HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 04/19/2016 - ITEMS RELATING TO THE SOCIAL HOST CIVIL CITATIONAgenda Item 13
Item # 13 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY April 19, 2016
City Council
STAFF
Delynn Coldiron, Neighborhood Services Manager
Jeremy Yonce, Police Lieutenant
SUBJECT
Items Relating to the Social Host Civil Citation.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A. Second Reading of Ordinance No. 047, 2016, Amending Chapter 17 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins
to Prohibit a Social Host from Allowing the Possession or Consumption of Ethyl Alcohol or Marijuana by
Persons Under Twenty-One Years of Age.
B. Second Reading of Ordinance No. 048, 2016, Amending Chapter 19 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins
to Modify the Rules for Civil Infractions Related to Immediate Service of a Social Host Civil Citation.
These Ordinances, adopted on First Reading on April 5, 2016 by a vote of 6-1 (Nays: Martinez) amend City
Code to prohibit a person from allowing the possession or consumption of ethyl alcohol or marijuana by
persons under the age of twenty-one, and to allow for the immediate service of a civil citation in the event of a
violation of such Ordinance.
Ordinance No. 047, 2016, has been revised to improve and clarify wording as discussed briefly during the
Council’s consideration of the Ordinance on First Reading. The revisions are not intended to modify the
meaning or effect of the Ordinance.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinances on Second Reading.
ATTACHMENTS
1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, April 5, 2016 (w/o attachments) (PDF)
Agenda Item 22
Item # 22 Page 1
AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY April 5, 2016
City Council
STAFF
Delynn Coldiron, Neighborhood Services Manager
Jeremy Yonce, Police Lieutenant
SUBJECT
Items Relating to the Social Host Civil Citation.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A. First Reading of Ordinance No. 047, 2016, Amending Chapter 17 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins to
Prohibit a Social Host from Allowing the Possession or Consumption of Ethyl Alcohol or Marijuana by
Persons Under Twenty-One Years of Age.
B. First Reading of Ordinance No. 048, 2016, Amending Chapter 19 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins to
Modify the Rules for Civil Infractions Related to Immediate Service of a Social Host Civil Citation.
The purpose of these items is to consider implementing a Social Host Ordinance to prohibit a person from
allowing the possession or consumption of ethyl alcohol or marijuana by persons under the age of twenty-one,
and to allow for the immediate service of a civil citation in the event of a violation of such Ordinance.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends adoption of both Ordinances on First Reading.
BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION
Based on guidance received at the May 12, 2015 Council work session, City staff spent several months
engaging with students, rental property managers/owners, Team Fort Collins, and community members to
explore whether there was sufficient reason to recommend adoption of a social host ordinance. Staff also
conducted additional research on ways other communities have addressed this issue, as well as the
effectiveness of existing social host ordinances.
Recommendation
Staff recommends implementation of a new Social Host Ordinance that is a civil infraction and not tied to the
Public Nuisance Ordinance. It would hold hosts responsible when:
1. They have legal control of and access to a private place; and
2. They are present at the time the underage possession or consumption of alcohol or marijuana is
occurring.
It would not apply when:
1. A person under twenty-one (21) had his or her parent’s consent;
2. A person under twenty-one (21) had a valid medical marijuana registry card;
3. A person under twenty-one (21) was under the supervision of an instructor;
ATTACHMENT 1
Agenda Item 22
Item # 22 Page 2
4. The consumption took place for religious purposes; or
5. The consumption took place as part of a supervised and bona fide investigation.
**Such instances are similar to state law exceptions to violations for underage possession and
consumption of marijuana and alcohol.
Staff further recommends modifying the rules for civil infractions to allow for immediate service of a social host
citation in the event of a violation.
If approved, the City of Fort Collins would have a comprehensive set of tools to address most, if not all,
scenarios associated with underage possession or consumption of alcohol and/or marijuana that will assist in
deterring these activities and work to improve the health and safety of the Community. These tools include:
Civil Offense
Social Host
Municipal Criminal Offenses:
- Minor in Possession (MIP) which was recently adopted by Council;
- Unreasonable Noise (tied to the Public Nuisance Ordinance);
- Nuisance Gathering (tied to the Public Nuisance Ordinance) which was recently amended by
Council to include on premise behaviors; and
State Criminal Offense
- Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor.
Public Engagement
Initial engagement efforts were with Associated Students of Colorado State University (ASCSU) and the
Northern Colorado Rental Housing Association (NoCORHA), two key stakeholder groups. Members from both
groups were added to the stakeholder committee and were invited to participate throughout the remainder of
the process. They were instrumental in providing feedback as staff developed options and outreach materials
and in helping inform and engage others in the process. Additional efforts included community outreach
through public meetings, written articles, social media, a poster run, and a community questionnaire.
