Newport Beach looks for ways to prevent future holiday havoc after Fourth of July
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In the wake of an unruly Fourth of July weekend that saw hundreds of arrests, Newport Beach officials held a public discussion on how to avoid another summer holiday hangover.
City Manager Seimone Jurjis gave a presentation at the onset of Tuesday’s Newport Beach City Council meeting about the fracas on the Fourth. He affirmed that the city had a plan in place months in the making to brace for expected crowds.
An influx of nearly 500,000 people poured into Newport Beach over the weekend. City estimates claimed that 160,000 visited on July 4 alone.
“The city’s plan included enhanced police staffing, additional fire and emergency medical readiness, fully-staffed lifeguard operations, code enforcement support and activation of the safety enhancement zones,” Jurjis told the City Council. “The key point is that the city entered the weekend with a comprehensive plan.
“We executed that plan.”
The city is leveraging expanded safety zones, street closures and increased authorities over short-term rental parties all in the name of keeping Fourth of July revelry safe and sane.
But with over 400 arrests of mostly young people, Jurjis also offered suggested improvements for how to handle future holiday crowds.
Those suggestions included enhanced curfews for minors in the city’s safety zones, collaborating with agencies outside Orange County to increase police presence and forging a partnership with social media companies for increased surveillance of so-called “TikTok takeovers.”
Mayor Lauren Kleiman blamed social media for the swell of unruly revelers who lit illegal fireworks, failed to leave after an unlawful assembly declaration and vandalized a Pavilions grocery store.
“These teen takeovers — mass unsanctioned gatherings organized on social media at beaches, theme parks, and city centers— are surging across the country,” she said. “I contacted TikTok for answers and preventative measures. They’ve offered [a] partnership with our police department and the willingness to deactivate problem accounts, which they’ve already done in some cases.”
After the Fourth of July in Newport Beach, reported teen takeovers being planned for Huntington Beach and Knott’s Berry Farm were flagged by law enforcement.
Newport Beach Police Chief Dave Miner reported that young people congregated in the beach city in large numbers on July 4 at around 7:30 p.m. After sunset, the crowd became unruly.
Shortly after 8 p.m., the Newport Beach Police Department initiated a mutual aid plan after unlawful assembly declarations went unheeded.
Nearly 400 officers responded from Newport PD and more than a dozen local agencies. Officers helped clear the crowds away from the pier area and resorted emergency vehicle access.
Most of the arrests involved people age 25 and under. Arizona residents accounted for 41% of the arrestees.
A representative from TikTok pledged to work with city officials to “prevent these incidents from occurring again.”
Danny Sullivan, a Newport Beach resident, asked for more evidence to support the “TikTok takeover” narrative put forth by city officials.
“When you say half the people were arrested from Arizona, they clearly didn’t hear about it in Arizona in the afternoon and then drive out here,” he said. “It would be nice to see … some of the videos of the teen takeover, or some of the screenshots, so that we can understand more of what was happening and really get more to the idea of how much of that [is] really the problem here.”
Last weekend’s mayhem, in which thousands descended on the community and more than 400 ended up under arrest, has spurred calls for the city leaders to take decisive action.
As part of its plan, Newport Beach also strengthened its enforcement of regulations for short-term rental properties as a means to crack down on out-of-control parties.
Code enforcement officers responded to 30 holiday-related calls for services involving STRs, with nine resulting in citations.
Jeff Flint, executive director of the Newport Beach Short-Term Rental Alliance, did not want STR property owners to become a scapegoat for the fracas.
“The vast majority of short-term rental managers and owners and operators in this community are responsible,” he told councilmembers. “Their guests were victims, just like the full-time and long-term residents of this community.”
Councilmembers praised the efforts of officers and other city staff in dealing with the challenges posed by holiday crowds.
But Councilmember Erik Weigand urged caution with suggestions from residents that the Balboa Peninsula should be closed down as a preventive measure in the future.
“We’ve seen higher-ups close down our beaches, and that’s not something the Fourth of July stands for,” he said. “But maybe there are streets that can close down. Maybe Ocean Front Lot can be closed down. Maybe there are patterns of traffic that can be created to address evacuation routes, but also to prevent any type of behavior that’s unbecoming.”
Weigand added that conversations with the California Coastal Commission would have to weigh any preventive measures with beach access. He also favored forming an ad hoc committee on STRs and asked if 1,550 permitted vacation properties across the city is too concentrated.
Kleiman mentioned that she has already set up a meeting with the Coastal Commission later this month. She favored Miner having the authority to declare a minor curfew, DUI checkpoints on the peninsula and street cameras controlled by police.
“This is going to be a continued conversation,” Kleiman said. “We continue to welcome public feedback as we move forward, again, not just for the Fourth of July, but for every day.”
