Howard County, MD Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

Sec. 208(f) of the Howard County Code, part of the Regulation of Conduct provisions governing all County park property, states that while on park property a person shall not be nude or indecently expose themselves, engage in a sexual act, or urinate or defecate except in a designated facility. The three prohibited acts are grouped together as Indecent Conduct but are penalized differently under the County's own civil penalty classification table: nudity and sexual activity under Sec. 208(f)(1) and (f)(2) are each Class B offenses, while urinating or defecating outside a designated facility under Sec.

208(f)(3) is a Class E offense, the lowest tier on the County's five-class schedule. The rule applies specifically to park property under the Department of Recreation and Parks, rather than County streets or private property generally, and it is enforced alongside the rest of Sec. 208's conduct rules, including bans on interference with other park users, smoking and vaping, and vandalism. Sec. 210 gives the Department civil-penalty enforcement authority, injunctive and mandamus relief, and the power to temporarily ban a violator from the specific park property where the incident occurred, either an immediate 24-hour ban or, with posted notice and a written order, a 120-hour ban that carries a right to meet with the Director to contest it.