For the purposes of this Article, the following words and phrases
are defined as follows:
GUARDIAN
Guardian appointed by court of competent jurisdiction.
MINOR
Any person under the age of seventeen (17).
PARENT
The natural or adoptive father or mother, legal guardian
or any other person having the care or custody of a minor child.
PARENTAL NEGLECT
Any act or omission by which a parent fails to exercise customary
and effective control over a minor so as to contribute to, cause or
tend to cause a minor to commit any offense.
[Ord. No. 466 §1, 11-14-2011]
A. Legislative Findings. The Board of Aldermen of the City
of Crystal Lake Park finds as follows:
1. The City of Crystal Lake Park, pursuant to the police powers delegated
to it by the Missouri Constitution, has the authority to enact laws
which promote the public health, safety and general welfare of its
residents;
2. The occurrence of loud or unruly gatherings on private property where
alcoholic beverages or controlled substances are served to or consumed
by underage persons is harmful to the underage persons themselves
and a threat to public health, safety, quiet enjoyment of residential
property and general welfare;
3. Underage persons often obtain alcoholic beverages and controlled
substances at gatherings held at private residences or at rented residential
premises that are under the control of a person who knows or should
know of the underage service and/or consumption. Persons responsible
for the occurrence of loud or unruly gatherings on private property
over which they have possession or control have failed to ensure that
alcoholic beverages or controlled substances are neither served to
nor consumed by underage persons at these parties;
4. Problems associated with loud or unruly gatherings at which alcoholic
beverages and controlled substances are served to or consumed by underage
persons are difficult to prevent and deter unless the Police Department
has the legal authority to abate the party or gathering by directing
or ordering the host or other responsible person to disperse the party
or gathering;
5. Control of loud or unruly gatherings on private property where alcoholic
beverages and controlled substances are served to or consumed by underage
persons is necessary when such activity is determined to be a threat
to the peace, health, safety or general welfare of the public;
6. Persons held responsible for abetting or tolerating loud or unruly
gatherings will be more likely to properly supervise or stop such
conduct at gatherings held on property under their possession or control;
and
7. In the past and present, law enforcement, fire and other emergency
response services personnel have and are required to respond, sometimes
on multiple occasions, to loud or unruly gatherings on private property
at which alcoholic beverages and controlled substances are served
to or possessed or consumed by underage persons, and responses to
such gatherings result in a disproportionate expenditure of public
safety resources of the City, which are underwritten by municipal
taxes paid by its taxpayers and residents and delaying police responses
to regular and emergency calls to the rest of the City.
B. Purposes. The purposes of this Section are:
1. To protect public health, safety and general welfare;
2. To enforce laws prohibiting the service to and consumption and use
of alcoholic beverages and controlled substances by underage persons;
and
3. To reduce the costs of providing police, fire and other emergency
response services to loud or unruly gatherings by imposing a fee against
social hosts and landowners for the recovery of costs associated with
providing law enforcement, fire and other emergency response services
to loud or unruly gatherings, including those where alcoholic beverages
and controlled substances are served to or consumed by underage persons.
C.
Definitions. For
the purposes of this Section, the following terms shall have the following
meanings:
ADULT
Any person twenty-one (21) years of age or older.
ALCOHOL
Any substance containing any form of alcohol including, but
not limited to, ethanol, methanol, propanol and isopropanol.
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE
The same meaning as "intoxicating liquor" as defined in Chapters
311 and 312, RSMo., as amended.
CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES
Any drug, substance or immediate precursor defined or described
as such in Section 195.010, RSMo., as amended.
JUVENILE
Any person under seventeen (17) years of age.
LOUD OR UNRULY GATHERING
A party or gathering of two (2) or more underage persons
at or on a residence or other private property at which loud or unruly
conduct occurs. Such loud or unruly conduct may include, but is not
limited to:
3.
Obstruction of public streets or crowds that have spilled into
public streets;
4.
Public drunkenness, unlawful public consumption or possession
of alcohol or alcoholic beverages by underage persons;
5.
Service to or consumption of alcohol or alcoholic beverages
by any underage person, except as permitted by City Code, State law
or Missouri Constitution;
6.
Assaults, batteries, fights, domestic violence or other disturbances
of the peace;
9.
Any other conduct which constitutes a threat to public health,
safety, quiet enjoyment of residential property or general welfare.
|
A loud or unruly gathering shall constitute a public nuisance
and may be abated by an order of a Police Officer directing the host
or other responsible person to cause all persons in or on said premises
who are not lawful residents thereof to disperse not more than fifteen
(15) minutes after the host or other responsible person receives an
order to do so issued by a Police Officer.
|
RESIDENCE OR OTHER PRIVATE PROPERTY
A home, yard, open field, vacant lot, apartment, condominium
or other dwelling unit or a hall or meeting room, whether occupied
as a dwelling, party or other social function and whether owned, leased,
rented or used with or without compensation.
RESPONSE COSTS
The costs associated with responses by law enforcement, fire
and other emergency response providers to loud or unruly gatherings
including, but not limited to:
1.
Salaries and benefits of law enforcement, fire or other emergency
response personnel required for the amount of time spent responding
to, remaining at, or otherwise dealing with loud or unruly gatherings,
and the administrative costs attributable to such response(s);
2.
The cost of any medical treatment to or for any law enforcement,
fire or other emergency response personnel injured responding to,
remaining at, or leaving the scene of a loud or unruly gathering;
and
3.
The cost of repairing any City or emergency services equipment
or property damaged and the cost of the use of any such equipment
in responding to, remaining at, or leaving the scene of a loud or
unruly gathering.
RESPONSIBLE PERSON
A person or persons with a right of possession in the residence
or other private property on which a loud or unruly gathering is conducted,
including, but not limited to:
1.
