A. 
The city council finds that public urination and defecation present threats to public health and safety, degrade community appearance and quality of life, and impose avoidable clean-up costs on the city and private property owners.
B. 
This chapter is intended to provide a narrowly tailored, content-neutral prohibition that is enforceable while recognizing medical necessity, disability-related circumstances, true emergencies, and situations in which no reasonably accessible restroom is available.
C. 
This chapter shall be construed consistent with state and federal law, including disability accommodation requirements.
(Ord. 476 § 1, 2025)
For purposes of this chapter:
A. 
"Bodily waste"
means human urine or feces.
B. 
"Defecate"
means to discharge feces from the body.
C. 
"Public place"
means any area generally open to, or used by, the public, whether publicly or privately owned, including without limitation streets, sidewalks, alleys, plazas, parks, trails, transit facilities, parking lots or structures, doorways, building entrances, landscaped areas open to the public, and the exterior grounds of commercial centers.
D. 
"Public right-of-way"
means any street, roadway, median, sidewalk, parkway, or similar area dedicated for public travel or public use.
E. 
"Reasonably accessible restroom"
means a functioning toilet facility that is (1) open for use by the public or by the person at the time of the alleged violation, (2) located within a distance a reasonable person can reach without undue delay given the circumstances, and (3) does not require payment, purchase, or membership to enter.
F. 
"Urinate"
means to discharge urine from the body.
(Ord. 476 § 1, 2025)
A. 
No person shall intentionally or knowingly urinate or defecate in a public place or within the public right-of-way.
B. 
No person shall intentionally or knowingly urinate or defecate upon private property without the consent of the property owner, lawful occupant, or person in charge.
C. 
Nothing in this chapter authorizes exposure of the genitals or buttocks in public; conduct meeting the elements of state indecent-exposure statutes may be separately enforced.
(Ord. 476 § 1, 2025)
A. 
Medical necessity. It is an affirmative defense that, due to a documented medical condition (including incontinence, ostomy, or similar conditions), the person could not reasonably avoid the act, and took reasonable steps to minimize public impact.
B. 
Caretaker assistance. It is an affirmative defense that the person acted while providing necessary assistance to an individual with a qualifying disability, and took reasonable steps to minimize public impact.
C. 
Young children. It is an affirmative defense that the person is a child under five years of age, or a supervising caregiver addressing the needs of such a child, and promptly removed and properly disposed of any bodily waste and sanitized the area.
D. 
Emergency with no reasonably accessible restroom. It is an affirmative defense that: (1) the need was urgent; (2) no reasonably accessible restroom existed as defined in Section 8.44.020(E); and (3) the person promptly and properly contained and disposed of the bodily waste and reasonably sanitized the area.
(Ord. 476 § 1, 2025)
A. 
Misdemeanor. Unless charged or reduced as an infraction under Subsection B, a violation of this chapter is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in county jail, a fine of up to one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or both.
B. 
Reduction or charging as infraction. In the interests of justice, the city attorney may in their discretion (1) file a violation of this chapter as an infraction, or (2) move to reduce a misdemeanor charge under this chapter to an infraction at any time before judgment. The fine for the first violation shall be one hundred dollars ($100.00); second violation within one year shall be two hundred dollars ($200.00); each additional violation within one year shall be five hundred dollars ($500.00), unless the city council has adopted a different infraction fine schedule.
C. 
Officer discretion; warnings. Nothing in this chapter limits an officer's discretion to issue a warning in lieu of citation or to refer eligible persons to available social-services resources.
D. 
Continuing violation. Each act in violation of this chapter is a separate offense. Where a single course of conduct constitutes multiple acts, each act may be charged separately.
(Ord. 476 § 1, 2025)
A. 
The city may immediately abate and remediate bodily waste in any public place or public right-of-way.
B. 
The city may recover its actual and reasonable remediation costs from a person convicted or found liable for violating this chapter, as permitted by law, through civil action or cost-recovery procedures.
C. 
A violation of this chapter is declared a public nuisance and may be abated in any manner allowed by law, in addition to the penalties provided here.
(Ord. 476 § 1, 2025)