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

010 of the Westminster Municipal Code, adopted by Ordinance 2141 in 1990, prohibits drinking or possessing an opened, seal-broken, or partially emptied alcoholic beverage container on any public highway, public sidewalk, public alley, public park, public parking lot, private parking lot open to public access in a nonresidential zone, public restroom, or on residentially zoned property that the owner has posted with signs stating the section applies there. 010 governs that specific parcel, giving residential property owners a tool to extend the ban to their own land.

The ordinance text itself states that a violation is deemed a misdemeanor, distinct from the citywide default penalty structure. 020 carves out an exception for consumption or possession within premises inside a public place holding a license issued under Division 9 of the California Business and Professions Code, the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control law, and/or a police permit, meaning a licensed bar, restaurant patio, or an event operating under a police permit is not covered by the ban even though it sits in a location the statute would otherwise reach.

070, which separately bars bringing or selling alcohol at a special event without an ABC permit, so a street fair or festival sponsor faces both the special-event alcohol rule and this general public-drinking prohibition if attendees carry open containers outside any licensed or permitted area.