Hemet Municipal Code Art. V Social Hosts and Loud or Unruly Gatherings

The purposes of this article are to:

(a) Protect the public health, safety and general welfare and quiet enjoyment of property;

(b) Establish a duty of individuals who knowingly conduct, aid, organize, host, permit or allow a gathering to take reasonable steps to prevent the service and consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors;

(c) Facilitate the enforcement of laws prohibiting the service to, consumption of, or possession of alcoholic beverages by minors, deter the service and consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors, and promote the reduction of underage drinking; and

(d) Offset the city's costs associated with providing fire, police, and other emergency services to loud or unruly gatherings by recouping some of the costs associated with providing such services.

(Ord. No. 1859, § 1(Exh. A), 3-26-13)

Alcoholic beverage shall have the same meaning as in Business and Professions Code § 23004, as may be amended from time to time.

Controlled substance means a drug or substance whose possession and use are regulated under the federal Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. Section 801 et seq.). The term "controlled substance" does not include any drug or substance for which the individual found to have consumed such substance has a valid prescription issued by a licensed medical practitioner authorized to issue such a prescription.

Gathering means a party, gathering, or event where two or more people have assembled or are assembling at a premises for a social occasion or activity.

Guardian means (i) a person who, under court order, is the guardian of a minor, or (ii) a public or private agency with whom a minor has been placed by the court.

Juvenile means any person under 18 years of age.

Loud or unruly gathering means a gathering where loud or unruly conduct occurs. Loud or unruly conduct shall include one or more of the following:

(1) Excessive, unnecessary, unreasonable, or unusually loud noise that disturbs the quiet and repose of the residents of nearby properties and interferes with the comfortable and quiet enjoyment of life and property;

(2) Obstruction of and/or loitering on public streets and sidewalks by individuals that are taking part in a gathering;

(3) Public drunkenness or unlawful public consumption of alcoholic beverages or controlled substances;

(4) Assaults, batteries, fights, domestic violence or other disturbances of the peace; and

(5) Any other conduct which constitutes a threat to the public health, safety, general welfare of the city's residents or the quiet enjoyment of residential property.

Minor means any person less than 21 years of age.

Premises means a residence or other private property, or rented public property. The term "premises" includes any land on which the residence or other private property or rented public property is located and any accessory structures located on the land.

Public safety service costs means the costs associated with responses by law enforcement, fire and other emergency response providers to loud or unruly gatherings, including, but not limited to:

(1) Salaries and benefits of law enforcement, fire or other emergency response personnel for the amount of time spent responding to, remaining at, or otherwise dealing with loud or unruly gatherings, and the administrative costs attributable to such responses;

(2) The cost of any medical treatment for any law enforcement, fire or other emergency response personnel injured responding to, remaining at or leaving the scene of a loud or unruly gathering; and

(3) The cost of repairing any city equipment or property damaged, and the cost of the use of any such equipment, in responding to, remaining at or leaving the scene of a loud or unruly gathering.

Responsible person means a person with an ownership interest or right of possession in a premises on which a loud or unruly gathering occurs, or a person in charge of the loud or unruly gathering, including, but not limited to:

(1) An owner of the premises;

(2) A tenant or lessee of the premises;

(3) The landlord of another responsible person;

(4) The person in charge of the premises;

(5) Any person who conducts, aids, organizes, hosts, permits or allows the loud or unruly gathering or any other person accepting responsibility for the loud or unruly gathering; and

(6) The parent or guardian of a juvenile who is a responsible person.

Social host means any person who permits, allows, or hosts a gathering at his or her place of residence or other property, public place, or any other premises under his or her control where alcoholic beverages have been consumed by a minor.

