Item 3: Ordinance on Unruly Gatherings

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 The number of five people was too few to constitute an “unruly gathering” and this would result in citations for a gathering of roommates within one house. The number of participants needed to constitute an “unruly gathering” is increased from more than five to 10 or more.  Everyone in a large multi-family complex would be penalized as if they’d violated the social host ordinance, even if it was a different unit that had been responsible for the unruly gathering. The language in the appeals section is clarified to specify that only the people receiving the citation should receive the notices from property owners.  Owners of multi-family properties should not be assessed recovery costs after four offenses, because the offenses could come from four different units in a very short time frame. For owners of properties of more than 10 units, the City is to consider whether the owner implemented measures to prevent or discourage unruly gatherings. Clear direction will be provided to the hearings examiner that the intent is to hold property owners responsible who do not take reasonable steps to abate this problem. To address the primary concern of livability for all innocent neighbors including those in multi- family units, no change was made to the number of citations before a property owner is responsible.  Including the offense of littering is not appropriate, as littering is not an indicator of the types of unruly gatherings this ordinance is intended to address. Littering was struck from the list of offenses.  Options for community service or restorative justice should be explicitly listed. Community service and restorative justice are explicitly listed as possible penalties. The following concerns were raised. Staff considered the issues, and no resulting changes were made.  The number of offenses required before property owner liability is triggered in multi- family housing should be increased. Because this ordinance is intended to reduce the repeated negative impact from unruly gatherings on residents, regardless of the type of housing they reside in, the number of unruly gatherings property owner liability was not changed.  The ordinance imposes significant financial burdens on students. Although fine amounts will be established by the courts, similar offenses have a first offense fine of approximately $200. Additionally, restorative justice and community service were added as penalty options.  The ordinance redirects Eugene Police Department resources on to students rather than more pertinent outlets. Based on the experience in other communities, a social host ordinance can serve as an effective deterrent and actually reduce the demand for police response. Additional Background The traditional approach to resolving noise, behavior issues and related problems has been increased police response followed by an aggressive enforcement action against individual party attendees for violations such as minor-in-possession. This costly approach has not been effective as existing ordinances do not provide a sufficient deterrent effect, and potential offenders have S:\CMO\2013 Council Agendas\M130128\S1301283.doc