Broomfield, CO Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Section 9-80-010 defines an open container as any container whose manufacturer seal has been broken, and public place to include streets, parking lots, city parks, sidewalks adjoining a city park, and private property open to or used by the general public. The ban in 9-80-020(A) covers drinking, possessing, or controlling an open container in those places or in any vehicle located there, and 9-80-020(B) separately bans a vehicle operator from drinking, possessing, controlling, or allowing any open alcohol inside the vehicle while it operates in a public place.

Four exceptions exist under 9-80-020(C): private property owners or their agents on their own property; a Parks and Recreation department alcohol permit; a permit issued by the city manager for other public places; and a licensed common consumption area under Section 5-28-260. Section 9-80-030 sets the standards for those city manager and Parks and Recreation permits: the applicant must be at least 21, the permit is valid one day only for one specific location, applications go in at least ten days ahead, consumption cannot run before 10:00 a.m. or after 11:00 p.m., food must be available at the event, and no drinking is allowed within 500 feet of a school during school hours or within 50 feet of a public street when the permit covers a park.