Boynton Beach, FL Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

City Code Sec. 3-5 makes it unlawful to drink or possess any alcoholic beverage in or within 500 feet of a commercial establishment's parking lot, except where beverage law, a state legislative act, the Florida Administrative Code, or a City approval expressly allows it. Consumption is allowed on private property within that 500-foot buffer only if the property owner has explicitly consented. Open containers, other than sealed original containers, are also banned inside motor vehicles operating on public or semi-public travel areas, and no one may consume or possess alcohol on public streets or alleys, or outside a building in a nonresidential zone, unless an alcohol-licensed establishment has provided permanent seating for patrons.

The City Manager can issue a Special Event permit allowing outdoor service and consumption on public or private nonresidentially zoned property for up to 12 hours a day; the applicant must request it at the time of the Special Event application and may be bound to conditions protecting public health and safety. Exemptions cover bottle and can collectors, litter-campaign volunteers, licensed distributors transporting sealed stock for commercial purposes, containers locked in a trunk or glove compartment, and chauffeured vehicles such as taxis, buses, and limousines where the driver is not drinking.

Any business selling alcohol for on- or off-premises consumption must conspicuously post a notice, at least 93 square inches with 30-point type, warning that purchase or sale to anyone under 21 is unlawful and listing a violation-reporting phone number, such as the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco line. Failure to post the notice is itself a chapter violation. Because Sec. 3-5 carries no separate penalty clause, enforcement falls to the City's general penalty provision, Sec. 1-6, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense.