Monterey, CA Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

City Code § 22-1 prohibits consuming any alcoholic beverage, or simply possessing an open container of one, across a long list of public locations: streets, parks, greenbelts, plazas, sidewalks, alleys, lanes, wharves, piers, walkways and malls, plus any other public place in the city. "Open container" is defined broadly to cover any can, bottle or other receptacle that has been opened, has a broken seal, or has had its contents partially removed, so an unopened six-pack in a bag does not trigger the ban but a resealed bottle does.

The ordinance carves out two situations: alcohol consumption in the specific picnic areas listed in Chapter 23 (Parks and Lakes), and outdoor restaurant or cafe seating operating under a City encroachment permit, which covers sidewalk dining common along Alvarado Street and Cannery Row. The section also exempts people carrying empty alcoholic beverage containers for recycling, so returning bottles to a recycling center is not a violation even though the containers were once open. The current version was last amended by Ordinance 3497 in 2014, building on Ordinance 3433 from 2009.

Because the ban reaches wharves and piers as well as inland streets and plazas, it applies along the waterfront tourist corridors, including Fisherman's Wharf and the Recreation Trail, where enforcement is common during peak tourist season and around special events.