Chesapeake, VA Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

Chesapeake City Code Sec. 46-20 flatly prohibits urinating or defecating in public or in any place open to public view, and it names streets, alleys, sidewalks and parks as examples of covered locations, though the prohibition is not limited to that list; any place the public can see counts. The single carve-out is a public restroom facility: relieving yourself inside one is the only way to comply with the section while doing so outdoors or in a place open to view is not. The offense is charged as a Class 4 misdemeanor, the lowest misdemeanor tier under Virginia law, which still carries a criminal record and a fine.

The section traces back to the city's 1970 code (§ 17-56) and was last amended by an ordinance adopted January 25, 1983; it has not been rewritten since. It sits in Chapter 46, Article I alongside the city's other general public-conduct offenses, and it cross-references both the health and sanitation chapter (ch. 38) and the streets and sidewalks chapter (ch. 66), reflecting that the same act implicates public health and use of the public right-of-way at once. Because the ordinance is a strict, always-in-effect prohibition rather than a licensing scheme, there is no application process or exemption for special events; anyone organizing an outdoor gathering under the city's separate outdoor-events permit (Sec. 46-14) is still expected to provide adequate sanitary facilities specifically so attendees are not driven to violate Sec. 46-20.