Norfolk, VA Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

Norfolk Code § 29-16.1 flatly prohibits urinating or defecating in any public street, alley, sidewalk, park, beach, or other public place or area where the public gathers or has access, unless the person uses a restroom or other facility built for that purpose. The ordinance covers open-air locations such as parking lots, transit stops, and waterfront parks along the Elizabeth River as much as it covers downtown sidewalks; the text draws no distinction based on time of day, intoxication, or medical necessity, so an officer can charge the offense any time it is observed in a covered location.

The section was added to the 1988 city code by Ord. No. 31,457 on December 8, 1981 (originally numbered § 31-99.1 before Municode's editor renumbered it as § 29-16.1) and amended by Ord. No. 40,456 on August 28, 2001. It sits in Chapter 29, General Offenses, alongside the adjacent spitting ordinance at § 29-16, which similarly bans depositing saliva or sputum on sidewalks, floors of public buildings, and public conveyances; the two sections read together target public sanitation nuisances in high-foot-traffic areas like downtown Norfolk and the waterfront.

Because the offense is a criminal misdemeanor rather than a civil infraction, Norfolk police officers, not code enforcement staff, issue the charge, and a conviction becomes part of a person's criminal record rather than resulting in a fine-only civil ticket.