OC Register:  05.13.03

This article appeared on the OC Register, Tuesday, May 13, 2003:

Newport May Curb July 4 Revelry

By Joel Zlotnik

NEWPORT BEACH  Independence Day partiers who break the law this year in west Newport will have to pay and pay and pay, if the City Council gets its way.

Fines would be tripled and hosts of out-of-control parties would face $300 citations every 10 minutes under a new law being considered tonight by the council.

City officials hope the tougher penalties and turning west Newport into a "Safety Enhancement Zone," along with adding more police, will change the beach city's image as the top place to party for the holiday.

However, a grass-roots group calling itself Free Newport says the city is crossing the line and taking away the very freedom that the Fourth of July commemorates.

"My feeling is that if the city of Newport Beach could wave a magic wand, they would make west Newport disappear," said Bryan Clarkson, organizer and spokesman for Free Newport. "All the renters would disappear, the bars would disappear, and west Newport would become Corona del Mar."

Police Chief Bob McDonell said Clarkson and Free Newport don't speak for the majority of west Newport residents, who for years have had to tolerate drunken holiday revelers threatening the safety and peace of mind of the neighborhood.

"I don't think (Free Newport) will find a great deal of support in its position, especially with the permanent residents of west Newport," said McDonell, adding that if people aren't breaking the law, "there's nothing to worry about."

The triple fines would be for municipal-code violations such as drinking in public, excessive noise and urinating in public. First violations would cost $300, second offenses $600, and thirds within 12 months $1,500, police Capt. Paul Henisey said.

If police are called to a party that's out of control, a $300 citation could be issued to the host, who will be given 10 minutes to shut it down. Subsequent citations could be issued for each 10 minutes that the party continues.

"The thinking is to have people deal with those problems on their own property as quickly as possible," City Attorney Robert Burnham said. "It gives them an incentive to quickly and completely comply with stopping unruly behavior."

Newport police, who made 162 arrests last Fourth of July and issued 1,344 citations, will increase the number of officers on the streets this year from 210 to 275. In 2002, the city spent more than $90,000 on July Fourth enforcement. The cost this year will rise to $150,000.

The idea for the Safety Enhancement Zone, which will be designated from 12:01 a.m. July 4 to 3 a.m. July 5, came from the creation of other temporary zones, such as construction zones, where traffic fines are doubled, Burnham said. Officials say the city has been lucky over the years to avoid serious incidents like those that happened in the 1990s up the coast in Huntington Beach. There, in 1993-95, police in riot gear had to turn water hoses on crowds to disperse them. And in 1995, a man died after being shot July 4. With an increased police presence and new family-oriented stores and resorts, Huntington Beach has changed its wild ways.

The proposed Newport law also would ban restaurants, bars and liquor stores from receiving deliveries of alcohol on the Fourth.

Clarkson said the council will receive a petition with more than 1,000 names of west Newport residents opposed to the city's plan. Many of the signers are renters in their 20s and 30s who make the neighborhood an energetic and attractive place to live, Clarkson said.

"The way they treat people just doesn't make sense," he said. "Do they want people to come back to this town