Summer may be winding down, but the party-like atmosphere in Pacific Beach is year-round, The Pacific Beach Town Council (PBTC) discussed designated drivers, larger fines for noise disturbances and other strategies to manage bar crowds and house parties when it met Wednesday, Aug. 15, at the Earl & Birdie Taylor Library, 4275 Cass St.
“Communities are being overwhelmed by party calls,” said San Diego Police Department’s (SDPD) Lt. Brian Ahearn.
SDPD’s Northern Division, which includes the beach communities, accounts for 21 percent of San Diego’s party calls ” the most in the city, Ahearn said.
To help combat the problem, a program in the College Area that allows police to issue fines up to $1,000 for residents that host large, noisy parties will soon be implemented in Pacific Beach.
“We just got it and we’re setting it up right now,” said Northern Division Officer Alan Alvarez.
Thyme Curtis of Councilman Kevin Faulconer’s office said the program could be in place by Nov. 1.
A program already in place targets chronic party houses. Known as the CAPP program, police officers notify residents and the property owner of the designation, which is documented in police computers. A zero tolerance policy for future violations then goes into effect.
A party involving hundreds of people, multiple arrests or violence results in an immediate CAPP.
A property may also be CAPPed if police are summoned there on two separate occasions in a 30-day period. That is why it’s important, Ahearn said, to give police a specific address and to get an incident number from the operator when reporting noise-related disturbances.
Twenty-four properties in the Northern Division have been CAPPed, including nine in Pacific Beach and 12 in Mission Beach.
Partying has become a bigger problem in Pacific Beach, said Ahearn, because fewer officers are patrolling the area at night.
“The beach is like New York City. It never sleeps,” Ahearn said. “The programs are not effective unless I have enough people in blue uniforms to affect the program,” he said.
Four extra officers will be assigned to handle party calls on Friday and Saturday nights.
Along with house parties, residents are also worried about the alcohol issues associated with Pacific Beach’s high concentration of bars and nightclubs.
Some bar and restaurant owners have joined together to form the Hospitality Task Force, which meets monthly to address those concerns, including fights, drunk driving, trash and other problems.
“We’re members of the community,” said Todd Brown, chairperson of the task force. “We want to be utilized as a resource and asset.”
Brown, who owns Bub’s Dive Bar, 1030 Garnet Ave., was on hand to explain the goals of Hospitality Task Force, which is made up of approximately 30 bars and restaurants. The group created a community covenant, which set up a list of guidelines for the owners to follow.
One such guideline involved no outside advertising for drinks less than $2, said Brown, but a member threatened to sue.
“Drink specials encourage overconsumption,” town council member Marcie Beckett said.
“You can’t dictate how someone runs their business,” Brown replied.
Bar owners also can’t control how their customers behave, Brown said. Citing a study where 10 percent of bar patrons responded that they’d gone out that night to get in a fight, he said, “Even if it’s only 1 percent, that’s still a lot of idiots who can create problems in our community.”
In addition to violence, drunken driving is a big concern.
The task force is discussing an old idea, designated drivers, with a new twist: designated driver ” or DD ” buttons.
Designated drivers are encouraged to wear the buttons. Servers would also ask a group who their DD is and place a coaster in front of them, indicating they are not to be served.
Brown said the program has been “tremendously successful” at the University of Nebraska. The goal, he said, is to instill the mindset that someone has to stay sober.
Regular parking spaces that have been converted to taxi stands also encourage more cabs, he said.
The task force has also doubled the number of trash cans along Garnet Avenue and adopted the beach north of Tourmaline where they’ve held three cleanups.
Those solutions don’t address the real problems caused by alcohol abuse, said town council member Joe Wilding.
“I don’t see any solutions in the blame game,” Brown responded.
One solution that city officials said have proven to be effective is education.
Deputy City Attorney Teresa Martin said that community court participants are stenciling beach rules and regulations on the sea wall and trash cans. Many offenders that go through the community-service program say there is not enough signage to inform beachgoers of rules such as no glass, she said,
The city attorney’s office is also conducting a sexual assault prevention program at the University of San Diego.
As part of their orientation, incoming college students will participate in the Don’t Get Nabbed program that discusses DUI violations, where they can drink, where they can smoke and other rules and regulations.
“We’re trying to educate them before crime happens,” Martin said.
In other PBTC news, it was announced that Congresswoman Susan Davis is sponsoring the following community events in August: a grants workshop, global warming town hall meeting, housing forum and Medicare session. For dates and locations, visit www.house.gov/susandavis or call (619) 280-5353.
The PBTC is also accepting nominations for officers and its board of directors. For more information, call (858) 483-6666.
The PBTC will hold its next regularly scheduled meeting Wednesday, Sept. 19, at the Taylor Library, 4275 Cass St., at 6:30 p.m.