Pismo Beach, CA Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

Chapter 8.18 of the Pismo Beach Municipal Code, Public Urination or Defecation, is a single section. Subsection A makes it unlawful for any person to deposit or cause to be deposited any human urine or feces upon any public place, or upon any private property without the consent of the owner, or in or upon any public property other than property designated or set aside for that purpose. The last clause means restrooms and similar facilities the city designates are the only lawful place on public property.

Subsection B defines "public place" as an alley, street, highway, sidewalk, pier, beaches, park, parkway, parking lot, playground, school grounds, bus stop, or any other place, whether on private or public property, to which the general public is invited or has access. For a beach city, the named locations that matter most are the pier, the beaches, the parking lots and the sidewalks. The catch-all covers privately owned places open to the public, such as a shopping center lot.

The ordinance reaches a person who "causes" a deposit as well as the person who makes it, and private property is protected by an owner-consent rule. A property owner who consents is outside the prohibition on that property, but a public place is off limits on private or public land alike.

The penalty is set by subsection C: any violation is a misdemeanor punishable as set forth in § 1.20.010. That general penalty section allows a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment not to exceed six months, or both. Section 1.20.010(F) also allows the case to be handled as an infraction if the city attorney files the complaint as an infraction or moves to reduce the charge before trial. Under § 1.20.010(D), each day a violation continues is a separate offense.