Rialto, CA Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)
Key Facts
- Offense level
- Misdemeanor for possession/consumption/furnishing
- Covered places
- Parks, streets, alleys, highways, public places
- Exception
- Written city administrator authorization
- Permit revocation
- No notice or hearing required
- Enacted
- Ord. No. 1500, Feb. 28, 2012
Summary
Rialto Municipal Code 9.34.020 makes it a misdemeanor to possess an open alcohol container, drink, or furnish alcohol to someone else in any public park, street, alley, highway or other public place. A written permit from the city administrator is the only way around the ban.
A. Possession of Open Container Unlawful in Public Places. It is a misdemeanor for any person to possess an open container containing any alcoholic beverage in or upon any public park, street, alley, highway or other public place, except in or upon those public places where the drinking or consumption of alcoholic beverages is expressly permitted by law. B. Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages Unlawful in Public Places. It is a misdemeanor for any person to drink or consume or attempt to drink or consume any alcoholic beverage while such person is in or upon any public park, street, alley, highway or other public place, except in or upon those public places where the drinking or consumption of alcoholic beverages is expressly permitted by law.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 39).
Full Breakdown
34, adopted by Ordinance No. 1500 in February 2012, replaced an older alcohol chapter and covers three separate acts. 020(A) makes it a misdemeanor to simply possess an open container of alcohol in a public park, street, alley, highway or other public place. Subsection B separately criminalizes actually drinking or attempting to drink alcohol in those same places, and subsection C makes it a misdemeanor to offer, furnish, or give alcohol to another person with the intent that they consume it in public. All three offenses share the same exception: places where drinking is expressly permitted by law.
020(D) lets the city administrator issue written authorization for drinking at a city-owned building, park, street, or facility for a special event, meeting, conference, or convention; that permit can be modified or summarily revoked by the administrator or the police chief at any time without notice or a hearing. 040 makes mere possession, transport, exhibition, or display of alcohol at city hall or other municipal property an infraction, a lesser offense than the general public places rule. 16.
Violations & Fines
Possessing an open container, drinking, or furnishing alcohol for public consumption under 9.34.020 is charged as a misdemeanor, exposing a violator to a fine and up to six months in county jail under the city's general penalty chapter. Simple possession or display of alcohol on other municipal property under 9.34.040 is a lesser infraction. There is no notice-and-hearing requirement before police revoke a special-event drinking permit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I drink alcohol at a Rialto city park?
Is carrying a closed bottle of beer down the street illegal in Rialto?
Can the city revoke a special-event drinking permit without warning?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Rialto
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Public Alcohol Use in Nearby Cities
How other cities in San Bernardino County handle public alcohol use.