State Law on Closed Containers Questioned : Regulation: Residents can possess but not drink alcohol at parks, beaches, which Gaddi Vasquez says is illogical.

You can bring a six-pack of ice-cold beer to a county beach or park. You just can’t drink it.

That situation had Orange County Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez fuming Tuesday when he learned that only the state can restrict people from possessing closed containers of alcohol at the county’s 25 park facilities and four beaches. The county’s power is more limited--it can ban only the consumption of liquor.

“It’s illogical,” said Vasquez, who questioned why people would bring liquor to a park unless they planned to drink it. “It stands to reason it’s not there as an ornament or a centerpiece. It’s there for an obvious purpose.”

The Orange County Board of Supervisors was scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to back an ordinance barring the possession of alcoholic beverages at county parks and beaches. Instead, the board will revisit the issue Tuesday after county counsel studies the matter.

The issue was prompted by concern about alcohol-related incidents as the peak season for beach and park use approaches. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has long complained about confronting park and beach visitors carrying ice chests filled with beer and alcohol--but not being able to do much more than warn them against drinking it.

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Michael M. Ruane, head of the Environmental Management Agency that oversees the county’s parks and beaches, said the main concern is safety in public areas.

“You have parks spilling over with people, and when alcohol is mixed in there you can have problems,” he said. “You’re supposed to go to parks to get away from that.”

Some Orange County coastal cities have ordinances banning alcohol possession, and a number of other communities up and down the state enforce similar statutes. But when challenged, some of those ordinances have been overturned.

Most recently, a 1994 appeal heard in Los Angeles Superior Court struck down a Downey ordinance barring the possession of cans of beer in a park. The court ruled that only the state has the power to impose such restrictions.

Legislation now pending in Sacramento would give local agencies the power to restrict the possession of alcohol.