Riverside, CA Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

400, 'Conduct on public property,' most recently amended by Ordinance 7548 in 2021. The operative text is short and absolute: no person shall urinate or defecate in public except when using a urinal, toilet, or commode located in a bathroom or restroom enclosed from public view. Unlike the obstruction and sit-lie provisions in the same section, subsection E carries no prior-warning requirement, officers do not need to first notify a person and document a repeat violation before citing under subsection E, because that notice requirement in subsections A and B is written into those subsections specifically, not into E.

The prohibition applies citywide, in any outdoor or otherwise unenclosed public space, streets, sidewalks, parks, parking lots, and public rights-of-way alike, and the 'enclosed from public view' qualifier means using a facility that is visible from the street or sidewalk, such as an open portable toilet with the door ajar, would not satisfy the exception. 720(K), which can support enforcement action against a responsible party when the conduct occurs at a gathering. 400, a violation of the public urination and defecation ban is punishable as a misdemeanor or infraction, chargeable at the City Attorney's discretion, and subsection J confirms the section's provisions are severable.