Goodyear, AZ Public Conduct: Loud Party Ordinance (2026)

Section 11-1-28 of the Goodyear City Code lets police issue a civil citation for an 'Unruly Gathering' whenever 10 or more people assemble on private or public property in a way that threatens public peace, health, safety or welfare, defined to include excessive noise, blocked traffic, drug use, drinking in public areas, alcohol service to minors, fighting, disturbing the peace or littering. Liability extends beyond whoever is present: the ordinance defines 'Responsible Person' to include any owner, tenant, guest, sponsor, host or organizer aware of the event, plus any owner notified of a prior Unruly Gathering at the same address within the past 180 days, even if that owner was not there.

Once an officer responds and determines a threat exists, the premises must be posted with an Unruly Gathering Notice describing the date of the incident and the right to contest it. A second police response to the same premises or the same Responsible Person within 90 days of the first triggers higher fines, and a third response within 120 days of the second draws the maximum penalty tier. An owner or occupant may contest a posting by filing a written petition in Goodyear Municipal Court within 10 days of posting, or 15 days if notice was mailed; the City must then prove the posting was justified at a hearing set within 15 days.

An owner may also petition at any time to have a notice removed by showing reasonable steps were taken to prevent recurrence, unless that owner was present and part of the unruly conduct. Removing, defacing or concealing a posted notice is itself a separate civil infraction. The Goodyear Police Department enforces the section on its own initiative or on a resident complaint, using officer discretion based on the nature of the property involved.