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Hagerstown council approves ordinance banning sleeping or lodging outdoors, extends ban to vehicles
Summary
The Hagerstown mayor and council voted in special session Feb. 3 to approve an amendment to City Code chapter 173-32 making it unlawful to sleep or lodge outdoors in any public space inside city limits, including in vehicles; enforcement will be by the Hagerstown Police Department. Council discussion centered on removing a sunset clause and how future reconsideration would work.
The Hagerstown mayor and city council on Feb. 3 approved an ordinance amending City Code chapter 173-32 to make it unlawful for any person to sleep or lodge outdoors in public spaces inside city limits, including in vehicles parked on public property.
An on-the-record mover introduced the ordinance, saying, "I hereby move to approve the ordinance to amend the city code by amending chapter 173-32 prohibited lodging outdoors, which makes it unlawful for any person to sleep and or lodge outdoors in any public space within the city limits of Hagerstown, Maryland." The mover also stated enforcement would be limited to the Hagerstown Police Department.
Council discussion focused on a sunset provision. One council member asked whether removing a sunset would make the provision permanent; staff and other council members clarified that while the ordinance would remain in the code indefinitely if the sunset were removed, the council retains the authority to reintroduce or amend the ordinance in a future session. A council member urged colleagues to vote in the affirmative if they wanted to preserve the ability to bring the item back for reconsideration later.
A voice vote in the special session recorded no opposing votes in the transcript and the mayor declared the body in special session for the agenda item. No additional implementation timeline or enforcement protocol beyond assignment to the Hagerstown Police Department was specified in the discussion; staff indicated the council could revisit or modify the ordinance in the future.
Next steps: the ordinance was approved in the special session; any further operational details, such as enforcement procedures, fines or phased implementation, were not specified and would require follow-up staff reports or subsequent council action.
