City Council Moves to Ban Late-Night Beach Booze

Acting on complaints from angry beach residents of increased public drunkenness and rowdiness, the San Diego City Council Tuesday approved in concept an experimental ban on alcohol consumption at the city’s beaches between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., but exempted Ocean Beach.

The compromise measure, which was passed unanimously, will apply to Mission Beach, Pacific Beach and La Jolla. It replaced an earlier proposal that would have covered all beach areas and banned drinking between midnight and 6 a.m. Under the ordinance passed Tuesday, the City Council will review the measure’s effectiveness during the summer and decide whether to shorten or lengthen the ban.

The council ordered the city manager to return next week with a written version of the ordinance for final approval. If final approval is given, the new measure would become effective in March.

Ocean Beach was exempted after attorney Robert Burns, an Ocean Beach resident, spoke in strong opposition to the matter. Burns called the ordinance “repressive legislation” and pointed out to the council that it carried little or no support among Ocean Beach residents and community groups.

Authored Compromise

Councilman Ron Roberts, whose district includes Ocean Beach, authored the compromise accepted by the council and asked that Ocean Beach be excluded.

Support for the beach drinking ban came from the police, the city’s Park and Recreation Department, Mission Beach Town Council, Pacific Beach Town Council, La Jolla Town Council, and the Pacific Beach Planning Group.

City Manager John Lockwood, noting that most of the complaints against late-night beach drinking and rowdy behavior came from Mission Beach residents anyway, downplayed Ocean Beach’s exemption. The handful of people who spoke in support of the ordinance Tuesday came from Mission Beach.

“Mission Beach is where the real problem is. So, they’re going to experiment there,” Lockwood told reporters following the vote.

Complaints About Rowdiness

Mission Beach residents have complained at public hearings about increasingly rowdy behavior by some people who hang out along the beach walks, harassing women, fighting and urinating in public.

As passed by the council, the ordinance was a compromise offered by Roberts, who had supported a proposal by Councilman Bruce Henderson to have the ban in effect between midnight and 6 a.m. on all city beaches. Henderson said that he favored taking the “least intrusive step possible” in drawing up the ordinance.

“I have a difficult time envisaging walking down the beach at summer time and arresting people who are enjoying a drink. The problem with this law is that you can arrest people who drink a beer at 10 p.m.,” Henderson said in advocating a cautious approach.

Councilwoman Judy McCarty, who in the past has called for a total ban on alcoholic beverages for all city beaches and parks, urged fellow council members to support the 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. ban.

Earlier, Henderson had voiced concern that the early curfew would affect law-abiding couples who seek a quiet interlude on the beach with a glass of wine or beer.

“We’re not trying to ban fun and romance . . . But after 10 p.m. you can have fun and romance without whiskey. I think the 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. compromise is workable,” McCarty said.

Mayor Maureen O’Connor attempted to allay Henderson’s fears by assuring him that police would be selective about enforcing the new law.

“You’ve got to give the police more credit. They’re not going to go after romantic couples, I hope, drinking a can of beer or wine at 10 p.m.,” O’Connor said.

This prompted a question by Councilman Ed Struiksma, who asked whether the city would face possible lawsuits if the police end up enforcing the beach drinking ban selectively. Struiksma was particularly concerned by assurances from O’Connor and other council members who said that police probably would not arrest people who are seen drinking on the beach after 10 p.m., as long as they were not engaging in rowdy behavior.

Lockwood answered Struiksma’s question by further assuring him that police would use “prudent judgment” in enforcing the ordinance.