Rancho Cordova, CA Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

78, Human Waste Disposal, is a short, direct ordinance. 010 states plainly that it is unlawful for any person to urinate or defecate in a public place other than a restroom, or in a place open to public view, or upon the private property of another without the owner's consent. The three prongs cover the situations that generate most complaints: relieving oneself on a sidewalk, street or park in view of others, doing so in a spot where passersby can see even if it is technically private, and doing so on a neighbor's or business owner's land without permission.

There is no restroom-availability exception written into the section; the ordinance applies regardless of whether a public restroom happens to be nearby. 190, rather than stating its own fine schedule, meaning the standard citywide misdemeanor fine and jail exposure apply. Because the offense is charged as a misdemeanor rather than an infraction, the city attorney or district attorney has discretion in how aggressively to prosecute a given case, and repeat conduct at the same location can support additional enforcement, such as a public-nuisance abatement action, under other chapters of the code.