Alexandria, VA Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

City Code Sec. 13-1-30(a) defines disorderly conduct as acting with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm, or recklessly creating a risk of it, and subsection (a)(3) lists urinating or defecating in any public place, any place open to the public or exposed to public view, on the ground, on any premises or lot, in a building or basement, in a public street, or into standing water, a stream or an excavation, other than in a proper toilet or portable toilet. The same section separately penalizes fighting or brawling in public (a)(4) and loud, boisterous or lewd language that disturbs the peace (a)(5), so an urination charge often accompanies other disorderly-conduct counts from the same incident.

Subsection (b) lets the person in charge of the building, place or conveyance eject a violator, calling on bystanders for help if necessary. Subsection (c) sets the penalty: a class 3 misdemeanor, which under City Code Sec. 1-1-8(c) is punishable by a fine of not more than $500, with no jail time authorized for that class. The section derives from the 1981 Code as amended by Ord. No. 2534 (1980) and Ord. No. 3017 (1985), and is enforced citywide by the Alexandria Police Department, most commonly downtown, along the waterfront and near bars after closing hours.