Washoe County, NV Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

171, enacted by Ordinance No. 676, makes it unlawful in the unincorporated area of Washoe County to urinate or defecate on any highway, road, alley, sidewalk or public parking lot, or in any other place that is open to public view, regardless of whether that place is publicly or privately owned. The section borrows its definitions of 'highway,' 'road' and 'alley' from Chapter 70 of the county code, which defines those terms to include the entire width between the boundary lines of the right-of-way, not just the paved travel lanes, so the ban reaches shoulders, drainage ditches and unpaved verges along a county road.

135. Because the statute covers any place open to public view rather than listing specific locations, deputies can cite a person relieving themselves in a parking lot, a park, an alley behind a business, or a front yard visible from the street. There is no exception in the text for emergencies, intoxication, or lack of nearby facilities; the only limits on enforcement come from the officer's discretion and the requirement that the act actually occur on the listed public property or in public view. 050, which authorizes a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months in the county jail, or both, with each day of a continuing violation charged as a separate offense.