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) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Jan. 28, 2016 file photo, a woman looks at the fencing of an outdoor urinal at a San Francisco MUNI streetcar stop 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) (The Associated Press)

A religious organization is suing the city 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 through plants for privacy, "emanates offensive odors," ''has no hand-washing facilities" and "it's offensive to manners and morals."

The City Attorney's office says it will defend the litigation and points out the 16-acre park is well-known for its "counter culture, immodest sunbathers, pot brownie vendors, spectacular city views, and famously irreverent 'Hunky Jesus' contest."

It says residents advocated for the facility, called a "pissoir" (piss-Wah), to stop people from urinating on walls, bushes and sidewalks.