FOR THE COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 4, 2022
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
TO: City Council
FROM: City Manager
Prepared by Assistant City Manager, Andrew Hackleman
SUBJECT: SOCIAL HOST REGULATIONS ORDINANCE
RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council introduce, for first reading and continue to a future meeting for second reading and adoption, an Ordinance amending Title 6 of the Santa Maria Municipal Code to add new Chapter 6-15 — Social Host Regulations.
SUMMARY:
The effort to develop this Social Host Ordinance has been underway since 2020, with input and collaboration from Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley. The project was motivated by a desire to support Santa Maria youth and to provide a platform for education and prevention.
BACKGROUND:
Alcohol and illegal drug use by underage youth create lasting negative outcomes for individuals and communities, which is why more than 150 California cities and counties have implemented Social Host Ordinances. Social Host Ordinances are created to provide education, communicate community values, and discourage and deter adults from providing alcohol and illegal drugs to minors. A social host refers to any person, regardless of age, responsible for creating, causing, or permitting the consumption of alcohol or illegal drugs at a residence, business, or other gathering location.
To illustrate the challenge our community faces, a recent survey of 11th graders in the City of Santa Maria reported that 30 percent have used alcohol, with 45 percent of the students saying they received alcohol from a party. Similarly, 29 percent of 11th grade students reported using Marijuana, with 40 percent obtaining it from a party.
Research shows that alcohol and illegal drugs can have permanent effects on developing adolescent brains.
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DISCUSSION:
The Social Host Regulations Ordinance before the City Council is the result of collaboration between City staff and community stakeholders, including Fighting Back Santa Maria Valley.
The Social Host Regulations Ordinance presented is consistent with ordinances passed by other California jurisdictions. It focuses on communicating Santa Maria community values and education. It aims to prevent and reduce the prevalence of alcohol and illegal drug use by Santa Maria youth, and it provides an enforcement mechanism, whereby violations are infractions of the Santa Maria Municipal Code, punishable as provided in Chapter 1-6.
Fiscal Considerations
There are no significant financial impacts to any funds anticipated by this action.
Impact to the Community
The impact to the community is anticipated to be positive, as a result the ordinance's potential to provide for education opportunities for Santa Maria youth and adults, and alcohol and illegal drug use prevention.
ANDREW HACKLEMAN
Assistant City Manager
Attachment A: City of Santa Maria Social Host Regulations Ordinance Draft 2 ORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL. OF THE CITY OF SANTA MARIA, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING TITLE 6 OF THE SANTA MARIA MUNICIPAL TO ADD NEW CHAPTER 6-15 — SOCIAL HOST REGULATIONS
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Maria prioritizes a safe community and a healthy environment for youth development and finds that the use of alcohol and illegal drugs to detrimental to these values; and
WHEREAS, the support of this priority can best be accomplished through education and communication, focusing on community values that are captured in the Social Host Regulations.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDAINED by the City Council of the City of Santa Maria, State of California, as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 6-15 of Title 6 of the Santa Maria Municipal Code is hereby added to read as follows:
TITLE 6 - SOCIAL HOST REGULATIONS
Section 6-15.01. Purpose and intent.
A. To protect the public health, safety, and general welfare to deter and promote the reduction of underage drinking, marijuana, and illegal drug use.
B. To promote the reduction of underage drinking, marijuana, and illegal drug use by imposing a general penalty on persons responsible for gatherings where alcohol, marijuana, or other illegal drugs are consumed by, served to, or in the possession of underage persons.
C. To establish a duty of persons having control over any premises, who host, permit, or allow a gathering at the premises to take reasonable steps to prevent the service and consumption of alcoholic beverages or use of marijuana or other illegal drugs by minors. Reasonable steps include, but are not limited to, controlling the access to and provision of marijuana, illegal drugs, and alcoholic beverages to minors and monitoring the responsible, safe, and lawful conduct of minors on the premises.
D. To facilitate the enforcement of laws prohibiting the service to, consumption of, or possession of alcoholic beverages or marijuana or illegal drugs by underage persons.
E. It is not the intent of this Chapter to impose strict liability against a parent or legal guardian whose best intentions and reasonable efforts to prevent the service and consumption of alcoholic beverages or use of marijuana or illegal drugs by minors at a gathering are circumvented by the actions of any person to obtain alcoholic beverages or marijuana or illegal drugs at the premises or to bring concealed alcoholic beverages or marijuana or illegal drugs to the premises.
Section 6-15.02 Enforcement.
The Chief of Police or his authorized representative(s) shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of this Chapter.
Section 6-15.03. Definitions.
As used in this Section, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below, unless the context requires otherwise:
A. "Alcohol" means ethyl alcohol, hydrated oxide of ethyl, or spirits of wine from whatever source or by whatever process produced.
B. "Alcoholic Beverage" means alcohol, spirits, liquor, wine, beer, and every other 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. "Gathering" means a party, gathering, or event where three (3) or more persons have assembled or are assembling for a social occasion or social activity.
