Charlottesville, VA Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

Section 17-13 of the Charlottesville City Code prohibits urinating or defecating on any public street, road, alley, sidewalk, walkway, right-of-way or similar public ground anywhere in the city. The ordinance is short and absolute: it names no exception for medical emergencies, construction sites without facilities, or nighttime hours, and it does not require proof that anyone actually saw or was offended by the act. A violation is classified as a Class 4 misdemeanor, the lowest tier under § 1-11, which caps the fine at $250 and carries no jail time; each day the conduct continues is treated as a separate offense under § 1-11(c).

The section sits in Chapter 17, Offenses, alongside the city's other public-order rules: § 17-12 punishes public profanity and drunkenness the same way, and § 17-10 covers disorderly conduct that provokes violence. Charlottesville police officers, who enforce Chapter 17 citywide, can issue a summons on the spot for a Class 4 offense rather than making a physical arrest, under the summons procedure in § 1-12(b), which also applies to public drunkenness. The rule applies on any public street, sidewalk or right-of-way, including the Downtown Mall corridor, and reaches conduct only to the extent it occurs on that public ground; it does not regulate conduct on private property.

Because the offense is defined without an intent element beyond the physical act itself, a person can be charged regardless of why they did it. 1, meaning the underlying prohibition predates the current code's most recent general recodification.