This article shall be known as the Prohibition Against Underage
Drinking and Social Host Liability Ordinance.
[Ord. No. 1150.]
(a)
Minors often obtain, possess, or consume alcoholic beverages at gatherings
held at private residences or other private property, places or premises,
including rented commercial premises which are under the control of
a person who knows or should know of the consumption of alcoholic
beverages by minors yet persons responsible for the occurrence of
such gatherings often fail to take reasonable steps to prevent the
consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors at these gatherings.
(b)
Consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors who are under the legal
age to consume alcohol in the State of California, is harmful to the
minors themselves and poses an immediate threat to the public health,
safety and welfare in that it increases alcohol abuse by minors, physical
altercations, violent crimes including rape and other sexual offenses,
accidental injury, neighborhood vandalism, and excessive noise disturbance,
all of which may require intervention by local law enforcement.
(c)
Law enforcement responses to gatherings involving consumption of
alcoholic beverages by minors often requires extensive resources to
manage the incident. Further, when law enforcement personnel respond
to gatherings involving the consumption of alcoholic beverages by
minors it takes away valuable resources from other service calls in
the community, thereby placing the community at increased risk. Law
enforcement, fire and emergency response services are not currently
reimbursed for the response cost associated when called to a premises
or gathering where minors obtain, possess, or consume alcoholic beverages.
(d)
The prohibitions found in this article are reasonable and expected
to deter the consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors by holding
responsible persons who know of, or should know of, the illegal conduct
yet fail to stop or prevent it. In addition, the revenue received
by the City of Oakdale after cost reimbursement will be directed toward
alcohol abuse and prevention education programs in the community.
[Ord. No. 1150.]
The purposes of this article are:
(a)
To protect public health, safety and general welfare;
(b)
To enforce laws prohibiting the service to and consumption of alcoholic
beverages by minors; and
(c)
To reduce the costs of providing law enforcement, fire, and other
emergency response services to premises where alcoholic beverages
are served to or consumed by a minor, by holding the responsible person,
social host and/or landowners responsible for the costs associated
with providing law enforcement and other emergency response services.
[Ord. No. 1150.]
The terms used in this article have the meaning provided by
state law except as expressly provided herein.
(a)
ADULT — Means any person over the age of eighteen years.
(b)
(1)
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE — Means and includes any liquid or
solid material intended to be ingested by a person which contains
ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol, drinking alcohol, or alcohol,
including, but not limited to, alcoholic beverages as defined in Section
23004 of the Business and Professions Code, intoxicating liquor, malt
beverage, beer, wine, spirits, liqueur, whiskey, rum, vodka, cordials,
gin, and brandy, and any mixture containing one or more alcoholic
beverages. Alcoholic beverage includes a mixture of one or more alcoholic
beverages whether found or ingested separately or as a mixture.
(2)
ALCOHOL — Means ethyl alcohol, hydrated oxide of ethyl,
or spirits of wine, from whatever source or by whatever process produced.
(c)
RESPONSE COSTS — Means the costs associated with response by law enforcement, fire, or other emergency response providers to a gathering, including but not limited to: (1) salaries and benefits of law enforcement, code enforcement, fire or other emergency response personnel for the amount of time spent responding to, remaining at, or otherwise dealing with a gathering, and the administrative cost associated with or attributed to such response(s); (2) the cost of any medical treatment for any law enforcement, code enforcement, fire, or other emergency response personnel injured responding to, remaining at, or leaving the scene of a gathering; (3) the cost of repairing any City 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 gathering; and (4) any other allowable costs related to enforcement of §§ 19-112 and 19-113.
(d)
FAMILY GATHERING — Means a gathering where each minor present
is supervised by his or her parent or legal guardian.
(e)
LEGAL GUARDIAN — Means (1) a person who, by court order, is
the guardian of the person of a minor; or (2) a public or private
agency with whom a minor has been placed by the court.
(f)
MINOR — Means any person under the age of twenty-one years.
(g)
JUVENILE — Means any person under the age of eighteen years.
(h)
PARENT — Means a person who is a natural parent, adoptive
parent, foster parent, or step-parent of another person.
(i)
GATHERING — Means a party, gathering or event where a group
of two or more persons have assembled or are assembling for a social
occasion or social activity.
(j)
PREMISES — Means any residence or other private property,
place, or premises, including any commercial or business premises.
(k)
SOCIAL HOST — Means a person who knowingly hosts, permits,
or allows a gathering to take place where one or more minors consume
one or more alcoholic beverages on property owned or controlled by
the person and the person knows or reasonably should have known that
the minor is consuming or has consumed an alcoholic beverage.
(l)
RESPONSIBLE PERSON — Means a person or persons with a right
of possession in the premises including, but not limited to:
(1)
An owner of the residence or other private property, place or
premises, including any commercial or business premises;
(2)
A tenant or lessee of the residence or other private property,
place or premises, including any commercial or business premises;
(3)
The landlord of another person responsible for the gathering;
(4)
The person(s) in charge of the residence or other private property,
place or premises, including commercial or business premises; and
(5)
The person(s) who organizes, supervises, officiates, conducts
or controls the gathering or any other person(s) accepting responsibility
for such a gathering.
(6)
If a responsible person or social host for the party or 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 article. To incur liability for response
costs imposed by this article, the responsible person or social host
for the gathering must be aware of the gathering, but need not be
present at such gathering which results in the imposition of response
costs pursuant to this article.
[Ord. No. 1150.]
