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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 1950 (Social Host Ordinance Adoption)CLERK'S CERTIFICATE I, LINDSAY LARA, Interim City Clerk of the City of San Rafael, and Interim Ex- Officio Clerk of the Council of said City, do hereby certify that the foregoing ORDINANCE NO. 1950 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL AMENDING CHAPTER 8.19 OF THE SAN RAFAEL MUNICIPAL CODE ENTITLED "SOCIAL HOST ORDINANCE" TO APPLY TO ADDITIONAL PRIVATE PROPERTY AND ADDING PROVISIONS FOR REQUIRING PARTICIPATION BY OFFENDERS IN A RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROGRAM is a true and correct copy of an Ordinance of said City, and was introduced at a REGULAR meeting of the City Council of the City of San Rafael, held on the 18 th day of December, 2017; a SUMMARY of Ordinance No. 1950 was published as required by City Charter in the MARIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL, a newspaper published in the City of San Rafael, and passed and adopted as an Ordinance of said City at a REGULAR meeting of the City Council of said City, held on the 16 th day of January, 2018, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: COUNCll..,MEMBERS: Bushey, Colin, Gamblin, McCullough & Mayor Phillips COUNCll..,MEMBERS: None COUNCll..,MEMBERS: None WITNESS my hand and the official Seal of the City of San Rafael this 18 th day of January, 2018 tl~RA Interim City Clerk ORDINANCE NO. 1950 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL AMENDING CHAPTER 8.19 OF THE SAN RAFAEL MUNICIPAL CODE ENTITLED "SOCIAL HOST ORDINANCE" TO APPLY TO ADDITIONAL PRIVATE PROPERTY AND ADDING PROVISIONS FOR REQUIRING PARTICIPATION BY OFFENDERS IN A RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROGRAM THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: DIVISION 1. FINDINGS. WHEREAS. in 2007 the City Council added new Chapter 8.19 to the San Rafael Municipal Code entitled "Social Host Ordinance" to address problems associated with social gatherings where alcoholic beverages are served to and/or consumed by underage persons and become unruly, necessitating sometimes mUltiple City police responses and resulting in a disproportionate expenditure of public safety resources and delaying official responses to other calls in the rest of the City; and WHEREAS, the Social Host Ordinance was subsequently amended to also apply to unruly gatherings where controlled substances are served to and/or consumed by underage persons; and WHEREAS, the Council finds that with the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana by adults in California the provisions of the Social Host Ordinance should be clarified to confirm that if applies to unruly gatherings where marijuana is served to and/or consumed by underage persons; and WHEREAS, the Social Host Ordinance imposes on property owners, and other persons responsible for gatherings that allow underage use or consumption of certain intoxicating substances, liability for the nuisances created by such gatherings and the costs associated with responding to them; and WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the problems created by unruly gatherings can occur at or on various kinds of private property, including in vehicles owned or for hire where intoxicating substances are served to and/or consumed by underage persons, and that the provisions of the Social Host Ordinance should be extended to apply in those situations; NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN RAFAEL DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: DIVISION 2. AMENDMENTS. Chapter 8.19 of the San Rafael Municipal Code, entitled "Social Host Ordinance," is hereby amended to read in its entirety as follows: 1 8.19.010 -Title. This chapter is entitled and shall be known as the "Social Host Ordinance." 8.19.020 -Purposes. The occurrence of social gatherings on private property where alcoholic beverages and/or controlled substances and/or marijuana are served to, consumed by, or in the possession of underage persons leads to increased occurrences of social problems such as excessive noise, vandalism, traffic obstructions, driving under the influence by underage persons, and consequent damage, injury and death, and therefore is harmful to the underage persons involved and a threat to public health and safety, quiet enjoyment of public and private property and the general welfare, and a public nuisance as they affect at the same time the entire San Rafael community as well as the neighborhoods in which they occur. City police officers have in the past been required to respond to unruly gatherings on private property at which alcoholic beverages and/or controlled substances and/or marijuana are served to or consumed by underage persons, and have also received multiple service calls in the same calendar year concerning such unruly gatherings at a particular property. Such calls for service result in a disproportionate expenditure of public safety resources and delay official responses to other calls in the rest of the City. An ordinance that imposes liability on property owners and other responsible persons for gatherings that allow underage drinking or use or ingestion of controlled substances and/or marijuana is necessary to deter and prevent such gatherings. Persons who actively and passively aid, allow, or tolerate such gatherings should be held liable for permitting such gatherings, the nuisances created by them and the costs associated with responding to them. 8.19.030 -Definitions. For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply: A. "Alcohol" means the definition of "alcohol" in Section 23003 of the California Business and Professions Code, as amended from time to time. As of the adoption of this chapter, Section 23003 defined "alcohol" to mean "ethyl alcohol, hydrated oxide of ethyl, or spirits of wine, from whatever source or by whatever process produced." B. "Alcoholic beverage" means the definition of "alcoholic beverage" in Section 23004 of the California Business and Professions Code, as amended from time to time. As of the adoption of this chapter, Section 23004 defined "alcoholic beverage" to 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." C. "City" means the City of San Rafael. D. "Controlled Substance" means a drug or s ubstance whose possession and use are regulated under the California Controlled Substances Act (Health & Safety Code Section 2 11000 et seq.). Such term does not include any drug or substance for which the individual found to have consumed or possessed such substance has a valid prescription issued by a licensed medical practitioner authorized to issue such a prescription, or in the case of medical cannabis, a recommendation for medical marijuana from an approved provider, or a State of California medical ID card. E. "Intoxicant" means alcohol, controlled substances and/or marijuana as defined herein. F. "Juvenile" means any person under eighteen (18) years of age. G. "Marijuana" is defined as any and all parts of the plant Cannabis, whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of such plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds or resin and includes concentrated marijuana. The prohibition herein includes marijuana in any form including but not limited to cigarettes, vapor, food products containing marijuana or concentrated marijuana and any other product of marijuana that can be smoked or ingested; provided that, notwithstanding the foregoing, it does not include a substance for which the individual found to have consumed or possessed such substance has a recommendation for medical marijuana from a licensed physician. H. "Private property" means any property, place or premises, including, but not limited to, rental halls or facilities (whether publicly owned and/or maintained) and motor vehicles, owned or rented, of any type, or vehicles of any type licensed and/or hired to transport passengers in return for payment of a fare, which are under the ownership or control of a private person, entity, or organization of any kind. 1. "Response costs" means the costs associated with responses by City police officers and other emergency services providers to unruly gatherings including but not limited to: 1. Salaries and benefits of such public safety personnel for the amount of time spent responding to, remaining at, or otherwise deaLing with unruly gatherings, and the administrative costs attributable to such response(s); 2. The cost of any medical treatment or workers compensation benefits for any such public safety personnel injured responding to, remaining at or leaving the scene of an unruly gathering; 3. The cost of repairing any City 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 unruly gathering; and 4. Any costs recoverable in accordance with California Civil Code Section 1714.9. J. "Responsible person" means a person or persons with a right of possession or use of the residence or other private property in the City at which an unruly gathering may occur, whether the person is present or not, including, but not limited to, the following: 3 1. Any owner of the residence or other private property, meaning the record owner of the title to property as of the time of the unruly gathering, wherever that person or entity may currently reside; 2. A tenant or lessee of the residence or other private property; 3. The person(s) exercising control over the residence or other private property at the time of the unruly gathering; 4. The person(s) renting or hiring a motor vehicle where an unruly gathering occurs; and 5. The person(s) who organizes, supervises, officiates, hosts, conducts or controls the unruly gathering or any other person(s) accepting responsibility for such gathering. K. "Restorative Justice Program" means a program sponsored by the San Rafael Police Department Youth Services Bureau requiring the responsible person, whether adult or juvenile, and/or any hosting juvenile to participate in and complete a