{"id":338,"date":"2025-08-20T15:48:32","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T15:48:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redbulltravel.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/20\/city-of-hagerstown-ordinance-will-prohibit-outdoor-lodging-beginning-august-8th-the-panhandle-news-network\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T15:48:32","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T15:48:32","slug":"city-of-hagerstown-ordinance-will-prohibit-outdoor-lodging-beginning-august-8th-the-panhandle-news-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redbulltravel.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/20\/city-of-hagerstown-ordinance-will-prohibit-outdoor-lodging-beginning-august-8th-the-panhandle-news-network\/","title":{"rendered":"City of Hagerstown Ordinance Will Prohibit Outdoor Lodging Beginning August 8th \u2013 The Panhandle News Network"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>HAGERSTOWN, MD \u2014<\/strong> The City of Hagerstown has passed a temporary ordinance that prohibits sleeping or lodging in public places within city limits, effective August 8th. <\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is a 6-month temporary ordinance set to expire February 8, 2026, unless formally extended by the Mayor and City Council.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">An announcement from the Hagerstown Police Department says,\u00a0 \u201cThe goal is <\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\">to ensure public spaces remain clean, safe, and accessible for all residents and visitors.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is unlawful to sleep or lodge in any public space, including:<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2013 Sidewalks, parks, plazas<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2013 City streets, parking lots, and parking decks<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2013 Public buildings and open public property<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2013 Vehicles parked in public spaces<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Prohibited activities include:<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2013 Laying down bedding or sleeping bags<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2013 Using tents, tarps, or makeshift shelters<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2013 Building fires or digging for shelter<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2013 Storing personal belongings in public areas<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Exceptions:<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This ordinance does not apply to individuals participating in City-sponsored or City-approved events that involve overnight stays.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Penalties for Violation:<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2013 Fine up to $500<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2013 Up to 60 days in jail<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2013 Direction to vacate the area<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u2013 Referral to housing or social services<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The announcement offers contact information for those needing help with housing or services:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Ashley Roush<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hagerstown Police Department<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/panhandlenewsnetwork.com\/cdn-cgi\/l\/email-protection\" class=\"__cf_email__\" data-cfemail=\"0445766b71776c444c6563617677706b736a74602a6b7663\">[email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">301-790-3700<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>HAGERSTOWN, MD \u2014 The City of Hagerstown has passed a temporary ordinance that prohibits sleeping or lodging in public places within city limits, effective August 8th. It is a 6-month temporary ordinance set to expire February 8, 2026, unless formally extended by the Mayor and City Council. An announcement from the Hagerstown Police Department says,\u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-shelter-sleeping-gear"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redbulltravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redbulltravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redbulltravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redbulltravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redbulltravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/redbulltravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redbulltravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redbulltravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redbulltravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redbulltravel.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}