CJ to pursue public drinking ban
From our weekly issue dated May 06, 2009
The city of Cave Junction will move forward with a ban on public drinking.
Vagrancy on the streets has been an issue for quite some time, and Mayor Don Moore came into office with the intent of resolving it.
“One of my goals was to get this problem under control,” Moore said.
Up until now, the city has been reluctant to adopt a public drinking ban, based on a narrow interpretation of Oregon Revised Statute 430.325. That law states that “a political subdivision in this state shall not adopt or enforce any local law or regulation” against public intoxication or vagrancy.
State Rep. Ron Maurer (R-Grants Pass) attempted to remedy the situation by proposing House Bill 2522, which would repeal ORS 430.325. HB 2522 was referred to the House Judiciary Committee, and Maurer requested a hearing, along with Rep. Dennis Richardson (R-Central Point) and Sen. Jason Atkinson (R-Central Point).
A hearing was scheduled for HB 2522, but before it took place, Maurer discovered that many municipalities throughout Oregon have public drinking bans. Those cities include Portland, Salem, Eugene, Medford and Grants Pass.
Maurer said that he consulted lawyers from legislative counsel and the Judiciary Committee, who confirmed that such a ban would be possible.
But he also wanted confirmation from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) that it would not sue to try and stop a public drinking ban from being passed in Cave Junction, Maurer said.
Representatives from that group later testified before the Judiciary Committee.
“The ACLU testified that they believe these city ordinances were, in fact, in compliance with state law, and had absolutely no problem with them,” Maurer said. “They certainly would not seek any redress against the city for having these ordinances.”
On April 14, Maurer received a letter from Dexter A. Johnson and Marisa N. James from legislative counsel.
“The exception in ORS 430.325 (1)(b) allowing a city to prohibit public drinking in ‘places where any consumption of alcoholic beverages is generally prohibited’ appears to allow a city to prohibit public drinking in an area, as long as drinking is broadly prohibited in that area,” the letter stated.
Maurer sent a letter to Moore on April 20 regarding the legislative counsel’s interpretation of ORS 430.325.
Moore said that he plans to put a public drinking ordinance on the agenda for the city council’s Monday night, May 11 meeting.
The council passed a similar ordinance on Feb. 23, but many felt that it lacked enforcement mechanisms to properly address the actual problem. At the time, Moore and City Recorder Jim Polk said that the ordinance was the “best we can do.”
Advertisement:
An emergency clause might be attached to the new ordinance, Moore said, so that it could take effect immediately. But he said that will only happen, “If I can get the council to agree on it.”
He continued, “I don’t want this to drag on, go through hearings and waiting periods any longer than we have to. We’ve already had hearings on this thing,” Moore said. “Because it’s been forestalled for so long, everyone already knows about it, so there’s been enough notice.”
Of particular importance to the mayor is getting the ordinance passed prior to the summer tourist season because, “We don’t want to lose any business here.
“If we put it in effect immediately, we can see if that will take care of part of the problem that we have,” he said.
Maurer said that he is just happy to have helped some of his constituents.
“The system worked, and we didn’t need to pass another law,” Maurer said.
Advertisement:
