Spring Brake : Palm Springs Tries to Slow Down Students’ Revelry

It’s that time of year again--spring break. Throughout the country, colleges and high schools have sprung their restive charges and many are headed, as usual, for Palm Springs.

But beware, would-be revelers, because the desert resort cherished for its reliably clear skies and balmy temperatures has a new get-tough policy that threatens to take some fun out of this annual exercise in drunken debauchery.

Packing a squirt gun? Think again. Firing the toy could earn you a stiff fine--plus an extra fee of $15 to repay the city for the time it took to ticket you.

Planning to cruise Palm Canyon Drive with a Coors in your lap? Watch out. Local police--augmented by scores of officers on loan from other law enforcement agencies--will be ready to pounce.

Pull something really cute and you might have Mayor Sonny Bono--who has been patroling city streets on his snazzy black Harley Davidson--chasing you down.

It’s all part of what His Honor describes as an effort by Palm Springs to strike back at the April invaders--a bid by the populace to get away “from being total victims of Easter vacation.”

Though some merchants who benefit from the hordes of young visitors disagree, the mayor believes the spring breakers create a gigantic hassle for residents and give little in return: “If I could wave a wand and make it go away,” Bono declared recently, “I would.”

Lacking such a wand, the City Council has been hunting for ways to deter miscreant behavior and saddle troublemakers with the growing financial burden of enforcing laws during the break. This year, the city will spend $358,000 for extra law enforcement help during the April vacation crunch.

In February, city officials considered a proposal to cover the extra police costs by increasing the nightly bed tax for hotels and motels by $4 during spring break. That idea, however, was quickly attacked by hotel and motel owners and scrapped.

On Wednesday night, the council instead approved a novel ordinance allowing Palm Springs to charge lawbreakers a special fee for violations occurring during a two-week period beginning today.

During this time, anyone issued a citation--for offenses ranging from possession of an open alcoholic beverage to heaving a water balloon--will face a fee of $15 on top of whatever penalty is imposed by the court. Those arrested and booked into jail will be slapped with a bill of $65.

“The idea is, we are collecting a reimbursement from these people for the manpower we’ve expended in ticketing or arresting them,” Palm Springs spokesman Frank Cullen said. “It’s a creative approach.”

Violators will have 30 days to cough up the dough or will be referred to a collection agency. Based on past arrest and citation figures, city officials estimate the fees will allow them to recoup up to $175,000, Cullen said.

Other tactics designed to make spring break run smoothly include the erection of signs warning motorists not to block intersections and the placement of portable toilets at spots where students tend to congregate downtown.

The 80 members of the local police force are sacrificing their days off and working 12-hour shifts, and will be joined by nearly 60 officers from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and the California Highway Patrol.

Mayor Bono, meanwhile, plans to continue roving town on his motorcycle, looking for flagrant violators. Last week, Cullen said, Bono pulled up beside a young speedster and threatened to jail the startled driver for the night if he didn’t slow down.

“Sonny is definitely trying to be more visible,” Cullen said. “He even volunteered for duty in the police motorcycle division, but the chief said they had enough people.”

In 1986, students went on an unprecedented rampage, hurling rocks and bottles at police and causing thousands of dollars in damage to Palm Springs’ commercial area. The following year, city officials responded by beefing up police patrols, tightening traffic laws and discouraging liquor stores from selling beer in glass bottles.

While few residents dispute Bono’s contention that the break is a headache for Palm Springs, some folks in the tourist business are a tad uncomfortable with the mayor’s less-than-hospitable posture. This is a tourist town, and not all of the young visitors are rowdy hooligans, these critics point out.

“Spring break does cause a lot of aggravation and extra expense, but I don’t believe we should be telling these kids to go away,” said Erich Langmann, owner of the 158-room Travelodge, an affordable inn popular among students. “If the city can do something that allows us to replace the kids with senior citizens, then fine. But short of that . . . we like the business.”

Owners of more upscale hotels, however, counter that the college crowd scares off their guests, thereby hurting business during peak weather conditions.

“It’s not a case of not liking young people,” said Zetta Castle, owner of the 22-suite L’Horizon Hotel. “They’re marvelous. It’s just there are such masses of them. My guests call ahead and won’t come if the streets are crowded and they’re unable to get to the restaurants.”

Although the largest influx of revelers is expected to begin arriving today, students from schools on different schedules have been vacationing in Palm Springs for the last several weeks. Police Lt. Lee Weigel said more than 300 arrests have been made and more than 1,000 citations issued during the last three weekends.