Morgan Hill and Gilroy are already fighting underage drinking
with so-called
”
social host
”
ordinances and now Santa Clara County appears ready to also
crack down on rowdy unsupervised teen parties.
MORGAN HILL
Morgan Hill and Gilroy are already fighting underage drinking with so-called “social host” ordinances and now Santa Clara County appears ready to also crack down on rowdy unsupervised teen parties.
That was part of the logic that motivated Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage to propose a variation of a “social host” law within county jurisdiction mostly in South County that would impose fines on adults who would be responsible in cases of loud parties and underage drinking and the problems associated with them.
“I just felt we have to do something about teenage drinking and protect the residents,” Gage said.
Gage said his office has been receiving disturbance complaints about parties in unincorporated areas, such as San Martin.
Stu Carson, former vice president of the San Martin Neighorhood Alliance, said loud and “rumbunctious” parties were taking place at a residence on Harding Avenue between Highland and San Martin and he is glad the county is doing something to deal with it.
“I think overall it’s a great idea,” Carson said. As to concerns that the ordinance may be used to fine motels or apartment landlords, he said he thinks that “the people that own the property are responsible for what happens on their property … Unless they’re not present. There’s got to be some provision that the owners of the property (are made) aware.”
When Gage brought his proposal up at a recent meeting of the board’s safety committee, supervisors Blanca Alvarado and Ken Yeager asked whether similar ordinances implemented in the cities were effective and whether motels and landlords would be liable, he said. Morgan Hill has yet to issue a citation under the law, but Gilroy has issued more than a dozen between June and October.
“That’s something we needed to have,” said Dina Campeau, chairwoman of the South County Collaborative, a consortium of substance abuse agencies which lobbied Morgan Hill and Gilroy officials to get the cities to adopt the anti-teen drinking laws.
“We asked how to get this done on the county level and (Gage’s) staff advised us that they were going to do it through referral.”
The fines would be based on the cost of police response, Gage said. Following discussion, the matter was referred to Santa Clara County Public Safety and Justice Committee for further study, and will likely be heard by the Board of Supervisors in January.
“We need an ordinance that has some teeth in it,” Gage said. “You send a sheriff out there and they do it again and again. Now they’re going to get fined.”
A variation of the municipal social host ordinances is needed countywide because the city laws are effectively pushing the parties outside the city limits, Campeau said. And the teenagers, who learned of the laws at school and fairs, take advantage.
“Kids know more about it than the adults do,” she said. “We’re trying to get the word out to adults.”
“The kids get the message that they can’t go into the county, that’s a ripple impact in trying to reduce incidents of underage drinking,” Campeau said.
CITY VS. COUNTY: SOCIAL HOST ORDINANCES
Morgan Hill’s and Gilroy’s social host ordinances:
- Enacted in this past fall. Adults who provide safe haven for underage drinkers face fines of up to $1,000 and jail time. They also may be forced to pay thousands of additional dollars in emergency, fire and police costs.
Proposed county social host ordinance:
- While exact financial penalty for violators is still being debated, it would most likely resemble the up to $1,000 in fines and jail time possible with the cities’ recently enacted ordinances. Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors may vote to approve it as early as next month, but most likely in January. The ordinance proposal was referred to Public Safety and Justice commitee for study and approval.
