Lancaster, CA Public Conduct: Loud Party Ordinance (2026)

Section 9.22.050 makes it unlawful for a "responsible person", defined in Section 9.22.030 to include any owner, tenant, host or organizer of a gathering, to conduct, host, permit or allow a gathering while knowing or reasonably should know underage drinking or unruly conduct is occurring or has occurred. Presence at the property during an unruly gathering is itself treated as actual or constructive knowledge; a responsible person who is absent can still be found to have known based on a prior warning or citation, or on the totality of circumstances an enforcing officer finds.

"Unruly conduct" is defined broadly in Section 9.22.030 to include fights, assaults or batteries, sexual offenses, vandalism, public intoxication, underage possession or service of controlled substances, crowds spilling into public streets, street obstruction, excessive noise and excessive traffic. A responsible person avoids liability under Section 9.22.050(C) only by taking all reasonable steps, such as controlling alcohol access, checking ID, supervising minors and removing offenders, and then calling law enforcement to remove attendees or terminate the gathering before anyone else complains.

Section 9.22.060 declares an unruly gathering a public nuisance subject to abatement, including an order to disband, and makes any violation a separate misdemeanor apart from the administrative citation track. Section 9.22.070 sets the citation fee schedule and requires the city manager to receive a copy within five days; Section 9.22.080 gives a cited host ten calendar days to file a written appeal, with a deposit equal to the citation amount and a right to a hearing before an independent hearing officer.