Constant giggling bled into the Solvang City Council’s discussion of a recent incident that inspired officials to formally ban public urination and defecation within city limits.
A sighting of the latter specifically prompted the legislation, City Manager Randy Murphy explained.
“I don’t think ‘number one’ was the issue here,” Murphy said at the council’s May 11 meeting, followed by some laughs from the dais.
According to the staff report, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office asked the city of Solvang to update its municipal code after deputies came across a person defecating in public and had no grounds to penalize them.
“It was a very unfortunate set of circumstances,” Murphy said. “That came to my attention, and I promptly notified our city attorney that we needed to get this code on the books.”
After Solvang’s legal advisors began looking into existing legislation for guidance, they determined that there’s also nothing in current California state law that prohibits public urination and defecation, City Attorney Craig Steele said.
“So, this is simply an ordinance to make these activities in public a violation of the municipal code so that the sheriff can cite in those,” he paused, “hopefully, limited situations.”
When Mayor David Brown asked staff why Solvang’s never had an ordinance of this kind before, Steele implied that past city leaders probably assumed there was already a state law in place.
“The Legislature adopts approximately 900 laws every year, and it’s hard for me to understand how this has never been on the list,” Steele said. “But that’s what we discovered.”
Councilmember Mark Infanti said he’s heard stories over the years about people peeing near the edges of Solvang’s parking lots during large events in town, but “it’s always just been kind of a joke.”
“We never looked at it, trying to write a code that says: Can’t do that,” Infanti said. “I mean, I don’t think we’re going to have any cops standing around now, seeing anybody.”
Mayor Brown joked that perhaps hosts of future festivals and other large gatherings should consider giving out complimentary adult diapers.
Staff’s proposed addition to the municipal code passed its first reading with a 5-0 vote. The ordinance prohibits people from depositing “any human urine or feces upon any public place,” while defining public places as alleys, streets, highways, sidewalks, parkways, parking lots, playgrounds, school grounds, bus stops, and other properties.
The new potty policy’s second reading is scheduled for May 26. If passed, the rules will go into effect in late June.
“I think this is a no-brainer,” Brown said before motioning for adoption.
“Can I be number two?” Councilmember Louise Smith joked before seconding Brown’s motion.
This article appears in May 14 – May 21, 2026.
