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SANTA CLARA COUNTY CODE OF ORDINANCES: CHAPTER III. SOCIAL HOST RESPONSIBILITY*

Copyrighted by SANTA CLARA COUNTY CODE & Municipal Code Corporation, 1998.

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CHAPTER III.
SOCIAL HOST RESPONSIBILITY*

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Editor's note--Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, adopted October 14, 2008, amended the Code by adding provisions designated as Ch. III, §§ B13-36--B13-53 to read as herein set out. It should be noted that section 2 of said ordinance provides, "This ordinance shall be effective on January 1, 2009."

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Sec. B13-36. Findings.

The County of Santa Clara makes the following findings:

(a) The County of Santa Clara, pursuant to the police powers delegated to it by the California Constitution, has the authority to enact laws that promote the public health, safety and general welfare of its residents.

(b) Underage persons consuming alcoholic beverages at gatherings held at private residences, rented residential premises, or rented commercial premises is harmful to the underage persons themselves and a threat to the peace, health, safety, quiet enjoyment of neighboring residents and the general welfare of the public. Underage persons who have been consuming alcoholic beverages are at greater risk to be in automobile accidents, to commit suicide, to be assaulted, and of sexual assaults.

(c) Persons responsible for the occurrence of these types of gatherings on private property that they control or own have failed to ensure that alcoholic beverages are not served to or consumed by underage persons at these parties.

(d) Problems associated with gatherings involving underage persons drinking alcohol are difficult to prevent and deter. Law enforcement requires additional methods to deal with underage drinking and its attendant problems. If persons are held responsible by having to pay a fine for hosting a gathering where there is underage drinking, they will be more likely to supervise or to stop such conduct at events held on property that they own or control.

(e) Law enforcement, fire, and other emergency response services personnel have responded to and are required to respond to calls relating to these types of gatherings. The repeated return of law enforcement officers to the location of an event constitutes a drain of emergency personnel and resources and may leave other areas of the County without law enforcement protection or with unreasonably limited protection. Responses to these gatherings also result in a disproportionate expenditure of public safety resources of the County.

(Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, 10-14-08, eff. 1-1-09)

Sec. B13-37. Purposes.

The purposes of this chapter are:

(a) To enforce laws prohibiting the consumption of alcoholic beverages by underage persons and the service of alcoholic beverages to underage persons, as well as to deter the service of alcoholic beverages to and consumption of alcoholic beverage by underage persons at certain gatherings; and

(b) To protect public health, safety, general welfare, and quiet enjoyment of property and properties neighboring these gatherings; and

(c) To reduce the costs of providing police, fire, and other emergency response services to underage gatherings by imposing an administrative fee and/or responsibility for response costs against social hosts and landowners for the recovery of costs associated with providing law enforcement, fire, and other emergency response services to gatherings at which alcoholic beverages are served to or consumed by underage persons.

(Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, 10-14-08, eff. 1-1-09)

Sec. B13-38. Definitions.

For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) "Alcoholic beverage" shall mean alcohol, spirits, liquor, wine, beer, and every liquid or solid containing alcohol, spirits, wine, or beer containing one-half of one percent or more of alcohol by volume; and is fit for beverage purposes either alone or when diluted, mixed, or combined with other substances.

(b) "Juvenile" means any person under eighteen years of age.

(c) "Property" shall mean private property, rented residential premises, or rented commercial residences; including but not limited to a home, yard, garage, apartment, condominium, hotel or motel room, or other dwelling unit, or a hall or meeting room, whether occupied on a temporary or permanent basis, whether occupied as a dwelling, party or other social function, and whether owned, leased, rented, or used with or without compensation.

(d) "Response costs" means those reasonable and necessary costs directly incurred by the County for a response to an underage gathering, and include the cost of providing law enforcement, firefighting, and/or other emergency services at the scene of the underage gathering including but not limited to:

(1) Salaries and benefits of law enforcement and/or emergency personnel for the amount of time spent responding to, remaining at, or otherwise dealing with underage gatherings, and the administrative costs attributable to the response(s); and

(2) The cost of any medical treatment to or for any law enforcement personnel injured responding to, remaining at or leaving the scene of an underage gathering; and

(3) The cost of repairing any County equipment or property damage, and the cost of the use of any such equipment, in responding to, remaining at, or leaving the scene of an underage gathering.

(e) "Responsible person" shall mean a person or persons as defined below. A responsible person need not reside at, need not be present at, and need not have prior knowledge of an underage gathering as a prerequisite to a finding that the individual is a responsible person as defined by this section. Responsible person includes, but is not limited to:

(1) Owner(s) of the residence or other private property;

(2) A tenant or lessee of the residence or other private property;

(3) The landlord of the property when another person is responsible for the gathering;

(4) The person(s) in charge of the residence or other private property;

(5) The person(s) who organizes, supervises, officiates, conducts, allows, allows access to, or controls the gathering or any other person(s) accepting responsibility for such a gathering;

(6) The person(s) who provide alcoholic beverages at an underage gathering.

