CITY OF
Item No. 17
AGENDA REPORT
DATE: November 10, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Trevor Benson, Public Safety Director
SUBJECT: Ordinance No. 476 — Prohibition of Public Urination RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council:
1. Approve the introduction and first reading of Ordinance No. 476, an ordinance of the City Council of the City of Yucaipa, California, adding Section 8.44 to the Yucaipa Municipal Code to prohibit urination or defecation in public places, with violations chargeable as misdemeanors or infractions enforceable by law; and
2. Direct the City Clerk to schedule the second reading and adoption on the consent calendar at the next regular meeting.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
The City of Yucaipa has received increasing reports and complaints regarding individuals engaging in public urination in uptown areas, city parks, near trailheads, and behind commercial establishments. These incidents have raised concerns about sanitation, public decency, and safety.
Currently, the Yucaipa Municipal Code does not contain a specific provision prohibiting urination or defecation in public. While certain acts may be prosecuted under existing state laws, they often fail to address the public health and quality -of -life concerns associated with this behavior at the local level. Establishing a clear local ordinance will provide law enforcement officers with an appropriate and enforceable tool to address these offenses promptly.
Adoption of Section 8.44 will make it unlawful for any person to urinate or defecate in or upon any street, sidewalk, alley, plaza, park, parking lot, public building, or other public place, except within designated restroom facilities.
Key provisions of the proposed ordinance include:
• Prohibition of public urination or defecation in any public or publicly accessible area. • Classification of violations as either misdemeanors or infractions at the discretion of the City Attorney or the enforcing officer.
• Allowance for enforcement by the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department and the City's Code Enforcement Division.
Public Safety and Health Implications:
Public urination or defecation poses significant health and safety issues, including:
• Spread of communicable diseases and unsanitary conditions, particularly in public parks and recreational areas.
• Deterioration of public spaces and increased maintenance and cleaning costs. • Negative impact on local businesses and tourism due to offensive odors and visible waste. • Erosion of the city's family -friendly and community -oriented environment.
By adopting Section 8.44, the City of Yucaipa reinforces its commitment to maintaining public health, safety, and quality of life for all residents and visitors.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The recommendations do not result in a fiscal impact.
Attachment(s):
1. Ordinance No. 476 Municipal Code Section 8.44 — Prohibition of Public Urination.
Approved by;
-n'
ATTACHMENT 1
ORDINANCE NO. 476
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF YUCAIPA, CALIFORNIA, ADDING CHAPTER 8.44 (PROHIBITION ON PUBLIC URINATION AND DEFECATION) TO TITLE 8 OF THE YUCAIPA MUNICIPAL CODE WHEREAS, the City Council finds that public urination and defecation create unsanitary and unsafe conditions, including the spread of pathogens, foul odors, contamination of sidewalks, public rights -of -way, parks, parking lots, and other public and private places, and thereby pose an immediate threat to public health and quality of life; and WHEREAS, such conduct also creates visual blight and deters residents, visitors, and businesses from lawfully using public spaces and facilities, thereby undermining community wellbeing and economic vitality; and
WHEREAS, the City has received complaints and observed conditions indicating that existing laws are not sufficiently tailored to address public urination and defecation in all locations where the conduct may occur, and that a clear, uniform, and enforceable local standard is necessary; and WHEREAS, establishing definitions, prohibited conduct, and narrowly drawn exceptions promotes fair notice to the public and facilitates consistent, even-handed enforcement by peace officers and code enforcement personnel; and
WHEREAS, the ordinance provides reasonable exceptions for exigent circumstances, bona fide medical emergencies or conditions, the assistance of children, and other situations where enforcement would be inappropriate or contrary to the public interest; and WHEREAS, the ordinance authorizes enforcement as either an infraction or a misdemeanor, allowing proportionate responses to differing circumstances and encouraging voluntary compliance; and
WHEREAS, the ordinance also declares violations to be a public nuisance subject to the City's abatement authority, thereby providing civil tools to promptly remedy unsanitary conditions that endanger public health and the environment; and
WHEREAS, adopting local standards will complement, and is not preempted by, state law and is consistent with the City's existing municipal code provisions addressing public health, sanitation, and nuisance abatement; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds the ordinance to be consistent with the City's goals of maintaining clean, accessible, and safe public spaces for all users, including families, children, seniors, and persons with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the ordinance is necessary, reasonable, and properly tailored to address identified public health and safety concerns while preserving appropriate discretion and safeguards in enforcement.
1 NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF YUCAIPA, CALIFORNIA, DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Municipal Code Amendment.
Chapter 8.44, "Prohibition on Public Urination and Defecation" is hereby added to Title 8 of the Yucaipa Municipal Code to read as follows:
Chapter 8.44
Prohibition on Public Urination and Defecation
8.44.010 Purpose and findings.
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.
8.44.020 Definitions.
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 2 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.
8.44.030 Prohibited conduct.
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.
8.44.040 Exceptions and affirmative defenses.
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 5 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.
8.44.050 Enforcement; penalties; charging and reduction.
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 $1,000, 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 3 charge under this Chapter to an infraction at any time before judgment. The fine for the first violation shall be $100; second violation within one year shall be $200; each additional violation within one year shall be $500, 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.
8.44.060 Clean-up; remediation; cost recovery; nuisance.
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.
8.44.070 Non-discrimination; disability accommodations.
Enforcement shall be conducted in a neutral, nondiscriminatory manner. Officers and prosecutors shall reasonably accommodate persons with disabilities consistent with state and federal law, including consideration of the defenses in Section 8.44.040.
Section 2. California Environmental Quality Act.
The City Council finds and determines that this Ordinance is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15061(b)(3) (common sense exemption) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the adoption of this Ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment.
Section 3. Codification; Authority.
The City Clerk is authorized and directed to codify Chapter 8.44, as set forth in Section 1 of this Ordinance, into the Yucaipa Municipal Code. This Ordinance is adopted pursuant to the City's police powers under Article XI, section 7 of the California Constitution and Government Code sections 36900-36901.
4 Section 4. Severability.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance or its application to any person or circumstance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions or applications of this Ordinance. The City Council declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, and phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, or phrases be declared invalid.
Section 5. No Conflict; Construction; Cumulative Remedies.
A. This Ordinance shall not be construed to permit any act prohibited by state or federal law.
B. The remedies provided in Chapter 8.44 and in this Ordinance are cumulative and in addition to any other remedies available at law or in equity.
C. This Ordinance shall be construed to be consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act and applicable state disability -rights laws, and nothing herein shall be applied in a manner that unlawfully discriminates against any person.
Section 6. Publication and Certification.
The City Clerk shall certify to the passage of this Ordinance and shall cause the same to be published or posted in accordance with state law.
Section 7. Effective Date.
This Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after its passage. \\
5 Section 8. Execution; Implementation; Clerical Corrections.
The Mayor is authorized to sign this Ordinance, and the City Clerk shall attest to the same. The City Manager, Police Chief, and City Attorney are authorized to take such actions as may be necessary and appropriate to implement this Ordinance, including the preparation of forms, notices, and administrative procedures. The City Clerk, in consultation with the City Attorney, is authorized to make non -substantive, clerical corrections and formatting changes to the Ordinance and codified text that do not affect its meaning or intent.
PASSED, APPROVED and ADOPTED this day of , 2025.
Jon Thorp, Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM
Ana V. Sauseda, MMC Steven Graham Pacifico
Director of General Services/City Clerk City Attorney
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