Lakewood, WA Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

08, Public Disturbance, lists five ways a person commits disorderly conduct in Lakewood, and the fifth is urinating or defecating in any place open to public view. The other four ways include fighting in public, intentionally obstructing vehicular or pedestrian traffic, disrupting a lawful assembly, and willfully annoying or bothering another person to the point of creating a risk of assault, so the ordinance groups public elimination with other public-order offenses rather than treating it as a standalone sanitation rule. 010(M)(2) sets the maximum punishment for any misdemeanor under the Lakewood Criminal Code: imprisonment in jail for up to 90 days, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, at the discretion of the court.

010(M)(2) governs. The ordinance applies within Lakewood city limits in Pierce County; it does not reach Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the adjoining federal military installation, which is under separate federal jurisdiction, or unincorporated Pierce County areas nearby, which fall under the county's own code. Lakewood Municipal Court hears misdemeanor disorderly conduct cases arising under this title, and the Lakewood Police Department is the enforcing agency, issuing a citation or making an arrest when an officer observes the conduct or receives a complaint. 08 also covers two related public-order misdemeanors in the same title: causing an unnecessary emergency response and violating another person's privacy near a building's curtilage, the latter a gross misdemeanor carrying up to 365 days in jail and a $5,000 fine, showing the code scales penalties by the severity of the intrusion on others.