D. "Illegal Drugs" include a drug or other substance identified under schedule I, II, III, IV, or V in section 202(c) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812(c)). It does not include a controlled substance that is legally possessed or used under the supervision of a licensed healthcare professional or that is legally possessed or used under any other authority under that Act [ 21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.] or any other provision of Federal or California law.
E. "Marijuana" means all parts of the plant Cannabis sativa L., Cannabis Indica, or Cannabis Ruderalis, whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds, or resin. It does not include "industrial hemp" as defined by Section 81000 of the Food and Agricultural Code or Section 11018.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
F. "Minor" means any person under twenty-one (21) years of age.
G. "Premises" means a home, yard, apartment, condominium, hotel, motel room, or other dwelling unit or any commercial, business, or industrial site, hall, or meeting room, whether occupied on a temporary or permanent basis, and whether owned, leased, rented, or used with or without compensation.
H. "Responsible Person" means any person regardless of age, business, or entity that is responsible for creating, causing, or permitting a Gathering on a Premises where Minors consume Alcoholic Beverages or Marijuana or illegal drugs or Illegal Drugs in violation of this Chapter.
Section 6-15.04. Gathering location.
A. It is a violation of this Chapter for a responsible person to cause or allow a gathering to take place at the premises whenever the responsible person knows or reasonably should have known alcoholic beverages, marijuana, or illegal drugs are being unlawfully consumed or used by minors.
B. Prima facie evidence that a responsible person had the knowledge, or should have had the knowledge necessary to establish a violation of this Section exists where:
2 1. A responsible person is present at the premises during a gathering where minors are consuming alcoholic beverages or unlawfully using marijuana or illegal drugs; or
2. A warning has been issued to the location or responsible person within the last twelve (12) months regarding alcohol or unlawful marijuana use or illegal drugs by minors at the premises.
Section 6-15.05. Exemptions.
This Chapter shall not apply to:
A. Conduct which the City is expressly preempted from prohibiting under State law, specifically, the Medicinal and Adult -Use Cannabis, Regulation and Safety Act, any California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control licensee at any premises licensed and regulated by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Federal Law, or the California or Federal Constitutions.
B. Conduct involving the use of alcoholic beverages which occurs exclusively between a minor child and his or her parent or legal guardian, including the possession or consumption of an alcoholic beverage in connection with a cultural or religious activity. This exemption does not include any conduct that would contribute to the delinquency of a minor (a violation of Penal Code section 272).
C. A responsible person who called 911 and reported that a minor was in need of medical attention due to alcohol consumption or marijuana use, was the first person to make the 911 call, and when reporting that a minor was in need of medical assistance, remained on the scene with the minor until that medical assistance arrived and cooperated with medical assistance and law enforcement personnel on the scene.
D. A responsible person who requests immediate assistance from the Police Department to remove any person who refuses to abide by the requesting person's performance of duties imposed by this Chapter, or to terminate the gathering because of the requesting person's ability to prevent minors from consuming alcoholic beverages or using marijuana despite having taken reasonable steps to do so, as long as such request is made before any other person makes a complaint about the gathering.
Section 6-15.06. Violation: Infraction.
Violation of any of the provisions of the Chapter shall be an infraction, punishable as provided in Chapter 11-66 of the Code. For any responsible person who is a juvenile, each parent, or legal guardian of the juvenile will be considered a responsible person liable for any fines, penalties, and fees imposed pursuant to this Chapter.
This Chapter in no way limits the authority of the Police Department to make arrests for any criminal offense arising out of conduct regulated by this Chapter.
SECTION 2. Per Public Resources Code Section 21065 (part of the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA), a "Project" means an activity which may cause either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. The adoption of the subject Ordinance would not result in any physical changes in, or to, the environment. Therefore, this item is not a project as defined by CEQA and no environmental review is required.
SECTION 3. If any part or provision of this chapter, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the remainder of the Chapter, including the 3 application of that part or provision to other persons or circumstances, shall mot be affected thereby and shall continue in full force and effect. To this end, the provisions of this Ordinance are severable.
SECTION 4. The Chief Deputy City Clerk is hereby authorized to make minor changes herein to address clerical errors, so long as substantial conformance of the intent of this document is maintained. In doing so, the Chief Deputy City Clerk shall consult with the City Manager and City Attorney concerning any changes deemed necessary.
SECTION 5. This Ordinance shall be in full force and effect 30 days after its passage.
Within 15 days following its passage, the City Clerk shall cause this Ordinance to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in accordance with State Law; or when deemed necessary due to the length or complexity of the Ordinance, cause a summary of the Ordinance to be prepared and published at least five days prior to the City Council meeting at which the proposed Ordinance is to be adopted. If a summary is published at least five days prior to the City Council meeting at which the proposed Ordinance is to be adopted, then within 15 days after adoption of the Ordinance the City Clerk shall publish a summary of the Ordinance with the names of those City Council Members voting for and against the Ordinance and shall post a certified copy of the full text of such adopted Ordinance along with the names of those City Council Members voting for and against the Ordinance.
INTRODUCED at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 4th day of October 2022, by the following roll call vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAINED:
Mayor
ATTEST:
APPROVED AS ORM:
Chief Deputy City Clerk
4 City Attorney
APPROVED AS TO TENT:
—Depart n or
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