If a responsible person for the gathering is a juvenile, then the parents or guardians of that juvenile and the juvenile will be jointly and severally liable for the response costs incurred pursuant to this chapter. To incur liability for response costs imposed by this chapter, the responsible person for the underage gathering need not be present at the gathering that causes the response giving rise to the imposition of response costs. This chapter therefore imposes vicarious as well as direct liability upon a responsible person.

(f) "Residence or other private property" means a home, yard, apartment, condominium, hotel or motel room, other dwelling unit, a hall or meeting room, whether occupied on a temporary or permanent basis, whether occupied as a dwelling, party or other social function, and whether owned, leased, rented, or used with or without compensation.

(g) "Underage gathering" means a party or gathering of four or more persons at a property in the County at which alcoholic beverages are being consumed or possessed by one or more underage persons.

(h) "Underage person" shall mean any person under 21 years of age.

(Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, 10-14-08, eff. 1-1-09)

Sec. B13-39. Underage gatherings prohibited.

(a) An underage gathering of four or more persons at a property in the County at which alcoholic beverages are being consumed or possessed by one or more underage persons constitutes a public nuisance, as an immediate threat to public health and safety, and is prohibited.

(b) As a public nuisance, the underage gathering may be summarily abated by law enforcement by all reasonable means, singularly or in combination, including, but not limited to:

(1) An order requiring the underage gathering be disbanded; and issuance of a warning that a violation of this chapter has occurred;

(2) Issuance of an administrative citation and fines for repeated violations under this chapter as set forth in Section B13-41;

(3) Issuance of a citation for recovery of response costs for repeated violations, as set forth in Section B13-42.

(c) In addition to, in combination with, or as an alternative to, any other remedy provided by law, the County may abate the underage gathering as a public nuisance pursuant to the procedures set forth in Sections A1-33, et seq.

(Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, 10-14-08, eff. 1-1-09)

Sec. B13-40. Exemptions.

(a) This chapter shall not apply to activities protected by Article 1, Section 4, of the California Constitution; the California Alcoholic Beverage Control Act; or the First or Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

(b) This chapter shall not apply to landlords for a period of one year from the effective date of this chapter.

(c) This chapter shall not apply to Stanford University students on Stanford University's campus that are subject to Stanford's policies and procedures regarding the lawful and responsible use of alcohol for a period of one year from the effective date of this chapter.

(Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, 10-14-08, eff. 1-1-09)

Sec. B13-41. Administrative fines for violation of the ordinance.

The first time law enforcement responds to an underage gathering, law enforcement may warn the responsible person(s). The warning may be verbal or in writing. The second time law enforcement responds to an underage gathering at the same property, all responsible persons in violation of this chapter, regardless of whether they knew or should have known that a violation would occur, shall be jointly and severally liable for all response costs as set forth in Section B13-42 and in addition shall be subject to an administrative fine.

The administrative fines shall be:

(a) $350.00 for the first citation issued to the responsible person.

(b) $700.00 for the second citation issued to the responsible person.

(Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, 10-14-08, eff. 1-1-09)

Sec. B13-42. Response costs.

In addition to the administrative fines set forth in Section B13-41, Responsible Persons shall be liable for response costs the second time that law enforcement responds to a property regarding an underage gathering. When law enforcement, fire, or other emergency response provider responds to an underage gathering at a residence or other private property within the County, after a warning given to a responsible person for an underage gathering, all responsible persons shall be jointly and severally liable for the County's costs of providing for that response and all subsequent responses during the warning period.

When a law enforcement, fire, or other emergency response provider official makes an initial response to an underage gathering at a residence or other private property within the County, the official shall inform any responsible person(s) for the gathering at the scene that:

(a) The official has determined that an underage gathering exists; and

(b) Responsible person(s) will be charged for any response costs required for subsequent responses to the scene for an underage gathering.

Only one warning will be given to a responsible person(s) pursuant to this section before the County assesses the administrative fines and response costs pursuant to Sections B13-38(d), B13-39, B13-41, and this section. If a responsible person cannot be identified at the scene, the official may issue a warning to one or more persons identified in Section B13-38(e) [responsible persons] and/or subsequently return to the residence or other private property and issue the warning to a then-present responsible person. Warnings given to responsible persons who do not reside at the property in question shall be delivered by certified mail.

(Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, 10-14-08, eff. 1-1-09)

Sec. B13-43. Enforcement officer defined.

For purposes of this chapter, "enforcement officer" shall mean any County employee, agent of the County, or law enforcement officer with the authority to enforce any provision of this code.

(Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, 10-14-08, eff. 1-1-09)

Sec. B13-44. Administrative citation.

Whenever an enforcement officer charged with the enforcement of any provision of this code determines that a violation has occurred, the enforcement officer shall have the authority to issue an administrative citation to any person responsible for the violation.

(Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, 10-14-08, eff. 1-1-09)

Sec. B13-45. Payment of administrative fines and/or response costs.

