City Bans Drinking at Beaches and Parks : Prohibition: Council acts to cut crime and rowdyism; Balboa Park is excluded from alcohol ban, which takes effect in April.

The San Diego City Council Monday unanimously approved a permanent ban on alcohol at La Jolla Shores beach and two community parks and imposed a one-year trial ban at most city parks and all city beaches, from Sunset Cliffs to the southern border of Torrey Pines State Beach.

In a 7-0 vote, with Mayor Maureen O’Connor and Councilman Wes Pratt absent, the council adopted the recommendations of its Public Facilities and Recreation Committee, which agreed to the expanded ban in January.

The new ordinance, which excludes Balboa Park, takes effect in mid-April.

Terri Williams, deputy director of the Park and Recreation Department’s coastal division, and dozens of pro-ban speakers argued that the ban on booze at La Jolla Shores--which took effect in August--has cut crime and reduced rowdyism dramatically.

Speaker after speaker argued that the ban had, in the words of one mother, altered the atmosphere at La Jolla Shores from that of “an ‘Animal House’ beach party” to one of tranquility and calm. Children and the elderly once again feel safe at the beach, she said.

The council spent more than 2 1/2 hours on this item alone, and even in permitting that much time, failed to hear from every one of the 70 speakers who asked to be heard lauding or lamenting San Diego’s joining most other California coastal communities in banning booze on beaches. Such ordinances have been commonplace for years in Los Angeles, Orange and San Francisco counties.

Linda Jo Hardison, co-founder of People to Ban the Ban, argued that the enforcement of existing laws would take care of the problems of public drunkenness and other alcohol-related crimes.

“We shouldn’t take away the privileges of an entire city because a few people are making fools of themselves and jeopardizing the rest of us,” said Hardison, whose group submitted a ban-the-ban petition with more than 5,000 signatures.

Councilwoman Abbe Wolfsheimer, whose district includes La Jolla Shores, said she supported the permanent ban precisely because existing laws had not had enough teeth in them.

“This will make beach policing possible,” Wolfsheimer said. “And it hasn’t been possible for 10 years.”

Wolfsheimer said the trial ban at La Jolla Shores and Kellogg and North Park Community parks had been of “overwhelming benefit,” in the words of police enforcers.

“There has been a substantial reduction in abusive behavior, in drug use and gang activity,” Wolfsheimer said. “There’s been a reduction in vandalism and noise. You name it--the ban has worked. We’ve had good results, and the results have been proven.”

Although she voted for the ban, Councilwoman Linda Bernhardt said she wasn’t convinced that the results had been proven.

She accepted verbal reassurances from Williams that committee members had done their homework and that data--such as lower crime figures--supported the “high emotionalism” surrounding the issue.

“I’m not entirely convinced that bans on alcohol will resolve all of the crime problems we have in this city,” Bernhardt said.

City Councilman Ron Roberts, whose district includes Ocean Beach, said that he occasionally enjoys having a beer on the beach but that everyone “will have to make a sacrifice” and go without it.

“The issue is, how can we provide a safe-and-sound atmosphere?” Roberts said. “That is not the environment we have now. I feel, not just lukewarm about this, but very strongly about this. This is the single-most effective step we can take to reclaim all of our beaches.”

Many of the ban-the-ban speakers had left before their names were called by the clerk. But one who remained walked to the front and said he opposed the ban because it reminded him of a comment made by the late rock star Jim Morrison of The Doors.

“Morrison said, ‘The last thing the Establishment wants us to do is feel good,’ and that’s pretty much what this boils down to.”

Since the man had directed his comment at Deputy Mayor Bob Filner, Filner responded by thanking him, saying, “That’s the first time in 48 years I’ve been called a member of the Establishment.”

Most of the public testimony pointed to how well a trial ban had worked at La Jolla Shores, where residents said pre-ban nights were often-sleepless ordeals made horrific by hordes of drunk teen-agers, who would sometimes party until 3 a.m., even on week nights.

Largely for that reason, council members said, they were imposing the one-year trial ban for all of Mission Bay Park, shoreline streets in Mission Beach and public areas in Pacific Beach up to the eastern edge of Mission Boulevard.

Parks selected for the trial ban include Mission Trails Regional Park, Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve, Memorial Park in Logan Heights and Vista Terrace Neighborhood Park and San Ysidro Sports Field (commonly known as Larsen Field) in San Ysidro.

Several council members asked why Balboa Park wasn’t included in the trial ban. Williams said most of the serious drinking-related problems begin around sunset on the beach areas, and so far, Balboa Park hasn’t had the same level of problems related to drinking.