People experiencing homelessness in Birmingham could have as little as two hours to leave an encampment on public property under a new ordinance approved by the Birmingham City Council Tuesday.
The ordinance establishes citywide rules prohibiting unauthorized camping on publicly owned property, including public rights of way, sidewalks and parks. It also outlines procedures for removing encampments, notifying people who may be affected and connecting them with available shelter and support services.
City leaders say the policy is intended to balance public safety and access to shared public spaces with outreach to people who are unhoused.
“This ordinance gives us that and a little bit more,” Mayor Randall Woodfin said. “We want to be in a position where, in those spaces, there’s no health issues, there’s no public safety issues, and there’s no issues of people sleeping in spaces that they’re not supposed to actually sleep in.”
Under the ordinance, enforcement follows three notification periods based on the circumstances and location of an encampment:
- Two hours: Emergencies, imminent threats to public safety or infrastructure, and interference with permitted events.
- 24 hours: Encampments near critical infrastructure and other designated priority locations.
- 48 hours: The standard notification period for other unauthorized encampments.
City officials say trained outreach teams will engage people whenever possible before an encampment is cleared, offering connections to shelter and other services.
“This is not the city of Birmingham implementing sweeps,” said Alanah Melton, the city’s director of Unhoused Strategies. “It is not illegal to be unhoused in the city of Birmingham. However, our parks and public spaces … are not places for people to live.”
The ordinance also requires written notices in English and Spanish and provides for the storage of eligible personal belongings for up to 30 days.
