DESTIN — Officials are two votes away from adopting a law that would help regulate possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages in public.
“We’ve had a number of complaints over the past year or so on some of our public right of ways,” City Manager Maryann Ustick said. “It has come to our attention from the Sheriff's Office that we don’t have in our city an ordinance that prohibits the consumption or possession of open containers in our city.”
With a unanimous vote last week, the City Council approved the language for the proposed ordinance. Council members have been discussing regulating where residents and visitors can go with beverages in-hand since February after a news article about the lack of an open container law in Destin.
If approved, the ordinance would prohibit the possession of open containers and the consumption of alcohol on public rights of way. According to the law, a right of way includes any public easement, highway, street, bridge, tunnel, public parking lot or land owned and controlled by the city.
The South Harbor “Festive Marketplace” would be exempt.
It’s not uncommon to drive along Mountain Drive and see people sitting on the street’s benches with open containers of alcohol. A staff report provided to the council noted that complaints about transients with alcohol has reached a “higher level” lately.
“After speaking directly with the individuals, it is apparent to the officers that the possession and consumption of alcohol was contributing to their behavior, resulting in a degradation of the quality of life in these areas,” the report reads.
If approved, the ordinance would give sheriff’s deputies power to arrest violators on a misdemeanor offense or give them a notice to appear in court. If they are found guilty, they could be fined from $100 to $500, depending on how many violations they have committed.
Possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages already is prohibited in parks, with the exception of Clement Taylor Park where permits are required.
“How are you going to enforce that on a public beach?” asked Councilman Jim Bagby, referring to Norriego Point, which is a public park.
Councilwoman Sandy Trammell said she was “all for this,” but wanted to make sure Destin was addressing both the alcohol issue and the issue of people loitering on benches.
“I know the background for why we started looking at this, and I want to make sure that it doesn’t just go from one street to the boardwalk,” Trammell said. “Are they now going to be loitering all over the park benches on the boardwalk because it’s open container?”
Sheriff’s Capt. Ted Pecot reassured the council that deputies have the tools to handle that situation.
“A majority of the areas in the Harbor District are private property,” he said. “If there is a problem on private property, the property owner has the ability to issue a trespass warning.”
The council must vote twice to approve the new law. The first vote is expected May 6 and the second vote would be May 20.
Destin Log Staff Writer Matt Algarin can be reached at 850-654-8446 or malgarin@thedestinlog.com. Follow him on Twitter @DestinLogMatt.