Pasadena, CA Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing sections
- PMC §§ 9.26.010, 9.26.020
- Misdemeanor penalty
- up to $1,000 fine, 6 months jail
- Covered locations
- streets, parks, public buildings, visible private property
- Exception
- proper restroom/sanitary-disposal use
- Adopted
- Ordinance 6703 (1997)
- Charging option
- misdemeanor only, no infraction track
Summary
Pasadena makes it a misdemeanor to urinate or defecate on any street, sidewalk, alley, plaza, park, public building or publicly maintained facility, or anywhere else open to the public or exposed to public view, under Chapter 9.26. A conviction carries up to a $1,000 fine and six months in county jail.
9.26.010 - Applicability. This chapter shall not apply to urination or defecation in or into the toilet, urinal or other receptacle in any restroom or other facility designed for the sanitary disposal of human waste. 9.26.020 - Prohibited. No person shall urinate or defecate in or upon any street, sidewalk, alley, plaza, park, public building or publicly maintained facility, or in any place open to the public or exposed to public view.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 79 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
020, but also private property visible from a public vantage point. 010 sets the chapter's only exception: using a toilet, urinal or other receptacle inside a restroom or other facility designed for sanitary disposal of human waste is not covered, so the ordinance targets exposed conduct rather than normal restroom use, including use of a portable toilet set up for a public event. 28, a violation can be charged based solely on the location and public visibility of the act, without regard to whether anyone actually witnessed it.
Enforcement typically falls to the Pasadena Police Department responding to a complaint or observing the conduct directly. 28, but unlike the drinking ordinance it gives the city prosecutor no option to charge a lesser infraction.
Violations & Fines
Any violation of Chapter 9.26 is a misdemeanor under Section 9.26.030, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment in county jail for up to six months, or both. Unlike the public drinking ordinance in Chapter 9.24, Section 9.26.030 does not give the city prosecutor discretion to charge the offense as a lesser infraction, so every conviction under this chapter carries the full misdemeanor exposure.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pasadena
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Public Urination in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Los Angeles County handle public urination.