1. Definition.
A. Any room, house, building, structure, place, or premises wherein or upon which any unlawful or illegal acts are committed in violation of local, State, or federal law, or which is kept in such a manner as to disturb, annoy, or scandalize the public generally or persons within a particular neighborhood is hereby declared to be a disorderly house.
B. Any room, house, building, structure, place, or premises which is kept, maintained, used, erected, established, or run for any of the following purposes (as the same are defined in the Code of Iowa) is hereby declared to be a disorderly house; provided, however, this shall not be construed to be conclusive, limiting, or restrictive:
(1) Prostitution, pandering, or public indecency;
(2) Unlawful manufacture, cultivation, growth, production, processing, sale, distribution, storage, use, or possession for any unlawful manufacture or use of any controlled substance;
(3) Gambling or the keeping of gambling devices;
(4) Acts of disturbing the peace or disorderly conduct, as those terms are described in Section 40.01.03 of this subchapter;
(5) The reception, retention, or disposition of stolen moveable property of another;
(6) Clairvoyance, fortune telling, or divination;
(7) Consumption of alcohol by any person under the age of twenty-one (21).
† 3
2. Disorderly Houses Prohibited. It is unlawful for the owner, lessee, renter, proprietor, or any other person to keep, run, or maintain a disorderly house, or to knowingly collect or permit to be collected therein persons who are engaging in any unlawful act or to knowingly make, cause or permit, or suffer to be made therein any loud or improper noise to the annoyance or disturbance of any person or neighborhood. A disorderly house is declared to be a public nuisance.
3. Visiting Disorderly House Prohibited. It is unlawful for any person to become or remain an inmate of any disorderly house, or to frequent or visit with knowledge of, and participation in, the illegal activities occurring therein.
4. Social Hosts. The purpose of this subsection is to protect the public interest, welfare, health, and safety within the City by prohibiting the services to and consumption of alcoholic beverages by persons under the age of 21 at premises located in the City. The Council finds that the occurrence of social gatherings at premises where alcoholic beverages are served to or consumed by persons under the age of 21 is harmful to such persons themselves and a threat to public welfare, health, and safety. The Council further finds that persons under the age of 21 often obtain alcoholic beverages at such gatherings and that persons who are in control of such premises know or have reason to know of such service and/or consumption and will be more likely to ensure that alcoholic beverages are neither served to nor consumed by persons under the age of 21 at these gatherings. Based on these findings, the Council has deemed it necessary to enact the following regulations:
A. Definitions. The following words, terms, and phrases, when used in this subsection, have the meanings ascribed to them herein, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
(1) “Alcoholic beverage” means any beverage containing more than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume, including alcoholic liquor, wine, and beer.
(2) “Emergency responders” means firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency medical service personnel, and other personnel having emergency response duties.
(3) “Enforcement services” means the salaries and benefits of emergency responders for the amount of time actually spent responding to or remaining at an event, gathering, or party and administrative costs attributable to the incident and includes the actual costs for medical treatment for any injured emergency responder and the costs of repairing any damage to equipment or vehicles.
(4) “Event, gathering, or party” means any group of three (3) or more persons who have assembled or gathered together for a social occasion or other activity where an underage person has consumed or possessed an alcoholic beverage.
(5) “Parent” means any person having legal custody of a juvenile as: (i) a natural parent, adoptive parent, or stepparent; (ii) a legal guardian; or (iii) a person to whom legal custody has been given by order of the court.
(6) “Premises” means any home, yard, farm, field, land, apartment, condominium, hotel or motel room, or other dwelling unit, or a hall or meeting room, park, or any other place of assembly, public or private, whether occupied on a temporary or permanent basis, whether occupied as a dwelling or specifically for a party or other social function, and whether owned, leased, rented, or used with or without permission or compensation.
(7) “Social host” means any person who aids, conducts, allows, entertains, organizes, supervises, controls, or permits an event, gathering, or party. This includes, but is not limited to: (i) the person who owns, rents, leases, or otherwise has control of the premises where the event, gathering, or party takes place; (ii) the person in charge of the premises; or (iii) the person who organized the event. If the social host is a juvenile, then the parents of that juvenile will be jointly and severally liable for any violation of this subsection.
(8) “Underage person” means any individual under the age of twenty-one (21).
B. Prohibited Acts. It is unlawful for any social host to host an event, gathering, or party on premises when the person knows or reasonably should know that an underage person has consumed an alcoholic beverage, or possessed an alcoholic beverage with the intent to consume it, and the person fails to take reasonable steps to prevent the possession or consumption by the underage person. A social host who hosts such an event, gathering, or party does not have to be present at the time the prohibited act occurs.
C. Exceptions. This subsection 4 does not apply to conduct solely between an underage person and his or her parents while present in the parents’ household, to legally protected religious observances, and to situations where underage persons are lawfully in possession of alcoholic beverages during the course and scope of employment.
D. Enforcement. The provisions of this subsection shall be enforced by officers of the Police Department. The Police Department shall have primary but not exclusive enforcement responsibility for this subsection.
E. Violations. Violations of this subsection 4 are declared to be municipal infractions pursuant to Chapter 4 of this Code of Ordinances.
Notes
| 3 | †
EDITOR’S NOTE: See subsection 4 for further provisions regarding consumption of alcoholic beverages by minors. |