More detail on staff’s engagement efforts, including questionnaire responses, Team Fort Collins’
recommendation, and community member comments are included in Attachment 1.
Research - Existing Tools
Based on feedback received, staff took a more in-depth look at existing ordinances, most notably the Nuisance
Gathering Ordinance, to determine whether this was sufficient to address the underage possession and
consumption issue. As written, it did include a provision for the unlawful sale, furnishing, possession or
consumption of alcohol. The Ordinance only applied if the behavior was being conducted on neighboring
public or private property. It also had no provision for the unlawful possession or consumption of marijuana.
This limited the effectiveness of utilizing this Ordinance as a solution for social host since the host could not be
cited for underage consumption that was occurring on the premises. However, Council recently approved
minor modifications to the Ordinance that fixed these issues, making this a viable option when a nuisance
exists.
Staff also took a more in-depth look at the existing Public Nuisance Ordinance to determine whether this could
or should be tied to a social host ordinance. Because there are scenarios where underage consumption of
alcohol or marijuana could be occurring where there is no nuisance to neighboring properties, as defined by
City ordinance, staff is not recommending that the social host provision be tied to the Public Nuisance
Agenda Item 22
Item # 22 Page 3
Ordinance, at least in these cases. To avoid confusion as to when the Public Nuisance Ordinance would be
applicable, it was suggested that it not be tied to the social host ordinance.
Although changes to the Minor in Possession and Nuisance Gathering ordinances were considered as part of
this project, it was determined that the changes were essentially clean-up or minor adjustments that were
needed whether or not a new social host ordinance was adopted. So, although these items are related to this
item and are part of the comprehensive approach to address underage possession or consumption, they were
separated from this process.
Research - Other Communities
Staff research found that 42 states across the nation have adopted some form of social host legislation. Staff
looked more closely at 22 communities that had some similarity to the City of Fort Collins, most generally due
to the fact that they had a university or similar institution, as well as some sort of ordinance enacted to address
underage consumption of alcohol or parties and their related impacts (Attachment 2). Communities have
employed a variety of approaches, some criminal and some civil in nature; sometimes both. The level of
knowledge or active participation by the “host” or owner varies widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Some of
the ordinances combined the concepts of social host with ordinances on social gatherings or noise as well.
Proponents of social host ordinances seek to hold property owners, occupants, and tenants or others having
possessory control of any premises where a person under the age of twenty-one obtains, possesses or
consumes an alcoholic beverage or marijuana strictly liable. Strict liability means absolute legal responsibility
without proof of intent, knowledge, carelessness or fault. This would be in the form of a civil infraction violation
rather than a criminal violation.
Communities have found that criminal laws designed to target those that provide liquor to underage drinkers
are hard to prove and therefore difficult to enforce. A host will usually claim that they had no actual knowledge
of underage drinking; relieving him or her of legal accountability even though they were aware that underage
consumption was likely occurring. Unless it can be shown that they personally provided alcohol to an
underage drinker, it is hard to enforce. Fort Collins faces a similar challenge with the use of the state charge of
“Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor.”
Many communities also include the homeowners or landlords for potential enforcement of a social host
ordinance. The idea is that a homeowner (possibly a parent) who knowingly allows underage consumption to
occur at his/her home, even if not present, should have some accountability for such a decision. A parent
might decide to allow his or her underage child to drink in his or her home, but should not be able to make that
decision for other parents. Conversely, a landlord that is made aware that such parties are occurring at a
rental property, who takes no action to impact such parties, could be held responsible in some fashion. Some
communities only take action against property owners after sufficient notice and education has been provided
and the property owners failed to act or continued to allow such gatherings to occur.
Although the proposed social host ordinance does not include these provisions, it is recommended that the
City’s internal process include notification to property owners and/or property managers when social host
violations occur to inform them of the issue and to give them opportunity to provide education or take other
action as they deem appropriate.
Lastly, outreach to several communities who had adopted some sort of social host ordinance was done to
determine the perceived effectiveness of social host ordinances as it relates to reducing underage
consumption of alcohol and/or marijuana. The results ranged from enthusiastic support to having never written
a citation under the ordinance. However, available data suggests that there is a link between adoption of
social host ordinances and a reduction in underage consumption especially when a social host ordinance is
one of many tools that address the issue through education and enforcement. The City of Tempe, Arizona,
implemented “Operation Safe & Sober” that used several strategies directed toward underage drinking.
Subsequently, law enforcement calls for service related to underage drinking were reduced an average of 34%
depending on the month. Data from the City of Reno, Nevada, shows that after the implementation of the
social host ordinance, there was a decline in Minor in Possession citations from 136 in 2013 to 66 in 2015.
Agenda Item 22
Item # 22 Page 4
Additional information related to this outreach is attached (Attachment 3).
