Fayetteville, NC Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

Section 17-5 of the Fayetteville Code of Ordinances makes it a misdemeanor for any person to willfully urinate or defecate in or upon any public place, street, sidewalk, alley, or outside area that is open to public view, when done in the presence of any other person. 1, and requires both a public, visible location and the presence of another person for the act to be chargeable, distinguishing it from purely private conduct. The city's nuisance-party ordinance, Section 17-35, separately lists public urination or defecation as one of the conditions that can render a social gathering a 'nuisance party,' exposing the host or person with possessory control of the premises to civil penalties starting at $100 for a first violation and $300 for repeat violations within 12 months, or criminal misdemeanor prosecution, in addition to the direct misdemeanor charge under Section 17-5 against the individual who commits the act.

Enforcement of Section 17-5 itself rests on the general misdemeanor classification in the code rather than a separate civil-citation schedule, meaning police may charge the offense directly without a prior warning requirement, unlike the loitering ordinance's mandatory dispersal order.