Pacific Beach to ask ban on liquor at city beaches

David E. Graham. The San Diego Union – Tribune. San Diego, Calif.: Aug 5, 2006. pg. B.3.C

The Pacific Beach Town Council has voted to ask the San Diego City Council to consider a ban on alcohol at all city beaches and Mission Bay Park, the group’s president said yesterday.

The president, Don Mullen, also said he himself is suggesting that the City Council pass a resolution giving Pacific Beach a designation that recognizes the area has problems with drinking and disturbances.

Such a designation, he said, might allow the council to pursue grants that could pay for more police, especially during summer, or allow it to double fines for citations involving alcohol.

He said residents are frustrated with the drinking and rowdiness, and he’s seeking a comprehensive solution.

City Councilman Kevin Faulconer said yesterday that he preferred enforcing existing laws and examining alcohol licenses for businesses rather than creating an outright ban.

He said he would be willing to create a task force of community leaders that would hold public hearings on alcohol in Pacific Beach. They would report their findings and make recommendations to the council within six months, he said.

Faulconer also said several steps already have been made this year to reduce alcohol’s effect in the neighborhood. The annual block party was canceled, and the city has introduced a community court program where people fined for nuisances could have their penalties waived in exchange for cleaning up the area.

Also yesterday, business owners marked the 10-year anniversary of the Pacific Beach Community Covenant, which discourages bars from offering rock-bottom prices for booze.

Dozens of bar owners signed the pledge, updated to include a promise to refrain from advertising two-for-one drink specials or prices below $2.

In March 2002, voters rejected a proposal that would have imposed a 24-hour-a-day test ban on all alcoholic beverages on beaches from the south jetty in Mission Beach to Felspar Street in Pacific Beach on the ocean side and from Mission Point to Zanzibar Court on the bay side.

The City Council in April 2001 approved an 18-month test ban, but a referendum campaign forced it to the ballot.

Credit: STAFF WRITER | San Diego Union-Tribune researcher Michelle Gilchrist contributed to this report.