Public Conduct in Boulder, CO (2026)
8 verified public conduct rules for Boulder, Colorado, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Aggressive Panhandling
Boulder does not outlaw panhandling, but Section 5-3-7 bans aggressive begging: soliciting money or anything of value in close proximity to someone while being intimidating, threatening, coercive, obscene, or using fighting words, whether the panhandler acts alone or with an accomplice.
Boulder Aggressive Begging Ban
Some RestrictionsB.R.C. 1981 § 5-3-7
5-3-7. - Aggressive Begging Prohibited. (a)No person shall beg or solicit aggressively for a gift of money or any thing of value on any public street, sidewalk, way, mall, park, building, or other public property or on any private property open to the public while in close proximity to the individual addressed. Aggressive begging means begging or soliciting accompanied by or followed immediatel...
Public Urination
Boulder makes it a Title 5 offense to urinate or defecate on the mall, in any city park, on residential property without the owner's permission, or anywhere zoned business, industrial, or public, under B.R.C. § 5-6-7. The only exception is voiding into an enclosed, sanitary receptacle installed for that purpose, so there is no general necessity defense.
Boulder Public Urination and Defecation Ban
Significant RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code (B.R.C. 1981) § 5-6-7
No person shall urinate or defecate while on the mall, in any city park within the city limits, on any property zoned for residential uses without the express permission of the owner, or within any portion of the city zoned for business, industrial, or public uses, unless such voiding is made into a receptacle that has been provided for that purpose that stores or disposes of the wastes in a sa...
Skateboarding Rules
Boulder bans riding a skateboard, skates, coaster, or similar wheeled device anywhere on the downtown Pearl Street Mall under B.R.C. § 5-6-8. The ban is geographically narrow, it applies only to the pedestrian mall, not to sidewalks, streets, or bike paths citywide, but within that footprint it is an outright prohibition with no permit or exception written into the section.
Boulder Skateboard Ban on Downtown Mall
Significant RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code (B.R.C. 1981) § 5-6-8
No person on the mall shall ride upon the mall any skateboard, skates, coaster, or other similar device.
Loud Party Ordinance
Hosts, not just guests, are on the hook in Boulder: Section 5-3-11 bars anyone with possessory control of a property from hosting or permitting a social gathering that becomes a public nuisance, triggered by specific code violations like fighting, property damage, excess noise, or an open keg visible from the street.
Boulder Nuisance Party Ordinance
Some RestrictionsB.R.C. 1981 § 5-3-11
5-3-11. - Nuisance Party Prohibited. (a)No owner, occupant, tenant, or other person having possessory control, individually or jointly with others, of any premises shall sponsor, conduct, host, or permit a social gathering or party on the premises which is or becomes a public nuisance where such nuisance is either the intentional result of, or reasonably anticipated by, the person or persons ha...
Outdoor Smoking Restrictions
Boulder bans smoking outdoors in a broad list of public places: downtown's Pearl Street Mall district, parks, open space and mountain parks land, trails and within twenty-five feet of them, libraries, transit stops, the City Municipal Campus, and the Boulder High School area. A separate section bans smoking on any outdoor patio or seating area at a restaurant or tavern. Sections 6-4-3.5 and 6-4-5.5 govern.
Boulder's Outdoor Public Smoking Ban
Heavy RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code (B.R.C.) 1981 § 6-4-3.5
No person shall smoke in a public area:(a)In the Downtown Boulder Business Improvement District including the Mall;(b)On any park, parkland or facility;(c)On any open space and mountain parks property;(d)On any trail, path or multi-use paths and within twenty-five feet on both sides of any trail, path or multi-use path;(e)Within twenty-five feet of a library facility;(f)Within twenty-five feet ...
Jaywalking
Boulder Revised Code Section 7-5-17 bans crossing a street anywhere but a route at right angles to the curb, and bars crossing within fifty feet of a signalized intersection's crosswalk. Pedestrians in marked crosswalks or on streets designated shared streets are exempt from both restrictions.
Boulder Jaywalking and Mid-Block Crossing Rule
Light RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code § 7-5-17
(a)No pedestrian shall cross a roadway other than by a route at right angles to the curb or by the shortest route to the opposite curb.(b)Where a traffic control signal is in operation at an intersection, no pedestrian shall cross a roadway within fifty feet of the crosswalk at the intersection except in the crosswalk in conformance with Section 7-5-15, "Pedestrian Obedience to Traffic Signal R...
Public Marijuana Use
Boulder Revised Code § 5-10-2 bans consuming marijuana anywhere the public can be: on public streets and rights-of-way, in vehicles, in buildings or on property open to the public, and on private property the public may freely enter, such as a store's parking lot. Driving or riding in the driver's seat while marijuana is being consumed in the vehicle is a separate violation of the same section.
Boulder Public Marijuana Consumption Ban
Heavy RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code § 5-10-2
(a)No person shall consume any marijuana in public.(b)For purposes of this section,in public means:(1)In or upon any public way or public right-of-way, whether in a vehicle or not;(2)On any property or in any building that is owned, leased, used by, or open to the public; or(3)In or upon those portions of any private property upon which the public has an express or implied license to enter or r...
Public Alcohol Use
Boulder bans possessing an open container of, or drinking, any liquor or fermented malt beverage in public under B.R.C. § 5-7-2, unless the location is licensed for on-site consumption. "In public" sweeps in streets, parks, parking lots, and any private property where the public has an implied license to enter, and a passenger's open container even makes the driver of the car liable.
Boulder Public Alcohol Possession Ban
Some RestrictionsBoulder Revised Code (B.R.C. 1981) § 5-7-2
(a)No person shall possess an opened container of or consume any malt, vinous, or spirituous liquor or fermented malt beverage in public, except upon premises licensed for consumption of the liquor or beverage involved. ... (c)For purposes of this section, in public means:(1)In or upon any public highway, street, alley, walk, parking lot, building, city park, parkway, recreation area, open spac...
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County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Boulder city rules.
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