Lawrence, KS Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

Lawrence City Code § 14-414 bars urinating or defecating in or upon any street, sidewalk, alley, plaza, park, public building, public property, private parking lot, or any other place open to the public or exposed to public view. The ordinance exempts use of fixtures inside a public or private restroom or another facility built for sanitary disposal of human waste, so a portable toilet or restroom stall at a downtown bar or festival stays legal. The section carries no stand-alone fine of its own; instead it directs that a conviction is punished under the citywide general penalty at § 1-113, which applies whenever the Code declares an act unlawful without naming a specific punishment.

00, up to 180 days in the city jail, or both. Because the offense sits in Chapter 14's Article IV on offenses against public peace, alongside disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace, Lawrence Municipal Court treats it as a misdemeanor citation a Lawrence police officer can issue on the spot, most commonly downtown near the bars on Massachusetts Street and around KU campus events after closing time. The rule reaches private parking lots as well as public streets, so a citation can follow even on privately owned pavement if it is exposed to public view, and there is no separate carve-out for special events.