Everett, MA Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Section 13-1(a) of the Everett Revised Ordinances, adopted by the Everett City Council in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, makes two acts unlawful: drinking an alcoholic beverage, and possessing one in any open or partially consumed container. The text expressly counts an empty or partial container that is open and in the person's possession or control. The ban covers any public way, any way the public has a right of access to, any place the public enters as invitees or licensees, any park or playground, and private land or a private place where the owner or person in control has not consented. A police officer can arrest, without a warrant, anyone who violates the section in the officer's presence.

Section 13-1(b) requires that alcohol used in a violation be seized and safely held until final adjudication of the charge against the person arrested or summoned before the court. At that point it is returned to the person entitled to lawful possession.

Subsection (c) is a second, stricter rule for municipal property. Nobody can serve or consume alcoholic beverages on city owned property or inside city owned buildings, and the ban reaches any event or function there, whether public or private. The one printed exception is a license for beer and wine at city sponsored functions. The City Council grants it by majority vote on written application to the City Clerk, and only if the site is an appropriate location, the use will not adversely affect the neighborhood, and there will be no nuisance or serious hazard to vehicles or pedestrians. A special license covers the date of the function only, is valid only after the Licensing Commission approves a special liquor permit application, can be revoked by the Council at any time for violated conditions, and appeals are heard under the rules of the Board of Appeals.