Homeless people will not be allowed to pitch a tent or sleep overnight on county property — such as a public bench, sidewalk or in a wooded area — according to an ordinance Seminole commissioners passed unanimously Tuesday with little discussion.

The ban follows a state law that took effect Oct. 1 that forces local governments to enact prohibitions on people sleeping outdoors or camping on public property.

According to the ordinance, first-time violators can be issued a trespass warning by a deputy sheriff and ordered to leave. If the person is caught again within a year at the same spot they can be arrested and charged with trespassing — a first-degree misdemeanor.

“We are working with the sheriff’s office to work on further details on the warnings,” Deputy County Manager Tricia Johnson said.

Seminole’s ban, however, does not apply to an individual spending the night in a motor vehicle or at a designated campground.

Commissioner Andria Herr said legislators “absolved” the state from the camping ban regulations and tossed it to local governments.

“So you are allowed to camp on state property, for the record,” she said.

“I think the general public needs to understand that,” Herr said. “So you can be trespassed from this side of a line, but not from this side of a line in this county under the statute.

“And we need to know where the line is. And those who are enforcing it need to know where the line is.”

Seminole has several areas of county-owned natural lands abutting state wildlife corridors, Commissioner Bob Dallari said.

“I think there should be proper signage, particularly if there are natural lands and who owns it,” Dallari said. “If they’re not allowed to be on county property (overnight), they need to know where the boundary is.”

Chris Ham, executive director of The Rescue Outreach Mission in Sanford, Seminole’s only emergency overnight shelter, said it’s too early to say how the new ban will affect his facility and if he’ll see more people seeking shelter.

“No one should be sleeping in a tent overnight,” he said. But, he said, the ban “is an opportunity to create conversations on how to effectively help our neighbors in need.”

He said one of the main reasons for homelessness is soaring costs for housing — the average rent in Seminole hovers around $2,000 a month.

In the last year, the county’s homeless population soared by more than 53% from 274 people to 420, according to the Homeless Services Network. Over the past year, Rescue Outreach has taken in 271 people — a nearly 18% jump from last year.

Ham added that the Seminole school district estimated this month that about 300 children attending public schools in the county live in cars or sleep in tents outdoors.

“That’s really unacceptable to me,” Ham said.