Crime & Safety

Raucous Partying Will Face the 'Hammer'

The toned-down ordinance that will crack down on out-of-hand gatherings gets Newport Beach council approval, 5-2.

Newport Beach police now have a “hammer” to use when dealing with out-of-hand gatherings.

The City Council on Tuesday passed a “loud and unruly gathering" ordinance, which creates fines for people who party too hard in the city.

Under the law, approved by a 5-2 vote, any gathering of eight or more people making too much noise, creating traffic, urinating in public or otherwise behaving badly can be declared unruly by police. Partygoers, renters and property owners could then face fines ranging from $500 to $3,000. A violation notice will also be posted on the property where the offending party was held.

A previous draft of the ordinance set the highest fine at $8,000, which would have applied to to the West Newport Safety Enhancement Zone during the Fourth of July. In another change, the violation tag posted where an unruly gathering was held will be black and white and remain up for three months. The earlier version of the law stated that the tag would be bright red and remain up for six months.

Some property owners have said they are concerned about how the posting of violation tags might affect property values. Others in the community have been supportive of the measure.

Property owners can avoid fines and have the violation tags removed if they show that they have taken steps to prevent additional violations—such as evicting the tenant.

Police Chief Jay Johnson called the ordinance a hammer in the department’s toolbox and said it would be applied only to “those extreme loud, unruly gatherings.”

“I’m not talking about the bunco game and the gals get a little out of hand,” he said. “It’s for the true parties—the keggers where you have the people urinating and defecating on the neighbors’ front lawns.”

Here's how it would work:

If police arrive at a residence and deem a party "unruly," they can post a violation tag on the building for three months and fine property owners, renters and individual partygoers.

Subsequent violations within six months could result in steeper fines against property owners, renters and partygoers alike. In the case of individuals, the bonus penalty would apply even if the subsequent violation was elsewhere in the city. So a person could receive a first offense in Corona del Mar and a second offense a week later on Balboa Island.

Councilman Edward Selich, who, along with Councilwoman Leslie Daigle voted against the ordinance, said the law was “overkill.”

“I just think it’s giving too much power to the Police Department without setting some quantitative standards to adhere to,” he said.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.