Lynchburg, VA Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

Section 27-27 of the City Code is a single-sentence prohibition: any person who urinates or defecates in public or in any place open to public view except in a bathroom, restroom or other facility specifically designed for such purpose shall be guilty of a class 4 misdemeanor. The ordinance, enacted by Ord. No. ' A class 4 misdemeanor is Virginia's lowest misdemeanor tier, punishable by a fine of up to $250 with no jail time, but it still produces a criminal charge and a court summons rather than a civil citation.

The section sits in Chapter 27, Article I ('In General'), alongside Lynchburg's older bathing-in-public-waters prohibition (Section 27-3) and its curfew and panhandling provisions, all enforced by the Lynchburg Police Department on complaint or officer observation. Because the ordinance is phrased around visibility rather than intent, an officer does not need to prove the person meant to be seen, only that the act occurred in public or in a place open to public view outside a facility built for the purpose.