Guidelines tightened for Fourth in Newport

June Casagrande

When you put yourself in the other guy’s shoes, it’s easy to

understand why the debate over West Newport Fourth of July parties

got so heated at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

On the one side are seven councilmen who’ve been racking their

brains for ways to rescue West Newport residents from effects of the

drunken brawls, public urination, crime and late-night noise that are

par for the course every July 4.

On the other side is a group of mostly young men who had been

horrified to learn that the law-abiding majority would have to suffer

harsh penalties designed as deterrents for the law-breaking few.

In between is a surprisingly democratic mix of old and young,

homeowners and renters, partyers and peace lovers whose feelings on

the proposed rules run the gamut from passionate support to rabid

opposition.

Council members have plenty of reason to be frustrated. Charged

with protecting the public’s safety and serving the people who demand

that something be done, they have been working for months to find a

way to fix the problem and prevent future catastrophes.

They’ve held numerous public meetings, workshops and study

sessions, and they sent out notices to residents about how they could

get involved. They puzzled and puzzled and puzzled some more.

What they came up with was only a slightly stepped-up version of

previous years’ solutions: Create a “safety enhancement zone” during

the holiday that gives cops more power to break up parties and issue

citations.

This year’s twists are that fines for most minor infractions go

from $100 to $300 and that landlords might, in some cases, be held

responsible for tenants’ behavior.

Party proponents had plenty of reason to be appalled. The irony

that the reduction in individual rights takes place on Independence

Day wasn’t lost on the crowd of about 20 young men who packed the

council chambers on Tuesday. Not the types to follow city government

too closely, many of them said that the city’s actions came as a

complete surprise.

“This is unacceptable and un-American,” West Newport resident Matt

Olson said.

Though some opponents pleaded with the council to postpone its

decision to allow the community to participate, council members

reacted with frustration at the lateness of the group’s involvement.

After all, they’d been trying to gather just such input since

September of last year.

“I can’t understand how we could have done more by way of public

outreach to try to get people engaged,” Councilman Gary Proctor said.

Unfortunately for opponents of the ordinance, nobody was able to

come up with a better idea to prevent a repeat of last year’s 162

arrests and 1,344 citations. And after all 36 residents on either

side had come to the podium to speak their peace, the council was

unswayed.

The motion passed unanimously, as did a later agenda item to pass

on to second reading an amendment to the city’s alcoholic beverage

ordinance that, if approved in two weeks, would forbid stores from

selling liquor out of their parking lots or storing it there.