Booze Banned from San Diego Beaches for One Year

Booze Banned from Beaches for One Year
A permanent ban couldn't muster enough support. The mayor says he won't veto the trial ban.
By EVAN McLAUGHLIN Voice Staff Writer

Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007
| The City Council approved Monday a one-year prohibition of alcohol at
San Diego's beaches, a compromise measure that stopped short of the
permanent ban sought by those hoping to combat the disorder of drunken
beachgoers.

Under the compromise, the council will consider
whether to reauthorize or make permanent the ban in January 2009, when
the trial period would likely expire.

In the meantime, the
council's decision to curb beach drinking will enjoy the praise of
residents and business owners who cited the safety of San Diego's
coastal neighborhoods in advocating a ban.

"I strongly believe
everyone has the right to come down and enjoy our beaches in a safe
environment," Councilman Kevin Faulconer said.

Faulconer, who
represents beaches and bays that would be impacted by the ban, opposed
such stringent rules while on the campaign trail and after
commissioning a nine-month task force study. But he reversed course
after a melee broke out in the waning hours of Labor Day in Pacific
Beach, where 17 people were arrested and police blockaded streets.

The
council's 5-2 vote for the trial came after Faulconer's proposed
permanent ban fell one vote short of approval. Councilman Ben Hueso
agreed to support the rule's one-year audition after saying earlier
that the ban wouldn't stop people from getting drunk at the beach.

"I'm
just not content with saying a ban is going to solve our problems,"
said Hueso, likening the ban to laws against drunk driving or smoking
marijuana, in which those illicit acts occur despite the government's
regulations against them.

Along with Faulconer and Hueso,
council members Scott Peters, Toni Atkins and Donna Frye supported the
test ban. Council members Tony Young and Jim Madaffer voted against it.
Council member Brian Maienschein was absent from the hearing.

Mayor
Jerry Sanders, who said he would veto a round-the-clock ban in favor of
prohibiting alcohol on major summertime holidays, will not veto the
temporary ban, spokesman Fred Sainz said.

The vote came after
hours of emotional testimony that pitted residents who enjoy a
longstanding privilege that is virtually unique to San Diego against
community members incensed by the footage of the Labor Day skirmish and
the rowdiness they perceive to be a regular symptom of beach partying.

Opponents
of the ban said the debate became too emotional after the Labor Day
melee, stressing that the overwhelming amount of the hundreds of
thousands of people who enjoyed alcohol on San Diego's beachfront that
day did so without police confrontation.

"These incidents do not happen because of alcohol," said Jacob Pyle, a Pacific Beach resident and director of FreePB.org. "These incidents happen because of jerks, and removing alcohol will not turn them into model citizens."

Others
pointed out that the 17 arrests from the Labor Day melee pale in
comparison to the hundreds of arrests that are made during a typical Chargers
game at Qualcomm Stadium, where significantly fewer people flock than
the numbers that tread the sand of San Diego's beaches on a holiday
weekend.

But supporters of the ban said the culture of beach
drinking has gotten progressively worse over the years. They argued the
city should follow the lead of Orange County, Los Angeles County, and
most other beach cities in San Diego County. San Diego has garnered a
negative reputation in the Southwest for its booze-soaked beaches, they
said.

 

Articles:

http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2007/11/06/news/ban110607.txt  

http://media.www.thedailyaztec.com/media/storage/paper741/news/2007/11/05/City/Alcohol.Ban.Has.Passed-3080604.shtml