Burien, WA Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)
Key Facts
- Section
- BMC § 9.95.300, Urinating in public
- Acts covered
- Intentionally urinating or defecating
- Where it applies
- Public place, or where any member of the public could observe
- Exempt location
- A washroom or toilet room
- Classification
- Misdemeanor, § 9.95.300(2)
- Adopted
- Ord. 63 § 39, 1993
Summary
In the City of Burien, Washington, BMC § 9.95.300 makes it a misdemeanor to intentionally urinate or defecate in a public place other than a washroom or toilet room, or at a place and under circumstances where a member of the public could observe the act. The Burien City Council adopted the rule in Ord. 63 in 1993.
(1) A person is guilty of urinating in public if he or she intentionally urinates or defecates in a public place, other than a washroom or toilet room, or at a place and under circumstances where such act could be observed by any member of the public. (2) Urinating in public is a misdemeanor.
Full Breakdown
BMC § 9.95.300 is a short section with two ways to commit the offense. A person is guilty if he or she intentionally urinates or defecates in a public place, other than a washroom or toilet room. The same result follows if the act happens at a place and under circumstances where it could be observed by any member of the public. The second route reaches spots that are not public in the ordinary sense: the test is whether the act could be observed by any member of the public, not whether anyone actually saw it.
The word intentionally sets the mental state, so the section is aimed at deliberate acts. Urination and defecation sit in one sentence under one standard, and both carry the same classification: subsection (2) states that urinating in public is a misdemeanor.
The section sits in Chapter 9.95, Public Morals, Crimes Relating To, next to § 9.95.200, which adopts RCW 9A.88.010 by reference for the separate crime of indecent exposure. The history line after § 9.95.300 lists only Ord. 63, § 39, 1993, so the text of the rule is the one the City of Burien passed in 1993.
Enforcement falls to the city police department, which BMC § 9.100.100 describes as covering members of the department whether contracted or employed. Under § 9.100.400(1)(a), knowingly making a false or misleading material statement to a law enforcement officer is its own offense, separate from the urination charge.
Violations & Fines
Urinating in public is a misdemeanor under BMC § 9.95.300(2). The section prints no separate fine or jail term of its own, so the classification is the whole penalty statement in that section. A person who knowingly gives a law enforcement officer a false or misleading material statement during the encounter faces a separate offense under § 9.100.400.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is public urination a crime in the City of Burien?
Does it matter whether anyone actually saw the act?
Does the Burien rule cover defecation too?
Is using a restroom exempt?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Burien
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Public Urination in Nearby Cities
How other cities in King County handle public urination.