Union County, NJ Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Laws of Union County § 115-6
- Covers
- all county-owned, leased, or controlled property
- Golf clubhouse exception
- beer from approved vendors, consumed on premises
- Event exception
- requires a Parks & Recreation Director's permit
- Fine (general penalty)
- $25 to $200 per violation, § 115-2.F
Summary
Union County bans buying, selling, possessing, or drinking alcohol on any property it owns, leases, or controls, including every county park. Two narrow exceptions exist: beer sold by approved vendors at designated golf course clubhouses, and permitted events at a designated park or facility.
No person shall buy, sell, offer for sale, possess, drink or consume any alcoholic beverage upon any property owned, leased or otherwise under the control of the County of Union. ... The purchase of beer from County approved vendors at certain designated golf course club houses owned and operated by the County of Union, providing it is consumed on the premises, is hereby excepted from the provisions of section 2(a), and is hereby permitted. ... Possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages in a designated park, playground or other facility owned or otherwise under the control of the County of Union at a designated time or times, in connection with any purpose or events which have been properly authorized, shall be permitted upon the granting of a permit by the Director of Parks and Recreation.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: the cited page had not changed since it was quoted.
Full Breakdown
A bars any person from buying, selling, offering for sale, possessing, drinking, or consuming an alcoholic beverage on property the County of Union owns, leases, or otherwise controls, which reaches every county park, playground, golf course, and recreation building. The rule carries two specific carve-outs. B exempts beer purchased from county-approved vendors at certain designated golf course clubhouses the county owns and operates, as long as it is consumed on the premises; that exception does not extend to liquor or wine, or to beer carried off the clubhouse grounds.
C allows possession or consumption of alcohol in a designated park, playground, or other county-controlled facility at a designated time, but only in connection with a purpose or event that has been properly authorized, and only after the Director of Parks and Recreation grants a permit under § 115-5. Neither exception is automatic: a group planning a wedding, reunion, or corporate outing on county park land needs the Director's permit before alcohol can be served, and a golf outing's beer purchase must come from a county-approved vendor at one of the designated clubhouses rather than being carried in.
B, the ban and its exceptions follow county-controlled land specifically. They do not reach a resident's own backyard, a municipal park run by Elizabeth, Westfield, or another town, or a private venue, all of which answer to different rules.
Violations & Fines
Section 115-6 does not set its own fine, so the Public Safety Code's general penalty at § 115-2.F applies: a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $200 for each violation, plus liability for repairing or replacing any county property damaged in the incident. Consuming alcohol under an event permit without the Director's authorization voids the exception entirely and exposes the violator to the same fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I drink a beer at a Union County park?
Can I get permission to serve alcohol at a private event in a county park?
What is the fine for drinking alcohol in a Union County park without authorization?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Union County
Compare Union County to another location·View the New Jersey public conduct overview
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