Gastonia, NC Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

City Code Sec. 5-19(a) states it is unlawful "for any person to urinate or defecate on any public place, sidewalk, street, alleyway or right-of-way or in any public building except in designated water closets or toilet facilities, or on any private property." The section builds in a specific affirmative defense: having the written permission of the property owner or person in lawful possession is a defense to a charge of urinating or defecating on private property, meaning the prohibition on private land turns on consent while the public-property ban is unconditional except for marked restrooms. The section sits in Chapter 5 alongside the related Sec. 5-13 ban on spitting on sidewalks or in public buildings, both reflecting the city's general public-sanitation offenses enforced by the Gastonia Police Department.