Ocean City Council adopts ordinance banning camping, sleeping on public property

The Ocean City Council adopted Ordinance 2608 on second reading, adding a prohibition on camping and sleeping on specified public property across the city.

City staff read the ordinance and told the council it would bar “camping and sleeping on public property, including the gazebos, the pavilions, the boardwalk, the benches in public, the new 16th Street field, all of the recreational fields, and around the public buildings.” Staff also said the ordinance “does not prohibit somebody from napping on the beach,” and that officials expected to apply ‘‘common sense’’ in enforcement.

The ordinance went to a public hearing limited to the ordinance (no members of the public spoke on it), and the council then voted to adopt the measure on second reading. A roll-call vote recorded affirmative votes from members listed in the meeting record as Mister Crowley, Mister Winslow, Mister Barnes, Mister Hartsell, Mister Kelly, Mister Lumpchaff and Mister Fulchini, with no 'no' votes recorded on the transcript during that roll call.

What it changes: The ordinance amends chapter 4 (police regulations) of the revised ordinances to specify that camping and sleeping are prohibited on named public property citywide; the staff explanation emphasized that incidental napping on the beach would not be targeted by the rule.

Next steps: The ordinance was adopted on second reading at this meeting; transcript does not specify an effective date or implementation schedule.