specified number of hours of assigned community services and/or counseling as prescribed; or a comparable program approved by the Chief of Police. L. "Underage person" means any person under twenty-one (21) years of age. M. "Unruly gathering" means a party or gathering of two (2) or more persons at a residence or other private property in the City at which intoxicants are being served to and/or consumed by any underage person, when that party or gathering is also being conducted in such a manner as to constitute a substantial disturbance of the quiet enjoyment of private or public property in the neighborhood or in multiple locations, due to the occurrence of such disturbances as excessive noise, excessive traffic, obstruction of public streets by crowds or vehicles, public intoxication or unlawful public consumption of intoxicants, assaults, batteries, fights, domestic violence, vandalism, littering, and any other disturbances of the peace or conduct that constitutes a threat to public health, safety, quiet enjoyment of residential property or general welfare. 8.19.040 -Duty of responsible persons. It is the duty of responsible persons to not knowingly host, permit, or allow an unruly gathering at a residence or other private property in the City concerning which the responsible person has a right of possession specified in SectlOl1 ~.ll).030 (J), and to take all reasonable steps to prevent the consumption of intoxicants by any underage person at gatherings at such residence or other pri vate property. Reasonable steps required pursuant to this section may include, but are not limited to: controlling access to intoxicants at the gathering; controlling the quantity of intoxicants present at the gathering; verifying the age of persons attending the gathering by inspecting drivers' licenses or other government-issued identification cards to ensure that underage persons do not consume intoxicants while at the gathering; and supervising the activities of underage persons at the gathering. 4 8.19.050 -Unruly gatherings on private property unlawful. It is unlawful and a public nuisance for any responsible person to knowingly host, permit, or allow an unruly gathering to occur at private property in the City concerning which the responsible person has a right of possession specified in Seclion 8.19.0.30 (1). For purposes of this chapter, a responsible person knowingly hosts, permits or allows an unruly gathering whenever the responsible person is aware an underage person has consumed an alcoholic intoxicant at an unruly gathering, or reasonably should have been aware an underage person has consumed an intoxicant at such a gathering had the responsible person taken all reasonable steps to prevent consumption of intoxicants by underage persons in accordance with Section 8.19.0-1-0 . It shall be prima facie evidence that the responsible person knew or should have known of both the unruly gathering and the consumption of intoxicants by underage persons at the gathering if the responsible person is present on the property at any point during the gathering. To the full extent permitted by law, owners of properties as defined in Section 8.10.030 shall remain responsible persons liable for violations of this chapter on such property regardless of any contract or agreement regarding the property that purports to provide otherwise. 8.19.060 -Hosting by juvenile. In the event that a juvenile hosts an unruly gathering in violation of this chapter, and no other responsible person is present at such gathering, then the juvenile shall be deemed to be a responsible person. If the juvenile is not emancipated within the meaning of the California Family Code, then the parents or legal guardians having custody of that juvenile shall be jointly and severally liable with the juvenile for any penalties and response costs imposed pursuant to this chapter, whether or not such parents or guardians are deemed to be responsible persons hereunder or have or had knowledge of the unruly gathering. 8.19.070 -Violations-Penalties. A. Any violation of this chapter shall be deemed to be a public nuisance, and may be enforced either as an infraction or as a misdemeanor, by an administrative citation pursuant to ( haptcr 1.-1--1-of this Code, or by any other remedy available to the City under this Code, or under state law. All such remedies shall be alternative to or in addition to or in conjunction with, and not exclusive of, one another. The election of remedies shall be at the sole discretion of the City. B. Restorative Justice. In place of or in addition to any other remedies available to the City under this Chapter, the City may require a responsible party to participate in a Restorati ve Justice Program. 8.19.080 -Recovery of response costs. Where a criminal or administrative citation has been issued, or where a criminal complaint has been filed, for a violation of this chapter, all responsible persons identified by 5 the police in connection with the violation shall be assessed with, and shall be jointly and severally liable for payment of, the response costs in connection with the violation. 