2006 City Council Election/Questions to candidates/Q13

Question 13. of the 2006 City Council Questions to Candidates

Do you feel that the Open Container Ordinance has had an appreciable benefit? How open would you be to repealing the Open Container Ordinance if public sentiment desired it?

• Lamar Heystek: I don't know. It's something I could bring up at the next Recreation & Park Commission meeting (I'm a member of the commission). Strong public sentiment (including that of the campus community, of course) would be key to reopening the debate on the existing ordinance.

• Rob Roy: If public sentiment desired it then I certainly would be all ears but I understand the need for a policy against open containers of alcohol. I want to stress that I do not like the limiting of alcoholic beverages in parks. While I agree that it is not safe to have people just wander the streets drinking I want people to be able to have a BBQ at their neighborhood park and be able to have a few beers doing so. While there still are some parks in Davis where it is ok to do the council keeps on reducing the number of parks. If permits must be necessary then I think just registering an accountable person for a gathering at a city website should do. So if a group wants to have a spur of the moment gathering then their should be a place at cityofdavis.org where people can go and list their name so that if a police officer comes across the group the officer can see that they are registered and have someone accountable for the actions of the get-together.

• Michael Levy: I would consider tightening up the language so it is not onerous to those who are not drunk and disorderly.

• Ruth Asmundson: The Davis Open Container Ordinance is really very reasonable. The ordinance prohibits individuals from drinking alcohol or possessing an open container of alcohol in four city parks, within 600 feet of our schools, or on public streets, sidewalks, and parking lots. Individuals and groups planning events can apply for a permit of exclusion for the event.

• Stan Forbes: I have no hard data on its effectiveness. When it was enacted it was to provide the police with a tool to use in certain circumstances. If I believed the majority of the public wanted it repealed I would do so because of my belief that electeds represent the public.

Comments:

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2006-05-15 22:47:08   I actually like where Levy is going with his comment. I never thought about it that way- possibly re-write the provision to only bust people for an open container if they also fail a field sobriety test (one similar to those given to test for drunk driving)? It'd definately cut down on those horror stories of people getting caught for technicalities. —ThomasLloyd