NEWPORT BEACH : Officials May Repeat Holiday Restrictions

Pleased with an unusually calm Fourth of July weekend this year, city officials said Monday they may re-implement a series of measures to curb violence and out-of-control celebrations next year.

“We made a major dent” in controlling parties, acting Police Chief Jim Jacobs told the City Council. “I think we should continue these measures next year, maybe on a smaller scale.”

In recent years, Newport Beach police have arrested hundreds of drunken revelers who attend massive, and sometimes violent, parties on Seashore Drive in West Newport during the Fourth of July holiday.

To avoid a repeat of those problems, city workers this year erected fences that blocked off Seashore Drive to keep party-going traffic to a minimum. They also closed several municipal parking lots in the area and restricted curbside parking.

In addition, more than 200 police officers were deployed to enforce a noise ordinance and a 10 p.m. beach curfew and to control parties.

These measures resulted in a dramatic decrease in both the number of people celebrating in the beach community and of arrests for alcohol-related offenses, officials said.

“I thought it all worked out just great,” Mayor Clarence J. Turner said.