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Neighborhood Livability Working Group <br />Develop a Eugene Social Host Ordinance <br />Problem Description <br />For many years, neighborhoods near the University of Oregon campus have experienced the negative effects of <br />large parties. These parties generally result in underage drinking, overdose, disorderly behavior, and damage to <br />public and private property, diminishing quality of life for the residents and at the same time consuming <br />tremendous resources from a number of City departments. <br /> <br />The traditional approach to resolving this problem has been increased police response followed by an aggressive <br />enforcement action against individual party attendees for violations such as minor in possession. This costly <br />their attention and resources toward this single geographical area. <br /> <br />Strategy Description <br />The experience of other Town and Gown communities has shown that a Social Host Ordinance has been an <br />effective tool in the deterrence of large parties in near campus neighborhoods. Social host laws hold hosts <br />(including tenants, landowners and landlords) liable for costs associated with responding to disruptive parties that <br />typically include underage drinking. For example, the City of St. Cloud, Minnesota enacted a Social Host <br />ordinance in conjunction with court mandated alcohol education and a restorative justice model provided by the <br />municipal court and local university. Incidents of high-risk drinking among college students dropped from 18 points <br />above the national average to two points below the national average in a four year period. <br /> <br />This strategy calls for replacing the existing First Response Ordinance with a Eugene Social Host Ordinance. <br />Members of the Police Department will be responsible for drafting the Social Host Ordinance and working with <br />City Council to get it passed. The following are elements drawn from model ordinances in other communities to <br />provide a sense of what a local ordinance might look like: <br /> Defines a qualifying event as a gathering of three or more people on public or private property where <br />the violation/crime of Prohibited Noise, Minors in Possession, Furnishing or Allowing Minors to Consume <br />Alcohol, or any illegal drug use is occurring. <br /> r or not they are <br />the legal resident. <br /> Carries a fine of $500 for the first offense, with a graduated fine and police/fire recovery costs (cap to <br />be determined) for subsequent offenses within a four year period. <br /> Provides for property owner notification of each offense and fines and recovery of response costs for <br />chronic offenders (i.e., property owners are put on notice of potential liability before penalties issued). <br />Unpaid fines may result in a lien being placed on the property. <br /> Subsequent offenses by an individual are subject to the graduated fine and recovery fees regardless of <br />address location (i.e., changing addresses is not a strategy to avoid penalties). <br /> <br />Related Goals/Policies <br />West University Task Force recommendations (June 2003): <br /> Consistent and enhanced police presence includes a wide range of proactive policing strategies from a <br />dedicated police patrol to focused police presence. <br /> Police saturation and/or party patrols Increased police presence in the area, particularly on nights and <br />weekends, is a proven deterrent to disorderly behavior and improves response time to complaints <br />regarding large parties. <br /> <br />Costs and Potential Resources <br />Costs to implement a Social Host Ordinance are anticipated to be low as no additional police patrol resources <br />(beyond current party patrol) are required for this strategy. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />19 <br />Page <br />