Section:
9.31.010 Findings.
9.31.020 Purposes.
9.31.030 Definitions.
9.31.040 Unlawful gatherings on private property.
9.31.050 Exceptions.
9.31.060 Enforcement.
9.31.070 Violation.
9.31.080 Recovery of emergency response costs.
9.31.090 Amount of emergency response costs.
9.31.100 Assessment of emergency response costs.
9.31.110 Notice of Assessment of emergency response fee.
9.31.120 Payment of emergency response fee.
9.31.130 Administrative review of determination to assess emergency response fee.
9.31.140 Appeal of decision following administrative review of emergency response fee.
9.31.150 Remedies cumulative; Relationship to other laws.
The city council finds as follows:
A. The City of Chico, pursuant to the police powers delegated to it by the California Constitution, has the authority to enact laws which promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of its residents;
B. The occurrence of gatherings on private property where alcoholic beverages are served to, or consumed by, underage persons is harmful to the underage persons themselves and a threat to public health, safety, quiet enjoyment of residential property, and general welfare;
C. Underage persons often obtain alcoholic beverages at gatherings held at private residences or at rented residential and commercial premises that are under the control of a person who knows or should know of the underage service and consumption but who fails to ensure that alcoholic beverages are neither served to, nor consumed by, underage persons;
D. Persons held responsible for abetting or tolerating gatherings where alcoholic beverages are served to, or consumed by, underage persons will be more likely to properly supervise and prevent such gatherings held on property under their possession or control; and
E. In the past and present, city law enforcement and fire personnel have, and are required to respond, sometimes on multiple occasions, to gatherings on private property at which alcoholic beverages are served to, or consumed by, underage persons, and responses to such gatherings result in a disproportionate expenditure of public safety resources by the City of Chico and often delay police and fire responses to regular and emergency calls to the remainder of the city.
(Ord. 2447)
The purposes of this ordinance are:
A. To protect public health, safety, and general welfare;
B. To enforce laws prohibiting the service to, and consumption of, alcoholic beverages by underage persons; and
C. To reduce the city’s costs of providing police and fire emergency response services to gatherings where alcoholic beverages are served to, or consumed by, underage persons, by imposing a civil fee against responsible persons for the recovery of the costs associated with providing multiple law enforcement and fire emergency response services to such gatherings.
(Ord. 2447)
For the purposes of this chapter:
“Alcohol” means ethyl alcohol, hydrated oxide of ethyl, or spirits of wine, from whatever source or by whatever process produced.
“Alcoholic beverage” includes 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.
“Emergency response costs” means the costs associated with responses by city law enforcement and fire personnel to unlawful gatherings, including but not limited to:
1. The salaries and benefits of law enforcement and fire personnel for the amount of time responding to, or remaining at, unlawful gatherings and the administrative costs attributable to such responses;
2. The cost of any medical treatment to, or for, any law enforcement and fire personnel responding to, remaining at, or leaving the scene of an unlawful gathering; and
3. The cost of repairing any city equipment or property damaged, and the cost of the use of any such equipment or property damaged, responding to, remaining at, or leaving the scene of an unlawful gathering.
“Enforcement officer” means any peace officer providing law enforcement services within the City of Chico.
“Juvenile” means any person under 18 years of age.
“Legal guardian” means: (1) a person who, by court order, is the guardian of a person under 18 years of age, or (2) a public or private agency with whom a person under the age of 18 years has been placed by a court of competent jurisdiction.
“Minor” means any person under 21 years of age.
“Parent” means a person who is a natural parent, an adoptive parent, a foster parent, or a stepparent of another person.
“Responsible person” means a person or persons with a right of possession in the residence or other private property at which an unlawful gathering is conducted, including but not limited to:
1. An owner of the residence or other private property;
2. A tenant or lessee of the residence or other private property;
3. Any person(s) receiving money or other consideration for granting access to an unlawful gathering; and
4. Any person(s) who organizes, supervises, officiates, conducts, or controls the unlawful gathering or any other person(s) accepting responsibility for an unlawful gathering.
“Unlawful gathering” means a party, gathering, or event at a residence or other private property, place, or premises where minors are present and alcoholic beverages are in the possession of, or are being consumed by, any minors.
(Ord. 2447)
Loading...