Half Moon Bay to ban alcohol on its beaches

Some councilmembers agreed to the alcohol ban for the sake of consistency.

“One of the most reasoned arguments I’ve heard has to do with consistency on the coast,” said Councilwoman Deborah Penrose. “If we allow alcohol on Poplar and Surfer’s Beach and they don’t allow it on the state beaches what are we then doing? It makes no sense. People don’t distinguish one beach from the other.”

Vice Mayor Robert Brownstone said the city received eight letters from residents supporting an alcohol ban on city beaches and one letter from a resident opposed to the ban.

During the meeting, one resident said the alcohol ban may limit the amount of trash visitors leave on beaches.

“I believe if the city beach is alcohol free it may reduce the amount of trash that is left behind,” said a resident who identified herself only as Kim, noting she regularly removes beer, wine and Champagne bottles and cans from the beach. “[An alcohol ban] is consistent with the state beaches as well as protection of our environment and our beaches because that trash ends up in our ocean.”

City Manager Bob Nisbet said the Sheriff’s Office will do its best to enforce the new ban, but doing so won’t be a priority. His comments came after a presentation earlier in the meeting about the Sheriff’s Office’s limited resources on the coast.

Several speakers expressed concerns about inconsistent enforcement of the ban.

“I’m worried if we aren’t consistently enforcing something like this then the incidents that are enforced are where people are reported by other beachgoers and often that provides an avenue for racial profiling,” said Emma Schott. “I think there could be unintended consequences of this that inadvertently target minority groups.”

Mayor Adam Eisen was worried he and his council colleagues will get inundated with cellphone photos of rule breakers in the future.

“My fear always when we put laws on the books knowing that we’re not going to be focusing on enforcement is more the amount of public input of people taking pictures of people drinking alcohol on the beaches and sending them to council constantly,” he said.  

The council’s vote Tuesday was a first reading of the alcohol ban. A second reading vote, which makes the new rule official, will occur at the next regular meeting.

In adopting the ban, the council will also sign off on various other changes to the municipal code. Those include a ban on single-use plastics on city beaches as well as new language that will make it easier to allow bonfires and off-leash areas for dogs on the city’s beaches.

zachary@smdailyjournal.com

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