Morgan Hill Municipal Code Ch. 9.13 Social Host

A. Underage persons consuming alcoholic beverages at gatherings held at private residences or at rented residential and commercial premises is harmful to the underage persons themselves and a threat to the peace, health, safety, quiet enjoyment of residential property and the general welfare of the public. Underage persons, who have been consuming alcoholic beverages, are at greater risk to be in automobile accidents, to commit suicide, to be assaulted, and girls are at greater risk of sexual assaults.

B. Persons responsible for the occurrence of these types of gathering on private property over which they have possession or control have failed to ensure that alcoholic beverages are neither served to nor consumed by underage persons at these parties.

C. Problems associated with gatherings involving underage persons drinking alcohol are difficult to prevent and deter. Police need an arsenal of tools to deal with the issue of underage drinking and its attendant problems. If persons are held civilly responsible by having to pay a significant fine for hosting a party where there is underage drinking, they will be more likely to properly supervise or stop such conduct at events held on property under their possession or control. Because the high median household income of residents of the city of Morgan Hill, the fine needs to be significant to have such a deterrent effect.

D. In the past and present, law enforcement, fire and other emergency response services personnel have and are required to respond, sometimes on multiple occasions, to these types of gatherings. The repeated return of police officers to the location of an event constitutes a drain of emergency personnel and resources, often leaving other areas of the city of Morgan Hill without police protection or with unreasonably limited protection. Responses to such gatherings also result in a disproportionate expenditure of public safety resources of the city of Morgan Hill, which are underwritten by general municipal taxes paid to the city of Morgan Hill by its taxpayers and residents.

(Ord. 1850 N.S. § 1 (part), 2007)

A. To enforce laws prohibiting the service to and consumption of alcoholic beverages by underage persons;

B. To protect public health, safety, general welfare and quiet enjoyment of residential property and properties neighboring one of these gatherings; and

C. To establish standards and controls of parties, gatherings or assemblages involving underage persons consuming alcoholic beverages on private property when such gatherings are determined to be a threat to the public peace, health, safety or general welfare and require initial police response and return calls to the location to disperse uncooperative participants.

(Ord. 1850 N.S. § 1 (part), 2007)

For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

A. "Alcoholic beverage" shall mean alcohol, spirits, liquor, wine, beer, and every liquid or solid containing alcohol, spirits, wine, or beer, and which contains one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume and which is fit for beverage purposes either alone or when diluted, mixed, or combined with other substances.

B. "Juvenile" means any person under eighteen years of age.

C. "Residence" or "Other private property" shall mean a home, yard, apartment, condominium, hotel or motel room, or other dwelling unit, or a hall or meeting room, whether occupied on a temporary or permanent basis, whether occupied as a dwelling, party or other social function, and whether owned, leased, rented, or used with or without compensation.

D. "Response costs" means those reasonable and necessary costs directly incurred by the city of Morgan Hill for a response to an underage gathering, and include the cost of providing police, firefighting, and/or other emergency services at the scene of the underage gathering including but not limited to:

1. Salaries and benefits of law enforcement and/or emergency personnel for the amount of time spent responding to, remaining at, or otherwise dealing with underage gatherings, and the administrative costs attributable to such response(s);

2. The cost of any medical treatment to or for any law enforcement personnel injured responding to, remaining at or leaving the scene of an underage gathering; and

3. The cost of repairing any city of Morgan Hill equipment or property damage, and the cost of the use of any such equipment, in responding to, remaining at or leaving the scene of an underage gathering.

E. "Responsible person" shall mean a person or persons as defined below. A responsible person need not reside at, need not be present at, and need not have prior knowledge of an underage gathering, as a prerequisite to a finding that such person is a responsible person as defined by this section. Responsible person includes, but is not limited to:

1. Owner(s) of the residence or other private property where an underage gathering is taking place, provided that if said owner has rented or leased said property to another person, said owner shall not be considered a responsible person until said owner receives notice of at least one previous underage gathering on said property in the prior twelve months. Notice shall be by a copy of the citation transmitted via certified mail to the owner of the residence or other private property as recorded by the last equalized assessment roll of the Santa Clara County Assessor. Such owner shall not be considered a responsible person where he or she has commenced and is diligently proceeding with eviction proceedings against the responsible lessee and/or tenant of the property where the underage gathering occurred.

2. Lessee(s) and/or tenant(s) of the residence or other private property where an underage gathering is taking place;

3. Person(s) hosting an underage gathering;

4. Person(s) providing and/or serving alcohol to an underage person at an underage gathering;

5. Person(s) receiving money or other consideration for granting access to an underage gathering;

6. Parent(s) or legal guardian(s) of a juvenile who is also a responsible person;

7. Person(s) exercising control over the residence or other private property at the time of the underage gathering.

F. "Underage gathering" means a party or gathering of three or more underage persons at a residence or other private property in the city of Morgan Hill at which alcoholic beverages are being consumed or possessed by one or more underage persons.

G. "Underage person" shall mean any person under twenty-one (21) years of age.

(Ord. 1850 N.S. § 1 (part), 2007)

A. An underage gathering of three or more persons at a residence or other private property in the city of Morgan Hill at which alcoholic beverages are being consumed or possessed by one or more underage persons shall constitute a public nuisance, as an immediate threat to public health and safety, and is prohibited.

B. As a public nuisance, the underage gathering may be summarily abated by police by all reasonable means, singularly or in combination, including, but not limited to:

1. An order requiring the gathering to be disbanded;

2. Issuance of an administrative citation under this ordinance; and

3. Issuance of a criminal citation and/or arrest of any law violators under any other applicable ordinances and/or statutes.

C. In addition to, in combination with, or as an alternative to, any other remedy provided by law, the city of Morgan Hill may abate the underage gathering as a public nuisance pursuant to the procedures set forth in Chapter 1.18.

(Ord. 1850 N.S. § 1 (part), 2007)

A. It is unlawful for any person to violate any of the provisions of this chapter. Violations of this chapter may be criminally prosecuted if the responsible person knowingly caused or permitted the violation to occur, or reasonably should have known that a violation would occur.

B. In addition to all other available remedies, all responsible persons in violation of this chapter, regardless of whether they knew or should have known that a violation would occur, shall be jointly and severally liable for all response costs.

(Ord. No. 2276 N.S., § 37, 5-2-2018)

Editor's note— Ord. No. 2276 N.S., § 37, adopted May 2, 2018, amended § 9.13.050 in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former § 9.13.050 pertained to criminal and civil penalties for violation of the ordinance.

Any administrative fine imposed for violation of this chapter, including any administrative fines pursuant to other codes or statutes to which violations of this chapter are subject, and any administrative costs or other expenses of enforcement, response costs as defined in this chapter, and the cost or expenses associated with the abatement of a nuisance condition pursuant to this chapter, may be enforced by the recordation of a lien or special assessment on the real property where the violation occurred in accordance with and subject to the requirements of Chapter 1.18.

(Ord. 1850 N.S. § 1 (part), 2007)

This chapter shall not apply to activities protected by Article I, section 4 of the California Constitution or the 1st or 14th Amendments of the United States Constitution.

(Ord. 1850 N.S. § 1 (part), 2007)