services, or a public event.
(H) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution for a violation of Subsection (B)(2) for sitting or lying if a person is sitting or lying and is obstructing the right-of-way, but is seated or lying down as the result of a physical manifestation of a disability, not limited to visual observation.
(I) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution that a person owns the property or has secured the permission of the property owner to camp in a public area.
Source: Ord. No. 20191017-029, Pt. 1, 10-28-19; Ord. No. 20210209-003, Pt. 2, 5-1-21.
Source: City of Austin, City Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/austin/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT9PRAC_CH9-4PRAC_ART2OFREPRAC_S9-4-11CAPUARPRFetched: 10/27/2026