Although the data on effectiveness continues to be mixed, staff believes that implementation of the proposed
social host ordinance would still benefit the community through providing a civil response option and by
providing a tool that covers non-nuisance underage consumption situations.
Additional detail on staff’s research efforts pertaining specifically to Fort Collins and Colorado related to alcohol
and marijuana consumption by under-aged youth is included in Attachment 4.
CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS
There may be minor financial impacts to the Municipal Court and to the City Attorney’s Office regarding
prosecution staffing due to any increases in the number of social host citations being written by police officers.
The level of impact will depend upon the level of enforcement activity.
BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
This item was presented at the Boards and Commissions Super Issue meeting on February 18, 2016. There
was a glitch with the survey technology that did not enable staff to save the results of all of the questions
asked, but staff was able to note the results for the question to whether the City should move forward with a
social host ordinance. 78% of the respondents were in favor of adopting a new social host ordinance. 22% of
the respondents were opposed. An excerpt from the meeting summary is attached (Attachment 5).
PUBLIC OUTREACH
The most directly impacted stakeholders were a vital part of the outreach process undertaken these past ten
months. The stakeholder group included staff from the City, staff from CSU, members from Team Fort Collins,
and representatives from ASCSU and NoCORHA. Staff considered their comments and concerns when
choosing what provisions would be included in the proposed ordinance. We met as needed throughout the
process.
Dialogue occurred with ASCSU on:
September 30, 2015
October 14, 2015
Dialogue occurred with NoCORHA on:
September 29, 2015
January 26, 2016
Public meetings were held on:
February 8, 2016 - 1 participant
February 15, 2016 - 0 participants
March 1, 2016 - 0 participants
March 9, 2016 - 1 participant
Community Questionnaire - 67 respondents
Agenda Item 22
Item # 22 Page 5
ATTACHMENTS
1. Additional Details on Public Engagement Efforts (PDF)
2. Survey of Other Jurisdictions-Methods (PDF)
3. Survey of Other Jurisdictions-Effectiveness (PDF)
4. Additional Information on Fort Collins and Coloado Research (PDF)
5. Board/Commission Super Issue Meeting Excerpt, February 18, 2016 (PDF)
6. Work Session Summary, May 12, 2015 (PDF)
7. Powerpoint presentation (PDF)
-1-
ORDINANCE NO. 047, 2016
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AMENDING CHAPTER 17 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
TO PROHIBIT A SOCIAL HOST FROM ALLOWING THE POSSESSION
OR CONSUMPTION OF ETHYL ALCOHOL OR MARIJUANA BY
PERSONS UNDER TWENTY-ONE YEARS OF AGE
WHEREAS, persons under the age of twenty-one at times obtain, possess or consume
alcoholic beverages and marijuana at private residences or other property under the control of a
person who knows or should know of such conduct; and
WHEREAS, underage consumption of both alcoholic beverages and marijuana poses an
immediate threat to the public health, safety and welfare in that it leads to increased unlawful
behavior, physical altercations and an overall increase in rate of crime, which often requires
intervention by local law enforcement; and
WHEREAS, the City Code currently addresses, through the City’s unreasonable noise
and nuisance gathering provisions, large social gatherings that become noisy or unruly where
underage consumption of both alcohol and marijuana occurs, however, the Code does not have a
specific provision to address a person who acts as a social host at a private residence or other
property where underage possession or consumption of both alcohol and marijuana occurs; and
WHEREAS, the imposition of strict liability on a person who is aware of, or should be
aware of the prohibition of, and need to prevent, the underage possession or consumption of
alcohol and marijuana is necessary to deter and prevent such occurrences; and
WHEREAS, the prohibitions found in this Section are reasonable and expected to prevent
underage persons from obtaining, possessing and consuming alcohol and marijuana; and
WHEREAS, for these reasons, the City Council believes that these amendments to the
City Code are in the best interests of the citizens of Fort Collins.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
FORT COLLINS as follows:
Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and
findings contained in the recitals set forth above.
Section 2. That Section 17-161 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby
amended by the addition of new definitions of the terms “Ethyl alcohol”, “Marijuana” and
“Private place,” which read in their entirety as follows:
Ethyl alcohol shall mean any substance which is or contains ethyl alcohol and includes
fermented malt beverage, malt liquor, vinous liquor and spirituous liquor as defined in
the Colorado Beer Code and the Colorado Liquor Code.
-2-
Marijuana shall have the same definition as in Section 17-190 of this Code.
Private place shall have the same definition as in Section 17-130 of this Code.
Section 3. That Article IX of Chapter 17 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is
hereby amended by the addition of a new Section 17-168 which reads in its entirety as follows:
Sec. 17- 168. Social host for ethyl alcohol or marijuana possession or consumption
by persons under twenty-one years of age.
