UCSC gives cash to police to crack down on off-campus parties
Santa Cruz Sentinel 1/25/07
UC Santa Cruz will give the Santa Cruz police a $25,000 check to step up enforcement of the 2005 city ordinance that targets college parties and stiffens fines for gatherings where behavior is considered by police to be a threat to public safety or "the quiet enjoyment of residential property or general welfare"
About half of UCSC's 15,000 students live off campus.
Following a Westside neighbors meeting with acting Chancellor George Blumenthal in December, the university agreed that it was important to improve enforcement throughout the city.
"In productive conversations I had last month with members of the Santa Cruz Neighbors group, they indicated that large parties, whether or not they involve UCSC students, can have a real impact on their quality of life," Blumenthal said in a statement.
The neighborhood group said that on some weekends, it's possible that only one officer is patrolling any given neighborhood late at night. After getting the university money, city police will determine when and where additional patrols are needed based on an analysis of service calls over the past two years.
Under the city ordinance, party hosts — and possibly landlords or parents of those under 21 — face fines which start at $250 and grow to $500 and $1,000 for subsequent violations. Parties with amplified music that can be heard beyond the property requires a special permit.
"This ordinance is not targeted at student rentals" said Deborah Elston of Santa Cruz Neighbors. "It's meant to give the police more support in dealing with these out-of-control houses throughout our city"
The Santa Cruz Police Department has written eight citations under the ordinance since its inception, mostly at parties that average more than two hundred people and feature underage drinking, vandalism and potentially violent situations, according to the neighbors group.
"When parties reach these levels, we are concerned for the safety of the neighbors and our officers," Police Chief Howard Skerry said in a statement.