8.19.090 -Payment of response costs, request for hearing. A. If response costs are assessed pursuant to this chapter in connection with the issuance of an administrative citation for a violation, all responsible person(s) shall be notified in writing of the amount of the assessment within ten (10) business days after issuance of the citation for the violation. Any response costs assessed shall be due and payable within thirty (30) days after the date of the assessment notice. A person assessed for response costs pursuant to this section may request a hearing thereon by filing a request for hearing concerning the assessment with the city finance department within thirty (30) days after the date of the assessment notice. If a hearing has been requested to contest the underlying administrative citation, the hearing on the assessment shall be heard at the same time. If no hearing has been requested to contest the underlying administrative citation, the hearing on the assessment shall nevertheless be held by an administrative hearing officer pursuant to the hearing procedures provided in ('hallIe] I .-l--l-of this Code for hearings on administrative citations. The decision by the administrative hearing officer on whether to uphold the assessment in whole or in part shall be final, provided that an appeal to the Marin County Courts from the decision of the administrative hearing officer concerning a decision on the underlying administrative citation pursuant to SectIon l.-t-l-.l 00 may also review the decision by the administrative hearing officer concerning the assessment. Such response costs shall be a debt owed to the city which may be recovered by the city in a civil action, in which the city shall be entitled to recover its costs and reasonable attorneys' fees. B. If response costs are assessed pursuant to this chapter in connection with the issuance of a criminal citation or filing of a criminal complaint for a violation, such response costs may be sought by the city as restitution in connection with the criminal proceedings involving the violation. 8.19.100 -Imposition of liens or special assessments. In addition to any other remedy provided by law, the city may enforce any liability for response costs assessed pursuant to this chapter by special assessment on the real property where the violation occurred, to be collected by the Marin County Tax Collector as more specifically set forth in Government Code Section 38773.5. 8.19.110 -No mandatory duty of care. This chapter is not intended to impose, and shall not be construed or given effect in a manner that imposes upon the city, or any officer, employee, agent, or representative of the city, a mandatory duty of care toward persons or property within or without the city limits, so as to provide a basis of civil liability for damages, except as may otherwise be imposed by law. 6 8.19.120 -Notices. A. Any notices required to be given by this chapter shall be served in accordance with the provisions of Section 1.08.060 of this Code. B. Failure to receive any notice specified in this chapter shall not affect the validity of proceedings conducted hereunder. DIVISION 3. SEVERABILITY. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The Council hereby declares that it would have adopted the Ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that anyone or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid. DIVISION 4. PUBLICATION; EFFECTIVE DATE. A summary of this Ordinance shall be published and a certified copy of the full text of this Ordinance shall be posted in the office of the City Clerk at least five (5) days prior to the Council meeting at which it is adopted. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect thirty (30) days after its final passage, and the summary of this Ordinance shall be published within fifteen (15) days after the adoption, together with the names of the Councilmembers voting for or against same, in the Marin Independent Journal, a newspaper of general circulation published and circulated in the City of San Rafael, County of Marin, State of California. Within fifteen (15) days after adoption, the City Clerk shall also post in the office of the City Clerk, a certified copy of the full text of this Ordinance along with the names of those Councilmembers voting for and against the Ordinance. ATTEST: ESTHER BEIRNE, City Clerk The foregoing Ordinance No.1950 was read and introduced at a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of San Rafael, held on the 18th day of December, 2017 and ordered passed to print by the following vote, to wit: 7 AYES: Councilmembers: Bushey, Colin, Gamblin, McCullough & Mayor Phillips NOES: Councilmembers: None ABSENT: Councilmembers: None and will come up for adoption as an Ordinance of the City of San Rafael at a Regular Meeting of the Council to be held on the 16th day of January, 2018. ESTHER BEIRNE, City Clerk 8