Olympia, WA Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

Olympia Municipal Code § 9.24.090 is one operative sentence, and it applies to anyone in the City of Olympia, Thurston County, Washington. It makes the act itself unlawful. The section prints no intent element, no requirement that another person witness the act, and no hardship exception. The only compliant place is a washroom, toilet room or other facility specifically designated and intended for that use.

What counts as a public place decides most cases. Section 9.24.010 defines public place as an area visible to public view and lists streets, sidewalks, bridges, alleys, plazas, parks, driveways, parking lots, automobiles (whether moving or not), and buildings open to the public, including those that serve food or drink or provide entertainment. The definition also reaches the doorways and entrances to buildings or dwellings and the grounds enclosing them. Under that wording a downtown plaza, an alley, a parking lot and a car parked on a City street are all public places for purposes of § 9.24.090.

The section sits in Chapter 9.24 beside two other public decency offenses. Section 9.24.100 covers displaying lewd matter, and § 9.24.110 covers lewd conduct, which subsection C of that section classes as a gross misdemeanor. Section 9.24.120 then adopts a list of RCW sections on indecent exposure and prostitution by reference. Those neighbors carry their own definitions and penalties, so a person charged under § 9.24.090 is charged with the urination or defecation offense alone, not with lewd conduct.

The history note printed after § 9.24.090 lists Ordinance 7436 of 2025 as the latest amendment, which means the Olympia City Council re-enacted the chapter in 2025. Enforcement falls to the Olympia Police Department, whose sworn police officers are listed first among the code enforcement officials defined in OMC 4.44.020.