(a) The administrative fines and/or response costs shall be paid to the County within 30 days from the date of service of the citation, unless the person charged in the citation requests a hearing as set forth in Section B13-46 below.

(b) Payment of a fine and/or response costs under this chapter shall not excuse or discharge any continuation or repeated occurrence of the code violation that is the subject of the administrative citation.

(Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, 10-14-08, eff. 1-1-09)

Sec. B13-46. Hearing request.

(a) Any recipient of an administrative citation may contest that there was a violation of the code or that he or she is the responsible person by writing to the County Executive, or his or her designee, at 70 W. Hedding Street, East Wing, San Jose, California 95110, within 30 days from the date of service of the citation. The contesting party shall identify the date and location of the alleged violation and indicate in the letter that he or she is requesting a hearing. The contesting party shall attach a copy of the citation to the letter requesting a hearing.

(b) The person requesting the hearing shall be notified of the time and place set for the hearing at least ten days before the date of the hearing.

(c) If the enforcement officer submits an additional written report concerning the administrative citation to the hearing officer for consideration at the hearing, then a copy of this report also shall be served on the person requesting the hearing at least five days before the date of the hearing.

(Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, 10-14-08, eff. 1-1-09)

Sec. B13-47. Hearing Officer.

The County Executive shall designate the hearing officer for the administrative citation hearing.

(Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, 10-14-08, eff. 1-1-09)

Sec. B13-48. Hearing procedure.

(a) A hearing before the hearing officer shall be set for a date that is not less than 15 days and not more than 60 days from the date that the request for hearing is filed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

(b) At the hearing, the party contesting the administrative citation shall be given the opportunity to testify and to present evidence concerning the administrative citation.

(c) The failure of any recipient of an administrative citation to appear at the administrative citation hearing shall constitute a failure to exhaust administrative remedies.

(d) The administrative citation and any additional report submitted by the enforcement officer shall constitute prima facie evidence of the respective facts contained in those documents.

(e) The hearing officer may continue the hearing and request additional information from the enforcement officer or the recipient of the administrative citation before issuing a written decision.

(Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, 10-14-08, eff. 1-1-09)

Sec. B13-49. Hearing Officer's decision.

(a) After considering all of the testimony and evidence submitted at the hearing, the hearing officer shall issue a written decision to uphold or cancel the administrative citation and shall list in the decision the reasons for that decision. The decision of the hearing officer shall be final.

(b) If the hearing officer determines that the administrative citation should be upheld, then the responsible person shall pay the fine amount within 30 days.

(d) The employment, performance evaluation, compensation, and benefits of the hearing officer shall not be directly or indirectly conditioned upon the amount of administrative citation fines upheld by the hearing officer.

(Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, 10-14-08, eff. 1-1-09)

Sec. B13-50. Late payment charges.

(a) Unless otherwise provided in this code, any person who fails to timely pay, in full, any fine imposed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, on or before the date that fine is due, shall also be liable for the payment of a late payment charge of ten percent of the amount of the delinquent fine.

(b) Any person who fails to timely pay, in full, any fine imposed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, on or before 30 days after its due date shall also pay a second penalty of ten percent of the delinquent amount.

(Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, 10-14-08, eff. 1-1-09)

Sec. B13-51. Recovery of administrative citation fines and costs.

(a) The County may collect any past due administrative citation fine or late payment charge by use of all available legal means, including filing a civil lawsuit.

(b) Any person who fails to pay any obligation shall be liable in any action brought by the County for all costs incurred in securing payment of the delinquent amount, including, but not limited to, administrative costs, and attorneys' fees.

(c) Collection costs shall be in addition to any penalties, interest, and/or late charges imposed upon the delinquent obligation.

(d) Collection costs imposed under this provision shall be added to and become a part of the underlying obligation.

(Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, 10-14-08, eff. 1-1-09)

Sec. B13-52. Right to judicial review.

Any person aggrieved by an administrative decision of a hearing officer on an administrative citation may obtain review of the administrative decision by filing a petition for review with the Superior Court in accordance with the timelines and provisions set forth in California Government Code Section 53069.4.

(Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, 10-14-08, eff. 1-1-09)

Sec. B13-53. Notices.

(a) The administrative citation required to be given by this chapter shall be served on the responsible person in the same manner as a summons in a civil action in accordance with Article 3 (commencing with § 415.10) of Chapter 4 of Title 5 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure. All subsequent notices shall be served on the responsible person by personal delivery or by deposit in the United States mail, in a sealed envelope postage prepaid, addressed to such person to be notified at his or her last-known business or residence address as the same appears in the public records or other records pertaining to the matter to which such notice is directed. Service by mail shall be deemed to have been completed at the time of deposit in the post office.

(b) Failure to receive any notice specified in this chapter does not affect the validity of proceedings conducted hereunder.

(Ord. No. NS-637, § 1, 10-14-08, eff. 1-1-09)

Secs. B13-54--B13-61. Reserved.