Portsmouth, VA Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

Section 24-206, part of Chapter 24's obscenity article, bars relieving oneself in public: it is unlawful for any person to urinate or defecate on any public street, alley, sidewalk, park or other public place or area where the public gathers or has access, other than in facilities designed for such purpose, such as a restroom. The ban applies citywide to any publicly accessible area rather than a single district, and it does not require proof of intent to offend, only that the act occurred somewhere the public gathers or has access.

A conviction is a class 4 misdemeanor under the general penalty schedule at section 1-11(a)(4), which caps the fine at $250 and carries no jail exposure, the lightest of the city's four misdemeanor classes; by comparison, a class 1 misdemeanor under the same schedule tops out at $2,500 and 12 months, class 2 at $1,000 and six months, and class 3 at $500. Section 24-206 traces to Code 1973, § 21-89, and was renumbered § 24-207 in the 1988 recodification before reaching its current section number.

Because section 1-11(c) caps any local ordinance penalty at whatever state law prescribes for a like offense, an officer citing section 24-206 cannot seek a harsher outcome than Virginia law allows for comparable public-decency conduct. Portsmouth police, rather than a separate code enforcement office, handle enforcement, typically by issuing a summons when the conduct is directly observed in a public area.