Berkeley, CA Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

The ordinance defines 'public place' broadly to include, without limitation, any street, park, pier, beach, restaurant, cafe, theater, store, building, playground, school ground, recreational area, or any other place the public is invited to or has access to, plus any place open to public view even if privately owned. Subsection A also separately bans urinating or defecating in a private place entered without the consent of the owner, agent, or lawful occupant, closing off a workaround where someone slips onto private land specifically to relieve themselves.

Subsection C exempts using a bathroom, restroom, dressing room, or similar fixture provided for that purpose, so the ordinance targets open-air conduct rather than normal indoor plumbing use. Like the sidewalk sit-lie rule enacted the same year, this section builds in a warning-first enforcement model: subsection D bars any citation until the person has first been warned that their conduct violates the section, and subsection E fixes the charge at an infraction rather than a misdemeanor.