York County, VA Public Conduct: Public Urination (2026)

Sec. 17-38, titled "Sewage disposal and care of comfort stations," sits in Article III of Chapter 17, Public Area Property Use and Sanitation Regulations, alongside the natural-resources and litter rules in Sec. 17-35 and Sec. 17-37. The section does three things at once: it prohibits depositing any body waste in or on any portion of a comfort station or other public structure except into the fixtures built for that purpose; it flatly bans urinating or defecating anywhere in a York County public area other than at the places provided for it, carving out only wilderness or other remote areas as an exception; and it bars placing bottles, cans, cloth, rags, metal, wood or stone in the plumbing fixtures of any comfort station or structure.

The section closes by requiring all comfort stations to be used in a clean, sanitary and orderly manner, which reads as a general-duty clause enforceable alongside the specific bans. Because Sec. 17-38 sets no penalty of its own, the Chapter 17 default in Sec. 17-4 applies, and the appropriate governing official, under Sec. 17-3(a), can eject anyone caught violating the section from the public area.