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ITEM 20

City Council Memorandum Law Memo No. LAW24-01

Date:

May 6, 2024

To:

Mayor and Council

Thru:

Joshua H. Wright, City Manager
Tadd Wille, Assistant City Manager
Kelly Y. Schwab, City Attorney
Bryan Chapman, Police Chief
Melissa Deanda, Assistant Police Chief

From:

Tawn Kao, Assistant City Attorney

Subject:

Introduction and Tentative Adoption of Ordinance No. 5096, Repealing and Replacing Section 11-16 of Chapter 11 of the Code of the City of Chandler in its Entirety and Retitling as "Unruly Gathering"

Proposed Motion:

Move City Council introduce and tentatively adopt Ordinance No. 5096, amending the Code of the City of Chandler, Chapter 11, Curfew, Graffiti, Smoking and Miscellaneous Offenses, by repealing and replacing Section 11-16 in its entirety; retitling Section 11-16 as "Unruly Gathering"; providing for repeal of conflicting ordinances; providing for severability, and providing for penalities.

Background:

In May 2015, the Chandler City Council adopted Ordinance No. 4642 amending Chandler City Code, Chapter 11, adding Section 11-16, "Providing a Location for an Unlawful Minor Party/Gathering," also known as a social host ordinance. Ordinance No. 4642 was adopted for the purpose of preventing and deterring underage drinking by promoting social responsibility within the community and penalizing social hosting of parties that facilitated or allowed underage drinking.

Ordinance No. 5096 would replace Ordinance No. 4642 with an unruly gathering ordinance that not only addresses underage drinking but all behaviors that threaten the peace, health, safety, or welfare of the general public. Further, responsible persons shall include any person in attendance at an unruly gathering including any property owner, occupant tenant, or tenant's guest or any sponsor, host or organizer of a social activity or special occasion or owner that was aware of the social activity or special occasion constituting the unruly gathering, even if such person is not in attendance, or any owner who had been notified that an unruly gathering had previously occurred on the same premises within 180 days prior to a subsequent unruly gathering. If such a person is a juvenile, the responsible persons shall include the juvenile's parents or guardians.

Discussion:

In response to the tragic death of 16-year-old Preston Lord, who succumbed to injuries sustained in a violent assault at a party in Queen Creek in October 2023, the City Council's Community Safety Subcommittee (Vice Mayor Harris, Councilmembers Christine Ellis and Angel Encinas) met on March 22, 2024, to review recommendations to update Section 11-16 of the City Code. The Subcommittee recommended the proposed ordinance be forwarded to the full City Council for consideration. On April 4, 2024, Council held a work session to discuss this proposed ordinance and directed staff to schedule it for a vote on the May 9, 2024, regular meeting agenda. The objective of Ordinance No. 5096 is to address the profound impact of teen violence on the community and enhance the safety of individuals attending gatherings at private residences. The ordinance ensures that responsible individuals are held both civilly and criminally accountable for disruptive gatherings that endanger the safety and welfare of the community.

Ordinance No. 5096 stipulates that, unless otherwise specified, violations will result in civil infractions in accordance with Section 1-8.7 of the Chandler City Code. Additionally, any individual found to have committed a violation designated as a civil infraction within an eighteen-month period after a previous finding of responsibility shall be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor, subject to the penalty provisions outlined in Section 1-8 of the Chandler City Code

Attachments

Ordinance No. 5096 - Unruly Gathering