Meriden, CT Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Meriden Code Chapter 61, Alcoholic Beverages, adopted by the City Council on December 6, 1982, defines PUBLIC HIGHWAY as any highway, road, street, avenue, boulevard or other way within and under the control of the City of Meriden and open to public use, including sidewalks. Section 61-1 defines POSSESSION WITH INTENT TO CONSUME as having alcoholic liquor in a glass, open bottle, open can or other open container so as to permit consumption, and adopts the state definition of ALCOHOLIC LIQUOR from C.G.S. Section 30-1(3).

Section 61-2 prohibits consuming or possessing with intent to consume alcoholic liquor on or within the limits of any public highway, sidewalk, or parking area in the City of Meriden, and expressly extends the ban to a parked vehicle sitting within or upon a public highway, sidewalk, or parking area. The only carve-out is Section 61-3, which lets the Chief of Police issue a written permit authorizing alcohol sale, service or distribution at a public function, festival or celebration held on a public highway, sidewalk or parking area; even under that permit, Section 61-3C still bars consumption or possession in parked vehicles at any time.

Section 61-4, added February 18, 2003, separately restricts possession and consumption by anyone under 21 unless accompanied by a parent, guardian, or spouse who is 21 or older, and lets any Meriden police officer enforce that provision by citation. Section 61-5, amended September 16, 1996, sets the penalty for the chapter at a fine of $50 to $90 for each violation, applied per instance rather than as a single flat fine.