Boulder City, NV, Takes Tough Stance on Homeless Camps – Ordinance Now Law
Boulder City criminalizes camping in public spaces
Boulder City Council unanimously approved a sweeping ordinance on May 27, 2025, banning camping, sleeping, and storing personal items in public spaces. Starting in June 2025, violation became a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.
🚨 What the Ordinance Covers
No camping, sleeping, or property storage in rights-of-way, sidewalks, parks, gazebos — basically any public space.
Authorities may issue citations for even laying down bedding or placing personal belongings in areas that obstruct access.
A loophole: permitted camping is still allowed — with a city-issued permit. Unpermitted camping is now illegal.
🏜️ Local Backdrop & Rising Concerns
With just around 12 unhoused individuals counted in Boulder City, officials claimed the ordinance responds to stored belongings and camping trends “causing concern for City staff” . City Attorney Brittany Walker stressed the measure gives the city the tools to prevent camping and simultaneously push people toward available services.
⚖️ Legal Pushback & Community Outcry
Susan Reams, a resident experiencing homelessness, filed suit in late July 2025 alleging the law violates her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights and wrongly penalizes people “for the mere fact that they have nowhere else to go”.
Reams is also demanding a public town hall and seeking an injunction to halt enforcement until changes are made.
Observers note Boulder City lacks shelters or safe camping zones, leaving few legal options for unhoused residents to avoid criminal violation.
🧭 Where This Fits in State Trends & Constitutional Rulings
This law places Boulder City alongside other Nevada locations—Reno, Las Vegas, Henderson, Sparks, and counties like Washoe and Clark—that have enacted stricter anti-camping measures in recent years .
Legally, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson upheld local bans on public camping as constitutional, essentially overturning earlier Ninth Circuit rulings like Martin v. Boise that tied enforcement to available shelter capacity.
🧠 Bottom Line
Boulder City’s new ordinance makes camping, sleeping, or storing belongings in most public spaces illegal.
Violators now risk misdemeanor charges and jail time.
Critics argue the law criminalizes homelessness instead of addressing root causes in a community with few available shelters.
Legal challenges are underway, including demands for greater transparency and more humane alternatives.
This ordinance may be the latest chapter in Nevada’s broader crackdown on unsanctioned camping. Many residents and advocates hope Boulder City will seek solutions beyond enforcement — especially as legal challenges unfold and local advocates demand better support for unhoused neighbors.
