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Borough of Middletown, PA
Dauphin County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
[Adopted 2-14-1983 by Ord. No. 846, approved 2-14-1983]
[Amended 7-9-2018 by Ord. No. 1350, approved 7-9-2018]
Except as provided in § 98-4.1 below, no person shall transport or possess any alcoholic beverage in or upon any street or parking area within the Borough of Middletown or upon the property of another (unless that person is, for that purpose, a guest, licensee or invitee of the owner thereof) in an open container. No person shall consume, drink, furnish or use any alcoholic beverage at such locations. Such locations include vehicles thereon, and the proscribed possession extends to possession on the person or in a vehicle (whether being operated, parked or otherwise there located) occupied, used or under the control of such person.
[Added 7-9-2018 by Ord. No. 1350, approved 7-9-2018]
A. 
A restaurant sidewalk dining area authorized pursuant to Chapter 235, Streets and Sidewalks, Article IX, Sidewalk Obstructions, if duly licensed for sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, shall not be subject to Chapter 98, Alcoholic Beverages, Article II, Open Containers, of the Code of the Borough of Middletown and the restrictions set forth.
B. 
A special event wherein alcoholic beverages may be consumed from an open container may be authorized at the discretion of the Borough Council upon the application to and approval by the Borough Council of a permit to hold a special event in or upon a street or parking area within the Borough or upon the property of another open to public use without violating this article. The special event wherein alcoholic beverages may be consumed from an open container must comply with all applicable laws and regulations of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, including, but not limited to, the possession of any and all licenses and permits required by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board for the special event.
[Added 3-19-2019 by Ord. No. 1361, approved 3-19-2019]
C. 
The restrictions on alcoholic beverages in open containers in vehicles stated in § 98-4, above, are not waived.
[Added 3-19-2019 by Ord. No. 1361, approved 3-19-2019]
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
Includes but are not limited to malt or brewed beverages and liquor, as defined in the Pennsylvania Liquor Code,[1] also potable distilled spirits and ethyl alcohol and wine, being used in the broadest sense, irrespective of percentage of alcohol by volume.
CONTAINER
Includes bottle, can and any receptacle paralleling but not limited to the Liquor Code, 47 P.S. § 1-102, definition of "container."
OPEN CONTAINER
One not (or no longer) securely capped, corked or sealed, and includes a can or similar container which has been perforated or a container on which the secure capping, sealing or corking (normally provided by the manufacturer of alcoholic beverages) has been disturbed, as would be exemplified by containers on which the cap has been loosened or the cork displaced or the seal torn or mutilated.
PARKING AREAS
Includes but are not limited to municipal parking lots, private parking lots open to the public, parking areas of private shopping centers and parking areas of planned residential developments, housing for the elderly and retirement villages.
STREET
Used in the broadest sense, includes cartway, gutter, curb, sidewalk, grass and entire right-of-way, whether public or used, as in Pineford Drive, by the public.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 47 P.S. § 1-101 et seq.
Any police officer is authorized to arrest, on view and without warrant, any person violating this article.
[Amended 7-11-1988 by Ord. No. 972, approved 7-11-1988]
Any person violating this article shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000 nor less than $50 and costs of prosecution and, upon refusal to pay such fine and costs, to undergo imprisonment for not more than 30 days.