Wilmington, NC Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

Wilmington City Code Sec. 6-21 makes it a misdemeanor to urinate or defecate, or to cause human urine or feces to be placed, on any public place, street, road, highway, alleyway, sidewalk, right-of-way, or inside a public building unless a person uses a designated water closet or toilet facility. The same prohibition extends onto private property: relieving yourself on someone else's lot without permission is also a violation. Subsection (b) gives one narrow way out: if the owner or person in lawful possession of the private property has given written permission, that permission is an affirmative defense to the charge.

Verbal consent, an assumed okay from a business owner, or general public access to a parking lot does not qualify; the code requires it in writing. of 8-18-98, § 1, and was last amended by Ord. No. O-2021-84, § 1(Exh. 2, § 3) on November 16, 2021, when the city renumbered several offenses sections. Because Sec. 6-21 sits in Chapter 6, 'Offenses; Miscellaneous,' enforcement runs through the Wilmington Police Department and the charge is prosecuted as a criminal misdemeanor rather than a civil citation, unlike many of the noise violations in the adjoining Article II.

There is no separate civil fine schedule listed for this section; the only stated consequence in the text is the misdemeanor classification itself. Downtown's riverfront bars and the Riverwalk corridor, both areas with heavy foot traffic and limited public restrooms, are common enforcement points, but the statute's language covers any public place citywide, from residential sidewalks to city parking decks.