Except as permitted by state law, it is unlawful for any minor
to:
(a)
Consume at any public place or any place open to the public any alcoholic
beverage; or
(b)
Consume at any place not open to the public any alcoholic beverage,
unless in connection with the consumption of the alcoholic beverages
that minor is being supervised by his or her own parent or legal guardian.
[Ord. No. 1150.]
(a)
It is unlawful and a misdemeanor for any person having control of any premises to knowingly host, permit, or allow a gathering to take place at said premises where at least one minor consumes an alcoholic beverage, whenever the person having control of the premises either knows a minor is or has consumed an alcoholic beverage or reasonably should have known that a minor is or has consumed an alcoholic beverage had the person taken all reasonable steps to prevent the consumption of alcoholic beverages by a minor as set forth in Subsection (b) of this section.
(b)
It is the duty of any person having control of any premises, who
knowingly hosts, permits or allows a gathering at said premises to
take all reasonable steps to prevent the consumption of alcoholic
beverages by any minor at the gathering. Reasonable steps include,
but are not limited to, (i) controlling access to alcoholic beverages
at the gathering, (ii) controlling the quantity of alcoholic beverages
at the gathering, (iii) verifying the age of persons attending the
gathering by inspecting drivers' licenses or other government-issued
identification cards to ensure minors do not consume alcoholic beverages
while at the gathering, and (iv) supervising the activities of minors
at the gathering.
(c)
This section shall not apply to conduct involving the use of alcoholic beverages that occurs exclusively between a minor and his or her parent or legal guardian, as permitted by Article I, Section 4, of the California Constitution or if the event is a family gathering.
(d)
This section shall not apply to any California Department of Alcoholic
Beverages Control licensee at any premises regulated by the Department
of Alcoholic Beverages Control.
[Ord. No. 1150.]
Whenever a responsible person and/or social host having control
of the premises is present at the premises at the time that a minor
obtains, possesses, or consumes any alcoholic beverage, it shall be
prima facie evidence that such adult had the knowledge or should have
had the knowledge, that the minor obtained, possessed, or consumed
an alcoholic beverage at the gathering.
[Ord. No. 1150.]
[Ord. No. 1150.]
The Oakdale Police Department is authorized to administer and
enforce the provisions of this article. The City Attorney and the
police chief and/or their designees may exercise any enforcement powers
provided by law.
[Ord. No. 1150.]
In addition to any other remedies available by law, including criminal prosecution, the City of Oakdale may seek administrative penalties, response costs, and any other cost associated with enforcement of §§ 19-112 and 19-113, through all remedies or procedures provided by statute, ordinance, or law. Sections 19-112 and 19-113 shall not limit the authority of peace officers to make arrests for any criminal offense arising out of conduct regulated by §§ 19-112 and 19-113.
[Ord. No. 1150.]
(b)
As a public nuisance, the gathering of underage drinkers may be summarily
abated by police by all reasonable means, singularly or in combination,
including, but not limited to:
(c)
When law enforcement, fire, or other emergency response provider
responds to a gathering at which a minor obtains, possesses, or uses
alcoholic beverages within the City of Oakdale all responsible persons
and/or social host(s) shall be jointly and severally liable for the
City of Oakdale's response costs to abate the nuisance.
[Ord. No. 1150.]
(a)
The amount of response costs shall be deemed a debt owed to the City
of Oakdale by the responsible person and/or social host. If a juvenile,
by the juvenile's parents or guardians. Any person owing such
costs shall be liable in a civil action brought in the name of the
City for recovery for such costs, including reasonable attorney fees.
Notice of the costs for which the responsible person is liable shall
be mailed via first-class mail. The notice shall contain the following
information:
(1)
The name of the person(s) being held liable for the payment
of such costs;
(2)
The address of the private property or private premises where
the party occurred;
(3)
The date and time of the response;
(4)
The law enforcement, fire, or emergency service provider(s)
who responded;
(5)
An itemized list of the response costs for which the person(s)
is being held liable.
The responsible person must remit payment of the noticed response costs to the Oakdale Police Department within thirty calendar days of the date of the notice. The payment of any such costs shall be stayed upon the filing of a timely appeal pursuant to § 19-121.
(b)
The failure of any person to pay the penalties assessed by an administrative
citation and/or response costs within the time specified on the administrative
citation or response cost bill may result in the police chief or his/her
authorized designee referring the matter to the finance department
or other designated agent for collection. The police chief or his/her
designated agent may pursue any other legal remedy to collect the
penalties and/or response costs as otherwise set forth in the Oakdale
Municipal Code.
[Ord. No. 1150.]
(a)
There is hereby established a special fund for the purposes of receiving
and expending civil penalties and response costs collected. This special
fund shall be known and designated as the Prevention of Underage Drinking
Fund.
(b)
Expenditure of monies. The appropriation of all monies in the Prevention
of Underage Drinking Fund shall be made exclusively for the purposes
of Prevention of Underage Drinking Programs within the City of Oakdale.
The underage drinking program shall include the enforcement
of, education for, and prevention of underage drinking. Expenditures
shall include, but not be limited to, purchase of equipment, contractual
services, material and supplies, or any other expenditures related
to the prevention of underage drinking with the City of Oakdale. The
administration of the fund shall conform to this code and all accounting
principles practiced by the City.
(c)
Accumulation of monies in the fund. The balance remaining in the
Prevention of Underage Drinking Fund at the close of any fiscal year
shall be deemed to have been provided for a specialized purpose and
shall be carried forward and accumulated in said fund for the purposes
set forth herein.
[Ord. No. 1150.]
[Ord. No. 1150.]
If any provisions of this article or its application to any
person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect
other provisions or applications of this article that can be given
effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end
the provisions of this article are severable.