(a) A person shall be liable as a social host if:
(1) such person had control of the access to or use of a private place; and
(2) such person was present at such private place while the possession or
consumption of either ethyl alcohol or marijuana by an individual under twenty-
one (21) years of age occurred.
(a) A person with control of the access to or use of a private place shall be liable as a
social host if such person was present at such private place while an individual
under twenty-one (21) years of age possessed or consumed either ethyl alcohol or
marijuana there.
(b) A violation of subsection (a) of this Section is a strict liability offense.
(c) The prohibition set forth in subsection (a), of this Section does not apply to
situations in which:
(1) A person under twenty-one (21) years of age was legally at a private place
with the knowledge and consent of a person who had control of the access to or
use of such private place and possessed or consumed ethyl alcohol with the
consent of the individual’s parent or legal guardian who was present during such
possession or consumption;
(2) A person under twenty-one (21) years of age possessed or consumed
medical marijuana pursuant to Article XVIII, Section 14 of the Colorado
Constitution, and possessed a valid registry identification card;
(3) A person who consumed ethyl alcohol was a student who tasted but did
not imbibe an alcohol beverage only while under the direct supervision of an
instructor. Such instructor must have been at least twenty-one (21) years of age
and employed by a post-secondary school. Such student shall have been enrolled
in a university or a post-secondary school accredited or certified by an agency
recognized by the United States department of education, or a nationally
recognized accrediting agency or association, or the "Private Occupational
Education Act of 1981", article 59 of title 12, C.R.S. Such student must have
participated in a culinary arts, food service, or restaurant management degree
program, and must have tasted but not imbibed the alcohol beverage for
-3-
instructional purposes as a part of a required course in which the alcohol
beverage, except the portion the student tasted, remained under the control of the
instructor;
(4) The possession or consumption took place for religious purposes protected
by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution; or
(5) The possession or consumption took place during the course of a
supervised and bona fide investigation conducted by a law enforcement agency.
(d) Any person found liable for violating this Section commits a civil infraction and
is subject to penalty provisions of Subsection 1-15(f) of the Code.
Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 5th day of
April, A.D. 2016, and to be presented for final passage on the 19th day of April, A.D. 2016.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading on the 19th day of April, A.D. 2016.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
City Clerk
-1-
ORDINANCE NO. 048, 2016
OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
AMENDING CHAPTER 19 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS
TO MODIFY THE RULES FOR CIVIL INFRACTIONS RELATED TO
IMMEDIATE SERVICE OF A SOCIAL HOST CIVIL CITATION
WHEREAS, City Council is concurrently considering Ordinance No. 047, 2016, that
would impose a strict liability standard on a person who is responsible for allowing the underage
possession or consumption of alcohol or marijuana to occur; and
WHEREAS, if such ordinance is adopted, any person found liable for violating it would
commit a civil infraction violation; and
WHEREAS, the current process for civil infraction violations is to give a notice of
violation to the responsible party prior to a citation being issued unless there is an exception to
allow for immediate service of a citation; and
WHEREAS, City staff recommends immediate service of a civil citation in the event of a
social host violation; and
WHEREAS, for these reasons, the City Council believes that these amendments to the
City Code are in the best interests of the citizens of Fort Collins.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
FORT COLLINS as follows:
Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and
findings contained in the recitals set forth above.
Section 2. That Section 19-65(a) of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 19-65. - Commencement of action; citation procedure.
(a) Officers shall have the authority to initiate enforcement proceedings as provided
below.
(1) An officer who has reasonable grounds to believe that a responsible party
has committed a civil infraction under this Code is authorized to serve a notice of
violation to the responsible party. Except as otherwise provided in this Code, the
officer shall set a reasonable time period within which the responsible party must
correct the violation. This determination shall be based on considerations of
fairness, practicality, ease of correction, the nature, extent and probability of
danger or damage to the public or property, and any other relevant factor relating
to the reasonableness of the time period prescribed. An officer may immediately
-2-
serve a civil citation to a responsible party, without prior notice, for a civil
infraction in the following circumstances:
a. the violation of City Code Sections 4-7-, 4-74, 4-95, 4-96, 4-97, 4-
119, 4-157, or 4-177;
b. the violation of City Code Section 17-168,
c. if there is reason to believe that the violation presents a threat to
the public health, safety or welfare or the damage done by the violation is
irreparable or irreversible;
d. if the violation is a second or subsequent violation by the
responsible party that occurred within the twelve (12) months immediately
following a previous violation; or
e. the violation of Land Use Code Section 3.8.16 pertaining to
occupancy limits.
. . .
Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 5th day of
April, A.D. 2016, and to be presented for final passage on the 19th day of April, A.D. 2016.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
City Clerk
Passed and adopted on final reading on the 19th day of April, A.D. 2016.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
City Clerk