Tempe, AZ Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

Sec. ' The prohibition is not limited to parks, sidewalks or downtown; by its terms it covers all public and private property in the City, with the only carve-out being an actual toilet facility. 00) per violation,' well below the Class 1 misdemeanor tier that Tempe uses for offenses like obstructing public ways (Sec. 22-4) or hindering police (Sec. 22-6). The ordinance dates to Ord. No. 39, adopted July 30, 1992, and appears in Chapter 22 alongside the City's other general public-conduct offenses, including prostitution solicitation, discharge of air rifles and the public obstruction rule.

Because it is charged as a petty offense rather than a misdemeanor, a conviction does not carry the same collateral consequences (such as a criminal record classification) as the Class 1 misdemeanor provisions elsewhere in the same chapter, though it still results in a citation processed through Tempe Municipal Court. Tempe Police typically apply this section downtown, along Mill Avenue and near ASU's campus during high foot-traffic events, where enforcement pairs the $300 petty-offense citation with any separately charged open-container or disorderly-conduct violations.