Santee, CA Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

Section 7.20.080 sits inside Chapter 7.20, Loitering and Camping, alongside the related § 7.20.070, which separately lists urinating and defecating on public property among activities the City Council banned to protect against fire threats, unsanitary conditions and pollution of watercourses and the stormwater system, unless the City has designated or permitted the area for that activity. Section 7.20.080 broadens the ban beyond public property alone: it reaches any street, sidewalk, alley, plaza, park, beach, public building or public facility, and any other place open to the public or exposed to public view, which sweeps in privately owned spaces like a business parking lot if the conduct is visible to the public.

The chapter's stated purpose, in § 7.20.010, directs the Sheriff's Santee Station patrol division and the City Attorney's office to strictly enforce and severely prosecute violations of the chapter. No permit, medical, or age exception appears in § 7.20.080 itself, unlike the sit-lie rule in § 7.20.040, so the prohibition is unconditional wherever it applies. Enforcement pairs with § 7.20.150, which separately makes it unlawful to obstruct a City official carrying out an abatement under the chapter, and with § 7.20.160's public nuisance declaration for Chapter 7.20 as a whole.