Porterville Municipal Code § 18-6 Reserved

A. Possession In Public Places: It shall be unlawful for any person within the city of Porterville to possess any alcoholic beverage in any public place, or transport any alcoholic beverage upon any public street, sidewalk, pedestrian mall, alleyway, or thoroughfare where such alcoholic beverage is in a receptacle which has been opened, or the seal of which has been broken, or the contents of which have been partially removed.

B. Possession Of Opened Container On Parking Lot: It shall be unlawful for any person within the city of Porterville to possess any alcoholic beverage where such alcoholic beverage is in a receptacle which has been opened, or the seal of which has been broken, or the contents of which have been partially removed, on any parking lot within the city of Porterville associated with or under the control of any business or other premises open to the public during the ordinary course of business of such business or premises where such parking lot has immediate access to a public street.

C. Alcoholic Beverages Within Vehicle: It shall be unlawful for the registered owner of any vehicle, or the driver, if the registered owner is not then present in the vehicle, to keep in a motor vehicle when such motor vehicle is located in any area enumerated in subsections A and B of this section, any bottle, can, or other receptacle containing any alcoholic beverage which has been opened, or a seal broken, or the contents of which have been partially removed, unless such container is kept in the trunk of such vehicle, or kept in some other area of the vehicle not normally occupied by the driver or passengers, if such vehicle is not equipped with a trunk. A utility compartment or glove compartment shall be deemed to be within the area occupied by the driver and passengers. This subsection shall, however, not apply to living quarters of a house car or camper.

D. Definition Of Alcoholic Beverage: The definition of "alcoholic beverage" as used herein shall include alcohol, spirits, liquor, wine, beer, and every liquid or solid containing alcohol, spirits, wine, or beer, and which contains one-half of one percent (0.5%) or more of alcohol by volume, and which is fit for beverage purposes either alone or when diluted, mixed, or combined with other substances.

E. Effect Of Provisions: Subsections A through D of this section shall not be deemed to make punishable any act or acts which are prohibited by any statute of the state of California.

F. Severability: Should any portion of this section be held to be unconstitutional or otherwise legally invalid, such determination shall not affect the validity of the remainder hereof, which shall remain in full force and effect.

G. Public Place; Parks Excluded: For the purposes of this section, the definition of "public place" shall not include Murry park, Veterans' park, or Zalud park within the city limits of the city of Porterville.

H. Violation An Infraction: Any violation of this section is specifically deemed to be an infraction.

I. Permit Procedure:

1. The provisions of subsection A of this section may be waived upon the issuance of a permit issued by the chief of police.

2. Permits shall only be issued to organized groups such as service clubs, or other organized, well established groups.

3. Application shall be made through the chief of police twenty (20) days in advance of the date for which the permit is desired. The application for such permit shall be made in writing on a form approved by the chief of police. In order that adequate arrangements may be made for the proper policing of the event, the application shall contain the following information:

a. Name, address and telephone number of the person representing the organization for which the permit is requested.

b. The name, address and telephone number of the headquarters of the organization and the authorized head of such organization.

c. The name, address and telephone number of the person who will be in charge of the event and be responsible for enforcing the provisions of the permit.

d. The purpose of the event for which the permit is requested.

e. The date and time when the event is to be conducted and the expected number of persons to be in attendance.

4. The chief of police may impose any reasonable restrictions or conditions to granting said permit, as well as denying said permit. Said permits are to be granted only if the benefit to the general community in granting the permit is not outweighed by the resulting endangerment to the public health, safety or welfare. The granting of said permit is a privilege and not a right, inasmuch as this activity is generally prohibited. (Ord. 1152 §§ A–H, 8-15-1978; Ord. 1261, 4-20-1982; Ord. 1329 § A, 5-7-1985; Ord. 1537 § B60, 8-6-1996)