City Council Rejects Ban on Alcohol : Recreation: Amid harsh criticism of each other, members unanimously agreed that the initial plan to end drinking at parks and beaches was ill-conceived.

The San Diego City Council on Tuesday unanimously rejected the idea of banning alcohol consumption at all city parks and beaches, saying an initial effort at a blanket restriction was ill-conceived and a mistake.

The council said it will work toward a compromise to balance the rights of law-abiding citizens who enjoy a few drinks at the beach without bothering others, while protecting residents who feel under siege by a minority of drinkers who become drunk, abusive and noisy and at times commit crimes.

But before the council voted to send the matter back to its Public Facilities and Recreation Committee--which ignited an uproar last month when it unanimously approved the outright ban without notifying the public--there was a spirited debate among several council members, who questioned one another’s motives.

Councilman Bob Filner, chairman of the committee that recommended the ban, apologized for the haste and acknowledged that more work is needed and that the restriction on alcohol was only one part of an overall plan. He noted that the committee had scheduled a meeting for today to refine the package, and he accused Mayor Maureen O’Connor of “grandstanding” by usurping the committee and scheduling Tuesday’s hearing before the entire council.

The mayor, who opposed the ban, defended her actions, saying the committee’s vote caught everyone by surprise and that citizens had deluged her office with complaints.

“The people who opposed it weren’t notified,” O’Connor said. “This has caused so much confusion” that the entire council was needed to provide direction.

Without mentioning Filner by name, Councilman John Hartley, a member of the committee, said he was disappointed that O’Connor had tried to “embarrass somebody” and accused her of being “irresponsible.”

“I’m upset at the circus quality (of the hearing that is) designed to put someone on the spot or embarrass somebody,” Hartley said.

But the harshest rhetoric was yet to come.

After listening to many opponents of the ban, including the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club, which presented the council with 7,000 signatures it said were gathered mainly in Mission Beach and Pacific Beach, Councilman Bruce Henderson stunned some of his colleagues.

Henderson, who represents those communities, said that even though he voted for the ban as a committee member, he was really against it.

“It was a cry of desperation,” he said, explaining his vote. He said he voted for the ban because he knew there would be an outcry, and the public would then force the council to find a solution.

After sitting through 2 1/2 hours of debate and hearing from dozens of citizens and community groups, an angry Councilman Wes Pratt responded to Henderson. While agreeing that a ban “might be overkill,” Pratt said that what he really had a problem with “is a council member” whose intent was to make a political statement and “jerk” people around.

“Mr. Henderson,” the usually mild-mannered Pratt said, “if Custer had retreated as fast as you did on this issue, he would have made it, he’d be alive.” Pratt said it was “inexcusable” and “irresponsible” to force people to take time off from their jobs to attend the council meeting when it wasn’t necessary, and that everyone on the council knows the real problem is a lack of police enforcement.

Councilwoman Judy McCarty, who serves on the committee with Henderson, jumped in and defended him.

She said Henderson made it clear last month that he was supporting the ban because alternatives--such as arresting and jailing people who break existing nighttime booze bans or are rowdy--are unrealistic because people charged with misdemeanors are routinely rejected at the county’s overcrowded jails.

But Pratt was unmollified.

“You manipulated the people to deal with a particular problem,” he said, his voice rising.

New Councilwoman Linda Bernhardt then said she “echoed a lot of what Mr. Pratt has to say,” adding that, during her short stint on the council, “sometimes . . . it’s very embarrassing to say I’m a member of this council.”

Manipulated or not, nearly a full house showed up at the council chambers for the debate on the issue. Several people living near La Jolla Shores or in Mission Beach blamed alcohol use for many of their neighborhoods’ problems, from noise and rowdiness to petty crime and public drunkenness. They called for support of a booze ban.

Bob Moore, a Mission Beach resident, said drunks and overuse of alcohol have driven families away from the beach, particularly in the past few years. “A California sunset without alcohol is still a beautiful sunset,” he said.

At least on this day, however, the ban’s supporters were outnumbered by foes. Both organized groups that sponsor traditional beach-side events and individuals complained that they were being penalized for the behavior of a relatively small number of people.

Even former Oakland Raiders defensive end Ben Davidson, who is perhaps now more famous for his role in the ubiquitous “Tastes great, less filling” TV beer commercials for a light beer, came from his La Mesa home to implore the council not to take “a step in the wrong direction.”

Joined in opposition were such seemingly disparate groups as the Old Mission Beach Athletic Club, which sponsors the summertime revelry known as the Over-the-Line Tournament on Fiesta Island, and the San Diego Symphony, which said a ban would impinge on its Summer Pops concerts.

Other groups that lined up against the ban included sponsors of the annual spring Crew Classic on Mission Bay; the Unlimited Hydroplane Race, also held on Mission Bay, and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which afterward holds a festival in Balboa Park.

Charles Fox of the Irish Congress, the parade’s sponsor, said a third of his group’s budget comes from the sale of beer at the festival, which he said has never had alcohol-related problems.

All the groups said that whatever the council does, it should make exemptions for organized groups that police their own events.

Aside from the groups, there were other residents who said they work hard during the week, obey the laws, and enjoy drinking a wine cooler or beer at the beach without causing an incident or infringing on the rights of others.

Councilman Ron Roberts said it should be clear to the council that passing another law won’t solve the problem.

“We can’t deprive many people of legitimate recreational activities that include alcohol,” he said. Roberts, like others on the council, said that what’s needed is more enforcement of laws already in existence to curb alcohol problems.

Councilwoman Abbe Wolfsheimer said she is adamant about placing alcohol restrictions at popular La Jolla Shores and adjacent Kellogg Park, including banning alcohol on the beach and parking lots, closing the parking lots at 10 p.m., and restricting the size of fires in beach fire rings.

Filner said his committee will work at creating a comprehensive program to deal with beach and park safety.

“We’re wrestling with a whole program to deal with inappropriate behavior at the beaches. . . . It was our responsibility to look at the ban,” he said. “There is no magic answer.”