Public Places Clarified in City’s Drinking Law

Residents will need to be more careful about where they chug a beer or sip a drink from now on.

Under revisions to the city’s “drinking in public” ordinance, passed by the City Council on Tuesday, front porches and apartment hallways now are specifically defined as “public places.”

The city has had ordinances forbidding drinking in public since 1977, but recently has had trouble getting convictions in court because the definition of public places was unclear, said Alan R. Burns, interim city attorney.

Recently, Huntington Beach lost several cases in which people were arrested for drinking on their front lawns and porches, he said.

The new code defines parked cars, driveways, porches, front lawn areas and hallways and lobbies in apartment and condominium buildings as “public places” where drinking is prohibited.

This definition broadens the concept of public places from parks, schools and areas that obviously are public property.

Backyards and other private property not seen from the street or sidewalk are safe from public scrutiny, according to the city attorney.

Some city officials said they were nervous about the idea of police arresting responsible people drinking on their own property.

“I know because of court cases, we need to tighten regulations,” Councilman Mike Spurgeon said. “But I’m a little concerned as we get into home properties, and the people are not disorderly, that we’re getting awfully close to a property rights situation.”

But Police Chief John R. Robertson said he believes the police have always had this right, and they have acted responsibly in the past.

“We would only use this in aggravated situations,” he said.

Still, Burns added, the police will have to apply the law uniformly or face charges of selective prosecution.