(Ord. No. 1859, § 1(Exh. A), 3-26-13)

(a) It is unlawful and a public nuisance for any person 21 years of age or older having control of any premises to knowingly conduct, aid, organize, host, permit or allow a gathering to take place at the premises where one or more minors consumes an alcoholic beverage, whenever such person having control of the premises either:

(1) Intentionally serves or causes to be served an alcoholic beverage to a minor for consumption; or

(2) Knows or reasonably should have known that a minor has consumed an alcoholic beverage and thereafter fails to immediately take appropriate action to prevent further consumption of alcoholic beverages by any minor.

(b) It is the duty of any person who conducts, aids, organizes, hosts, permits, or allows a gathering at where minors will be present to take all reasonable steps to prevent the consumption of alcoholic beverages by any minor at the gathering. Reasonable steps shall include, at a minimum, the following:

(1) Controlling access to alcoholic beverages at the gathering;

(2) Controlling the quantity of alcoholic beverages at the gathering to an amount which can be monitored and its access controlled effectively;

(3) Verifying the age of persons who consume alcoholic beverages at the gathering by inspecting driver's licenses or other government-issued identification cards; and

(4) Monitoring the activities of persons at the gathering, including minors.

(c) This section shall not apply to any California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control licensee at any premises regulated by the Department of Alcoholic Control or to conduct involving the use of alcoholic beverages by a minor that occurs exclusively in the presence and with the permission of the minor's parents or legal guardians, and that does not violate Penal Code § 272, including as permitted by article 1, section 4 of the California Constitution.

(d) A person who conducts, aids, organizes, hosts, permits, or allows a gathering shall not be in violation of this section if he or she, before any other person makes a complaint to the police department or other law enforcement agency about the gathering, seeks assistance from the police department or other law enforcement agency to either:

(1) Remove any person who refuses to abide by the host's rules or requirements with respect to his or her performance of the duties imposed by this section; or

(2) Terminate the gathering because the host has been unable to prevent minors from consuming alcoholic beverages, despite having taken all reasonable steps to do so.

(Ord. No. 1859, § 1(Exh. A), 3-26-13)

It is unlawful and a public nuisance for any person to conduct, organize, host, permit or allow a loud or unruly gathering.

(Ord. No. 1859, § 1(Exh. A), 3-26-13)

A violation of section 46-82 or section 46-83 shall be either an infraction or misdemeanor, in the discretion of the citing officer or city attorney's office. Alternatively, any violation of section 46-82 or section 46-83 may, at the city's discretion, be subject to enforcement in accordance with the administrative citation procedures in chapter 30, article II, division 4 of this Code.

(Ord. No. 1859, § 1(Exh. A), 3-26-13)

Cross reference— Provisions relative to administrative fines and citations have been relocated to ch. 1, art. II.

A loud or unruly gathering is a public nuisance and the city shall be entitled to recover the public safety services costs of responding to a loud and unruly gathering and abating the resulting nuisance condition. Any responsible person and/or social host shall be liable for public safety services costs incurred by the city in responding to a loud and unruly gathering. If there is more than one responsible person and/or social host for the loud or unruly gathering, all such individuals shall be jointly and severally liable for the public safety services costs. The amount of any public safety services costs may be collected by the city by any available legal remedy, including but not limited to the cost recovery procedures set forth in sections 30-40 and 30-41.

(Ord. No. 1859, § 1(Exh. A), 3-26-13)

The remedies provided under this article are cumulative, and shall not restrict the city's ability to pursue any other remedy to which it is entitled under law or equity. The procedure provided for in this article is in addition to any other available legal remedy. Nothing in this article shall be deemed to preclude the imposition of any criminal penalty, nor shall anything in this chapter be deemed to conflict with any penalty or provision under state law, or prohibit any conduct authorized by the state or federal constitutions.

(Ord. No. 1859, § 1(Exh. A), 3-26-13)

This article shall not apply to activities:

(1) Protected by article 1, section 4, of the California Constitution;

(2) Protected by the First or Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution; or

(3) Regulated by the California Alcohol Beverage Control Act.

(Ord. No. 1859, § 1(Exh. A), 3-26-13)