An owner of the residence or other private property;
2.
A tenant or lessee of the residence or other private property;
3.
The person(s) in charge of the residence or other private property;
and
4.
The person(s) who organizes, supervises, officiates, conducts
or controls the gathering, or any other person(s) accepting responsibility
for such a gathering.
|
If a responsible person for the gathering is a juvenile, then
the parents or guardians of that juvenile and the juvenile will be
jointly and severally liable for the response costs incurred pursuant
to this Section. To incur liability for response costs, the responsible
person for the loud or unruly gathering need not be present at the
gathering giving rise to the necessary response and the imposition
of response costs. This Section therefore imposes vicarious as well
as direct liability upon a responsible person.
|
D. Responsibility For Proper Management Of Property. Every
owner, occupant, lessee, or holder of any possessory interest of a
residence or other private property within the City of Crystal Lake
Park is required to maintain, manage, and supervise the property and
all persons thereon in a manner so as not to violate the provisions
of this Section.
E. Violations And Penalties.
1. It shall be unlawful for any responsible person to allow, permit,
or host a loud or unruly gathering at a residence or other private
property. Whenever an adult having control of the residence or premises
is present at that residence or premises at the time an underage person
obtains, possesses, or consumes any alcoholic beverage or controlled
substance, it shall be prima facie evidence that such an adult had
the knowledge, or should have had knowledge, that the underage person
obtained, possessed or consumed an alcoholic beverage or controlled
substance at the gathering.
2. No responsible person shall allow a loud or unruly gathering to take
place or continue at a residence or premises if an underage person
at the party obtains, possesses or consumes any alcoholic beverages
or controlled substances and the responsible person knows or reasonably
should know that the underage person has obtained, possesses or is
consuming alcoholic beverages or controlled substances at the gathering.
3. This Section shall not apply to family gatherings at which underage
persons are present and supervised by their parents and/or legal guardians.
4. Fines. A fine may be imposed up to the maximum amount provided for in Section
210.1990 of the Code for any violation of this Section.
5. The fines imposed pursuant to Subsection
(E)(4) of this Section shall be in addition to any response costs that may be assessed pursuant to this Section.
F. Appeals. Any person upon whom a fine is imposed pursuant to Subsection
(E) shall have the right to appeal the imposition of such fine in the manner as provided for in Sections 125.210 and 125.220 of the Crystal Lake Park City Code.
G. Recovery Of Response Costs.
1. When law enforcement, fire, or other emergency response provider
responds to a loud or unruly gathering at a residence or other private
property within the City within a twelve (12) month period of a warning
given to a responsible person for a loud or unruly gathering, all
responsible persons shall be jointly and severally liable for the
response costs for that response and all subsequent responses during
the warning period.
2. When a law enforcement, fire, or other emergency response provider
official makes an initial response to a loud or unruly gathering at
a residence or other private property within the City, the official
shall inform any responsible person(s) for the gathering at the scene
that:
a. The official has determined that a loud or unruly gathering exists;
and
b. Responsible person(s) will be charged for any response costs required
for subsequent responses to the scene for a loud or unruly gathering
within a twelve (12) month period involving the same responsible person(s).
3. Only one (1) warning will be given to a responsible person(s) pursuant to this Section before the City assesses response costs pursuant to Subsection
(H) of this Section. If a responsible person cannot be identified at the scene, the official may issue a warning to one (1) or more persons identified pursuant to the definition of "responsible person" and/or subsequently return to the residence or other private property and issue the warning to a then-present responsible person. Warnings given to responsible persons who do not reside at the residence or other private property in question shall be delivered by first class and/or certified mail.
H. Billing And Collection.
1. The amount of response costs shall be deemed a debt owed to the City by the responsible person held liable in Subsection
(G) of this Section for the loud or unruly gathering and, if a juvenile, by the juvenile's parents or guardians.
2. Notice of the costs for which the responsible person is liable shall
be mailed via first class and/or certified mail within fourteen (14)
days of the response giving rise to such costs. The notice shall contain
the following information:
a. The name of the person(s) being held liable for the payment of such
costs;
b. The address of the residence or other private property where the
loud or unruly gathering occurred;
c. The date and time of the response;
d. The law enforcement, fire or emergency service provider who responded;
e. The date and time of any previous warning given pursuant to Subsection
(G) of this Section and/or previous responses to loud or unruly gatherings at the residence or other private property in question within the previous twelve (12) months; and
f. An itemized list of the response costs for which the person(s) is
being held liable.
3. The responsible person must remit payment of the noticed response
costs to the City Clerk within thirty (30) days of the date of the
notice. Any action to recover such costs will be brought in the name
of the City in the Circuit Court for the County of St. Louis, Missouri.
4. In addition to all other remedies provided for in this Section, if
a responsible person(s) fails to remit the costs assessed hereunder,
said costs shall be certified to the City Clerk who shall cause the
costs to be included in a special tax bill or added to the annual
real estate tax bill, at the collecting official's option, for the
property, and the certified costs shall be collected by the City Collector
or other official collecting taxes in the same manner and procedure
for collecting real estate taxes. If the certified costs are not paid,
the tax bill shall be considered delinquent, and the collection of
the delinquent bill shall be governed by the laws governing delinquent
and back taxes. The tax bill from the date of issuance shall be deemed
a personal debt against the owner and shall also be a lien on the
property until paid.
I. Reservation Of Legal Options. Nothing in this Section shall
be construed as a waiver by the City of Crystal Lake Park of any right
to seek reimbursement for actual costs of response services through
other legal remedies or procedures. The procedure provided for in
this Section is in addition to any other Statute, ordinance or law,
civil or criminal. This Section in no way limits the authority of
the Police or private citizens to make arrests for any criminal offenses
arising out of conduct regulated by this Section.