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Tuesday, November 10, 2026Nov 10

Religious group sues San Francisco over open-air urinal

FILE - In this Jan. 28, 2016 file photo, passengers who exited a San Francisco MUNI streetcar walk past an outdoor urinal across from Dolores Park in San Francisco. A religious organization is suing the city San Francisco to remove the open-air urinal it calls unsanitary and offensive to the senses from a popular park. The San Francisco Chinese Christian Union filed a civil complaint on Thursday, April 14, 2016, demanding the city remove the concrete circular urinal from the iconic Dolores Park.  (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
FILE - In this Jan. 28, 2016 file photo, passengers who exited a San Francisco MUNI streetcar walk past an outdoor urinal across from Dolores Park in San Francisco. A religious organization is suing the city San Francisco to remove the open-air urinal it calls unsanitary and offensive to the senses from a popular park. The San Francisco Chinese Christian Union filed a civil complaint on Thursday, April 14, 2016, demanding the city remove the concrete circular urinal from the iconic Dolores Park. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File) FILE - In this Jan. 28, 2016 file photo, passengers who exited a San Francisco MUNI streetcar walk past an outdoor urinal across from Dolores Park in San Francisco. A religious organization is suing the city San Francisco to remove the open-air urinal it calls unsanitary and offensive to the senses from a popular park. The San Francisco Chinese Christian Union filed a civil complaint on Thursday, April 14, 2016, demanding the city remove the concrete circular urinal from the iconic Dolores Park. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – A religious organization has filed a lawsuit against the city of San Francisco to remove an open-air urinal it calls unsanitary and indecent from a popular park.

The Chinese Christian Union of San Francisco filed a civil complaint last week demanding the city remove the concrete circular urinal from the iconic Dolores Park.

The group says the urinal, which is out in the open and screened only with plants for privacy, “emanates offensive odors,” ”has no hand-washing facilities” and “it’s offensive to manners and morals.”

The lawsuit further alleges that the facility installed in February discriminates against women and the disabled and exposes those who use it to “shame and embarrassment.”

“The open-air urination hole violates the privacy of those who need to use the restroom but would be required to expose their bodies and suffer shame and degradation of urinating in public view,” it says.