Thornton, CO Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)
Key Facts
- Prohibited locations
- Streets, alleys, highways, public parking lots
- Also covers
- Any area 'open to public view'
- Exception
- Areas specifically designated for the purpose
- Penalty
- Fine under Sec. 1-8(a)
- Code section
- City Code § 38-271
Summary
Thornton makes it a crime to urinate or defecate on any public street, alley, or highway, in a public parking lot, or in any area open to public view that isn't designated for that purpose. Section 38-271 has stood in the City Code since 1986 and is enforced by Thornton police as a municipal offense.
It shall be unlawful for any person to urinate or defecate on any public street, alley or highway, or in any public parking lot, or in any area open to public view not specifically designated for that purpose.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 65).
Full Breakdown
" The section sits in Division 1 of Article VII, "Offenses Against Public Peace or Safety," alongside the city's disorderly conduct, obscenity, and lascivious peeping ordinances, which the City Code groups together as public-decency offenses. It traces back to the 1975 Code § 33-13, was carried into today's numbering by Ordinance No. 1625 in 1986, and was last amended by Ordinance No. 2340 in 1994. Because the section has no separate penalty clause, a conviction is punished under the city's general municipal penalty at Section 1-8(a), which authorizes a fine up to the maximum amount state law allows for municipal courts but does not itself impose jail time.
Thornton police issue citations for the offense, and, as with other Chapter 38 offenses, a person under 18 cannot be incarcerated for it except for contempt of court or failing to obey a lawful court order.
Violations & Fines
A person convicted of urinating or defecating in public under Section 38-271 is punished as provided in Section 1-8(a) of the City Code: a fine up to the maximum amount authorized by state law for municipal courts. The general penalty section bars jail time for anyone under 18 except for contempt or violating a court order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is public urination illegal everywhere in Thornton, or just downtown?
Does it matter if no one actually saw the act?
What's the penalty for a first public urination citation in Thornton?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Thornton
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Public Urination in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Adams County handle public urination.