Maricopa, AZ Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- MCC § 12.15.080
- Adopted
- Ordinance 24-02 (2024)
- Covered locations
- Streets, sidewalks, alleys, parks, public buildings
- Default penalty
- Class 1 misdemeanor, up to $2,500 / 6 months
- Possible reduction
- Petty offense, up to $300 fine
- Enforcing agencies
- Pinal County Sheriff, city code officers
Summary
Maricopa City Code § 12.15.080 makes it unlawful to urinate or defecate on any street, sidewalk, alley, plaza, park, public building or publicly maintained facility, or anywhere else open to public view. The only exception is proper use of a toilet or other sanitary-disposal facility.
It is unlawful for any person to urinate or defecate in or upon any street, sidewalk, alley, plaza, park, public building, publicly maintained facility, or in any place open to the public or exposed to the public view, except by proper use of a toilet or other facility designed for the sanitary disposal of human waste.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 26-10, passed April 21, 2026).
Full Breakdown
080, added by Ordinance 24-02 in 2024, bars urinating or defecating "in or upon any street, sidewalk, alley, plaza, park, public building, publicly maintained facility, or in any place open to the public or exposed to the public view," with the sole carve-out being proper use of a toilet or other facility built for sanitary human-waste disposal. 15 "Conduct - Personal Behavior," the same chapter that bans public gambling, disorderly conduct and littering, and its reach extends beyond parks to any street, sidewalk or building open to the public.
080's list. 010, which authorizes the Pinal County Sheriff's Department, other local law enforcement, city agents and Arizona Game and Fish Department agents to issue citations and eject violators from city property when the violation occurs in a park. 010: a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to $2,500 and up to six months in jail, though the city magistrate may reduce a first offense to a petty offense capped at $300 if that serves the interest of justice.
Violations & Fines
A citation issued for violating § 12.15.080 is prosecuted as a Class 1 misdemeanor under the default penalty scheme in MCC § 1.10.010: up to $2,500 in fines and up to six months in jail, with each day of a continuing violation charged as a separate offense. The city magistrate may, on the city prosecutor's motion, reduce the charge to a petty offense capped at $300 if that serves the interest of justice. Officers with authority to cite include Pinal County Sheriff's deputies, other local law enforcement, and city code enforcement agents.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there any exception to Maricopa's public urination ban?
What can happen if I'm cited for this in Maricopa?
Who enforces this rule in city parks versus on city streets?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Maricopa
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