[Amended 6-23-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-11]
It is hereby prohibited to drink or consume any alcoholic beverage
on any sidewalk, street, avenue, highway, alley, public parking lot,
public park, public pier, beach, boardwalk, ball field, playground,
municipal building or any vehicle not on private property in the City
of Ventnor City, County of Atlantic and State of New Jersey, at any
time subject to the following exceptions.
A. Creation of open container areas.
(1) It is the intent of the City of Ventnor to establish certain zones
within the municipality to permit open container areas to be exceptions
to the prohibition ordinance as outlined above.
(2) The authority to establish said "open container areas" is derived
as follows: The State Legislature has enacted on 1-18-2022, an act
concerning the consumption of alcoholic beverages, supplementing Title
33 of the Revised Statutes, and amending R.S.40:48-1.
(3) As used in this section:
(a)
"Open container area" means a portion of a municipality or an
area encompassing the entire municipality upon which persons are permitted
to carry and consume open containers of alcoholic beverages outdoors.
(b)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
a municipality may, by ordinance, authorize the consumption of alcoholic
beverages within an open container area by persons who are at least
21 years of age. A determination to adopt an ordinance pursuant to
this subsection shall be made only after a public hearing is held
by the municipal governing body on the merits of establishing an open
container area.
(c)
The sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption in an open container
area shall be subject to the provisions of Title 33 of the Revised
Statutes, rules and regulations promulgated by the director, and municipal
ordinances.
B. Designation of zones.
(1) The City of Ventnor hereby designates any area outside a duly licensed
restaurant which has been approved for outside dining as required
and approved by the Chief of the Ventnor Police Department.
C. Permitted hours.
(1) The City of Ventnor hereby designates the following hours in which
the open container zones may be utilized as 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
so long as the establishment is open and operation and the person
with the open container is a customer of said establishment.
Any person or persons violating this article
shall, upon conviction in the Municipal Court of the City of Ventnor,
be subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or imprisonment in the county
jail for not more than 90 days, or to both such fine and imprisonment,
in the discretion of the Judge hearing said violation.