Sedgwick County, KS Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)
Key Facts
- Where it applies
- Any county park, lake or recreational area
- Violation class
- Class H violation
- First-offense fine
- $150
- Second-offense fine
- $300
- Third-offense fine
- $450
- Enforcing officers
- Park superintendent, code enforcement, sheriff's deputies
Summary
Sedgwick County bans urinating or defecating in public view at any county park, lake or recreational area under Code Sec. 20-118, a class H violation carrying a $150 fine for a first offense, $300 for a second and $450 for a third within 12 months, enforced by park and code enforcement officers under the parks chapter's unhealthy-practices rule.
(a)The following acts are prohibited in any county park, lake or recreational area:(1)Use or possession of a glass beverage bottle and/or container by any person.(2)Urinating or defecating in public view by any person.(3)Washing soiled diapers or emptying or rinsing out other clothing items or receptacles containing human or animal waste or excrement in the waters of any county lake by any person.(4)Discharging or causing discharge of any waste from any vehicle except into designated dump stations.(b)Violations.(2)Urinate/defecate in public view. It is a violation of this article for any person to urinate or defecate in public view. Urinate/defecate in public view is a class H violation.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 22 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 20 of the Sedgwick County Code governs parks, lakes and recreational areas, including Lake Afton Park and Sedgwick County Park. Section 20-118, 'Unhealthy practices,' lists four acts banned across every county park, lake or recreational area: possessing a glass beverage container, urinating or defecating in public view, washing soiled diapers or waste-soaked items in a county lake, and discharging vehicle waste anywhere but a designated dump station. Urinating or defecating in public view is singled out as a class H violation, one step above the county's default class F classification set by Sec.
8-5(b). Under the county's Schedule of Fines (Sec. 8-5), a class H conviction runs $150 for a first offense within a 12-month period, $300 for a second, and $450 for a third, separate from the general $500 cap set by Sec. 1-8 for code violations without their own classification. Enforcement runs through the park superintendent, county code enforcement officers and county law enforcement officers, who may issue a uniform complaint and notice to appear under the procedures in Chapter 8 of the Code. This rule reaches county-controlled park property; the Code's general territorial-applicability section, Sec.
1-7, otherwise limits the county's ordinances to unincorporated areas and land within three miles of a city's corporate limits, so the park ban applies specifically to the park system itself rather than open ground across the unincorporated county at large.
Violations & Fines
Urinating or defecating in public view at a county park, lake or recreational area is a class H violation: $150 for a first offense in a 12-month span, $300 for a second, and $450 for a third, per the Sec. 8-5 fine schedule. Park superintendents and county code or law enforcement officers issue the uniform complaint and notice to appear; prosecution follows the county court procedures in Chapter 8.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the county's public urination ban apply anywhere outside its parks?
What other acts are grouped with public urination under 'unhealthy practices'?
How much does a repeat violation cost?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Sedgwick County
Compare Sedgwick County to another location·View the Kansas public conduct overview
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