Clinton Township, MI Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)
Key Facts
- Prohibited locations
- streets, sidewalks, public-facing property
- Parking lots
- expressly treated as covered public places
- Governing section
- 608.02, Consumption in Public Places
- Default penalty
- up to $500 fine / 93 days jail (202.99)
Summary
Clinton Township bans drinking beer, wine, or liquor anywhere in public outside of a building, including on sidewalks, streets, and parking lots. The ordinance specifically treats parking lots as covered public space, so an open container in a lot is treated the same as one on a sidewalk.
No person shall consume any alcoholic liquor, beer or wine in or upon the public highways or sidewalks or any other property open to the public outside of any building, dwelling or other structure. Any and all parking lots or other places designed and intended for the parking of motor vehicles are intended and shall be construed as places within the prohibition herein stated.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-25: Local legislation current through May 26, 2026).
Full Breakdown
02 of the Codified Ordinances prohibits consuming any alcoholic liquor, beer or wine in or upon the public highways or sidewalks or any other property open to the public outside of any building, dwelling or other structure. The section goes further than most open-container laws by expressly reaching parking lots: it states that any parking lot or other place designed and intended for parking motor vehicles is to be treated as covered by the prohibition, so drinking in a public parking lot is treated the same as drinking on the street.
01's separate bans on furnishing liquor to anyone under twenty-one and on carrying outside alcohol into an establishment licensed to sell it. 99, which sets a default fine of up to $500, up to 93 days in jail, or both, for any offense the Code makes unlawful without spelling out its own punishment.
Violations & Fines
A Section 608.02 violation falls under the Code's general penalty, Section 202.99: up to a $500 fine, up to 93 days in jail, or both, and each day a violation continues can count as a separate offense. There is no lesser civil-infraction track written into Chapter 608 for public drinking; it is prosecuted like any other unlawful act under the general penalty clause.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I drink a beer in a parking lot in Clinton Township?
Does the open-container ban apply on private property?
What is the penalty for public drinking in Clinton Township?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Clinton Township
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Public Alcohol Use in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Macomb County handle public alcohol use.