Table 1 Local policies and their definitions

CONDITIONAL USE PERMITS (CUPs)

In California, state government has the exclusive right over alcohol sales licenses. However, local governments have authority to regulate land use to protect health, welfare and safety. To reduce problems related to the density of alcohol outlets (noise, loitering, vandalism, littering, assault and battery, underage purchasing of alcohol, and more), localities use CUPs to regulate retail alcohol sales. CUPs may require that licensed establishments be a minimum distance from schools, parks, or churches; limit alcohol sales to certain hours; maintain nighttime lighting; and take action to prevent nuisance, and criminal activities on or in close proximity to the premises.

DEEMED APPROVED ORDINANCES (DAOs)

DAOs use the same zoning authority to apply CUP-equivalent standards to pre-existing alcohol outlets. Outlets in existence at the time CUPs have been enacted are exempted from CUP requirements. However, DAOs require these pre-existing outlets to meet the same types of standards as those governed by CUPs.

RESPONSIBILE BEVERAGE SERVICE TRAINING (RBS)

RBS Training ordinances establish mandatory or voluntary compliance with merchant education and server action standards to ensure compliance with prohibitions on serving minors or intoxicated persons. These ordinances may require that licensees, managers, servers, or other employees attend RBS training.

PROHIBITIONS ON HOSTING UNDERAGE DRINKING PARTIES (SOCIAL HOST)

Social host ordinances hold individuals responsible for underage drinking events on property they own, lease, or otherwise control. Social host ordinances may be general, applying to all individuals, or they may have provisions that are specific to underage drinking. They are also often closely linked to other laws prohibiting furnishing alcohol to minors, but social host ordinances apply without regard to who furnishes the alcohol. Criminal or civil penalties may apply to social host violations.

LIMITATIONS ON WINDOW ADVERTISING OF ALCOHOL

These ordinances restrict the size and placement of window advertisements in stores by mandating a maximum percentage of total window space that can be covered generally by advertisements or specifically by alcohol ads.

LIMITATIONS ON BILLBOARDS AND OTHER OUTDOOR ALCOHOL ADVERTISING

Policies that ban all outdoor advertising or limit outdoor advertising of alcoholic beverages, particularly ads exposing minors to alcohol messages. Included in these types of ordinances are bans on ads on public transportation, such as trains and buses, bus shelters, parks, billboards, supermarket carts, parking structures, near schools and residential areas, and at community events such as sporting events, concerts, and street fairs.

PROHIBITIONS ON PUBLIC DRINKING

These are crimes defined as consuming or possessing alcoholic beverages in public. Public intoxication ordinances generally do not depend on specific blood alcohol content levels; instead, they rely on the physical possession of alcohol.

RESTRICTIONS ON ALCOHOL AVAILABILITY FOR SPECIAL EVENTS

Alcohol restrictions at special events, such as concerts, street fairs, and sporting events, control the availability and use of alcohol at these venues. Restrictions can include complete bans on consumption, warning signs about the dangers of alcohol consumption, mandates to establish separate drinking areas into which minors are prohibited, mandatory RBS training for servers, alcohol purchase limitations, and retention of security staff.