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Town of Bel Air, MD
Harford County
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (6) Index Notes (5)
No person shall willfully obstruct or hinder the free passage of persons passing along or by any public street or highway in the Town or shall profanely curse and swear or use obscene language upon or near to any such street or highway within the hearing of persons passing by or along such highway or shall willfully act in a riotous and disorderly manner.
A. 
Definitions. As used in this section, the following words or phrases shall have the meanings set forth below:
COMMERCIAL PREMISES
Any business premises operating for profit or any place of amusement or entertainment to which the general public is invited or permitted, including parking lots adjacent to or connected with such premises.
LOITER
To idle, stand, remain or tarry or to collect, gather or be a member of a group or crowd of people who are gathered together on any commercial premises without conducting any lawful business with the owner or operator thereof or, having patronized such business establishment, to remain on such premises an unreasonable length of time after having been directed to leave by such owner, operator or authorized agent and a police officer, as prescribed in Subsection B of this section.
B. 
Prohibited conduct.
(1) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to loiter on or about any commercial premises, during ordinary business hours, after having been requested to leave by the owner, operator or authorized agent of such premises and after having been directed to leave by a police officer.
(2) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to loiter, without the consent of the owner, operator or authorized agent, on or about any commercial premises after such premises have been closed for business purposes and after such person has been requested to leave by a police officer.
(3) 
Nothing herein shall be construed so as to prevent any orderly picketing or other lawful assembly.
It shall be unlawful for any person to trespass on any public parking lot or other public property posted by resolution of the Board of Town Commissioners of Bel Air and owned or leased by the Town of Bel Air after closing hours set by resolution of the Board of Town Commissioners of Bel Air. Such persons so trespassing after said closing hours shall be guilty of a municipal infraction of trespassing on public property and shall be subject to the fines and penalties as set forth in § 345-12 of this article.
[Amended 9-8-2009 by Ord. No. 723-09]
It shall be unlawful for any person to eat food or drink any beverage or to play a radio, tape deck, cassette player or other electronic device or musical instrument which broadcasts the human voice, music or other sounds on any public parking lot posted by resolution of the Board of Town Commissioners of Bel Air and owned or leased by the Town of Bel Air, and it shall be unlawful for any person to congregate on any public parking lot so posted and owned or leased by the Town of Bel Air for the purpose of eating, drinking, or listening to any radio, tape deck, cassette player or other electronic device or musical instrument. No person shall urinate or defecate in any public place or in public view, except within proper facilities designated as public restrooms. Persons violating this section shall be guilty of a municipal infraction and shall be subject to the fines and penalties as set forth in § 345-12 of this article.
[Amended 11-17-2008 by Ord. No. 715-08]
Any person violating any of the provisions of §§ 345-8, 345-9, 345-10 and 345-11 of this article shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a penalty as provided in Chapter 1, Article II, of this Code.
No game, device or contrivance at which money or any other thing shall be bet, wagered or risked shall be allowed within the corporate limits of the Town of Bel Air.
A. 
Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms are hereby defined:
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE
Alcohol, brandy, whisky, rum, gin, cordial, beer, ale, porter, stout, wine, cider, or any other spirituous, vinous, malt, or fermented liquor, liquid or compound, by whatever name called, containing 1/2 of 1% or more of alcohol by volume, which is fit for drinking purposes.
LOCATED ON
A person's physical presence upon an area hereinafter designated in this section without regard as to whether such a person may be the occupant of a motor vehicle.
OPEN CONTAINER
Any bottle, can, glass, cup, or other container which is not closed or sealed by a permanent seal in the case of nonresealable container or by a cap, lid, or cork in the case of a resealable container.
PUBLIC PARKING LOT
Any improved parking lot which is maintained for access by the public without regard to whether such a parking lot is owned and maintained by a governmental agency or by an individual partnership or corporation.
PUBLIC SIDEWALK
Any sidewalk paralleling any public street, lane, or highway, as defined in this subsection, which is available to pedestrian traffic by the public at large. "Public sidewalk" shall also mean any sidewalk providing access from a public street, lane, or highway to a building or facility owned by any governmental agency and used for a public purpose.
PUBLIC STREET, LANE OR HIGHWAY
Any street, lane, highway, or other thoroughfare maintained by public funds and lying within the Town of Bel Air. Such street, lane, highway, or thoroughfare shall be deemed public without regard to whether it is actually maintained by the State of Maryland, Harford County, or the Town of Bel Air.
B. 
Prohibited acts.
(1) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to drink or consume any alcoholic beverage while located on any public street, lane or highway.
(2) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to consume or drink any alcoholic beverage while located on any public sidewalk.
(3) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to consume or drink any alcoholic beverage while located on any public parking lot which has been posted by a sign in accordance with the provisions of this article indicating that the consumption of alcoholic beverages upon said parking lot is prohibited during designated hours or that the consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited on said parking lot at all times.
(4) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to drink or consume any alcoholic beverages within the confines of any park owned by the Town of Bel Air between the hours of sunset and sunrise.
C. 
Possession of open container. The action of drinking or consuming alcoholic beverages in Subsection B(1), (2), (3) and (4) as set forth above shall also include the act of possessing an open container of any alcoholic beverages.
D. 
Provisions for warning. Before any person shall be convicted of drinking or consuming alcoholic beverages while located on a public parking lot, it shall be first shown that the parking lot was posted by legible signs giving notice that the consumption of alcoholic beverages while located on said parking lot is prohibited or that the person charged had previously been verbally warned by the owner, by a person acting for the owner, or by a police officer that the consumption of an alcoholic beverage while located on said parking lot was prohibited.
E. 
Penalties. Any person convicted of violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a municipal infraction and shall be fined as provided in Chapter 1, Article II of this Code.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. III).