Northern Division police officers serving Mission Beach, Pacific Beach and La Jolla now have a new tool they can use to crack down on loud and obstreperous neighbors: a $1,000 fine.
San Diego Police Department Cpt. Boyd Long, flanked by Councilman Kevin Faulconer, code enforcement officials and community leaders, held a press conference at the southern tip of Mission Beach Dec. 11 to announce the start of the Administrative Citation Program, which calls for the large fines for problem residences.
The program has the potential to allow police officers to issue $1,000 fines per tenant responsible for the noise violation, which is usually a loud party, police said.
“The community wanted the tool to deal with houses that habitually cause problems,” Faulconer said.
Police have been using the program in the beach areas since Dec. 1, Long said. The program is an extension of the Community Assisted Party Plan, or CAPP, that started in the Midcity and College areas last year, Long said.
As part of the program, police responding to calls about noise have several options, depending on circumstances.
If police respond to an address for the first time and the resident complies with the officers’ request to decrease the noise, the officers can issue a written warning.
However, if the residence habitually violates, or if the tenant does not comply with the officers’ requests, police can issue the $1,000 administrative fine to any tenants responsible for the violation and even arrest them, Long said.
Police can fine violators for the cost of having the police come out repeatedly. They can also recover the cost of the use of the helicopter, he said.
Officers also have the option of “CAPPing” the residence for one year and issuing fines to individual tenants and possibly the landlord for subsequent noise violations, he said.
“This [program] is for those houses who don’t comply with the police and who don’t comply with their neighbors,” Long said.
Those who find themselves on the other side of the administrative fines can appeal to the Neighborhood Code Compliance Department of the city within 10 days of receiving the citation. During the appeal, the officers involved and the tenants present their cases to the hearing officer. After the hearing officer has weighed the testimony, he or she decides to uphold, repeal or reduce the fine, said Teresa Martin, deputy city attorney with the neighborhood prosecution unit.
Police issued about 81 administrative fines in the Midcity area since the start of the program, she said. Although a majority of those were appealed, all were upheld and only one was reduced to $600, she said.
The program primarily targets college students and young people who rent near the beach and stay up late making noise.
Dave Lombardi, a seven-year Mission Beach resident, said there are plenty of residences in Mission Beach whose owners rent to students.
“Every September there is a new crop of students making noise and they don’t care,” he said.
Long said the program should make college students think twice about throwing that party.
According to police, Northern Division received more than 4,600 calls for noise-related service in 2006. As of August, the division has received about 3,380 calls related to noise.
Long said he expects the number to surpass 2006 figures by the end of the year.