Those who sleep or store personal property in public places throughout Ocean City will now face tougher penalties following the adoption of two ordinances this week.
On Monday, the Ocean City Council voted to approve ordinances that address sleeping and storing personal property.
As adopted, the law would prohibit sleeping in or obstructing public places and storing personal property in or on public places. A second ordinance also gives law enforcement the authority to issue charges and fines.
The ordinances considered Monday do not impact sleeping on the beach, which is handled separately in city code.
Last month, city staff – at the direction of the city council, introduced legislation to regulate sleeping and storing personal property in public areas, including the Boardwalk, transit stations, and alleyways.
Working with the Ocean City Police Department, they produced an ordinance they said would protect residents and visitors while allowing public places to remain open.
“We’re trying to balance the council duty to protecting the health, safety and welfare while recognizing that we don’t want to go further than we need to with his ordinance,” City Solicitor Heather Stansbury said at the time.
According to the ordinance, anyone found in violation of sleeping in or obstructing public places, or storing personal property in public places, will be charged with a misdemeanor, punishable by a $500 fine and up to 90 days incarceration. However, violators will first be issued warnings.
Just how are homeless people supposed to pay fines??? Why not make the real hoodlums pay more for all the crimes they commit?
Most homeless in this region are inmates recently released from jail
In case you were wondering if our superiors were running out of abuse…
https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2025RS/bills/hb/hb1164F.pdf
“FOR the purpose of prohibiting a county or municipality from enacting or enforcing a local 4
law that is designed to prevent an individual from resting or sleeping in a public 5
space, protecting oneself from the elements in a manner that does not obstruct the 6
use of or access to private property, or sleeping in a legally parked vehicle; and 7
generally relating to local laws regarding homeless individuals.”