The State of California stipulates that all public and privately owned buildings where the public gathers be equipped with enough restrooms to meet the needs of the public at peak hours. This includes sports and entertainment arenas, amusement parks, community halls and event centers. Different rules apply to restaurants, coffee shops and the like but, in general, all businesses that serve food for consumption on site should provide some sort of public restroom for their customers and guests.
Read More: Rules & Regulations for Business Public Restrooms
Food Establishments
Restaurants, coffee shops and other eat-in food facilities must provide clean restrooms for customers and guests. For larger buildings of more than 20,000 square feet, there should be at least one separate restroom for men and one for women; smaller buildings meet code if they provide one single-occupancy restroom. Buildings of less than 20,000 square feet constructed before 2004 do not have to provide public restrooms but they must alert customers to this fact with prominent signage. Where there's no public restroom, it's up the individual establishment to decide whether it lets customers use the restroom facilities meant for employees.
Public Buildings
Places where the public congregates such as sports and entertainment arenas, community halls, convention centers, stadiums, amusement arenas and ski resorts must have sufficient temporary or permanent restrooms to meet the needs of the public at peak hours. This rule applies whether the building is public or privately owned. Hotels are excluded from this legislation as are most historic buildings due to difficulties in adapting these properties.
Equal Restroom Access Act
California has some of the most inclusive public restroom laws in the country. Essentially, any business or public building with single-occupancy restrooms must designate the restrooms as gender-neutral. The recommended symbol comprises a geometric symbol of a triangle superimposed on a circle. If words are used, they must be written in gender-neutral language such as "All-Gender Restroom," "Unisex," "Gender-Neutral," "All Welcome" or simply "Restroom."
Other Requirements
California has various plumbing codes in place to ensure that public bathrooms meet minimum health standards. The codes prescribe everything from the location of restrooms – for example, you can't have customers passing through food preparation areas to reach the public restroom facilities – to the type of door to be fitted to toilet cubicles and technical details for sanitary drainage. Each city or county may specify its own rules. Regardless of whether a restroom is required by law, if it is provided, it must meet the standards laid down by the Americans with Disabilities Act and current California accessibility standards.
Read More: California ADA Restroom Requirements