Council may strengthen underage drinking rules
By Kevin Huelsmann, Jackson Hole, Wyo.
October 19, 2009
The Jackson Town Council this afternoon will discuss how it can put some teeth in the municipal code to address underage drinking.
Police officers raised the issue because of concerns that current regulations — both municipal and state — contain loopholes that make it difficult to stop underage drinking.
“This is particularly problematic in Teton County, where the interpretation of juvenile alcohol law is so restrictive that it makes enforcement nearly impossible, except in the most specific instances,” a staff report on the issue states. “This knowledge in the hands of juveniles only fuels the problems we currently experience.”
Situations in which minors are caught drinking alcohol at private residences pose a particular problem for local officers.
Currently, the town’s municipal code does not contain any provisions that apply to minors drinking in private places outside the presence of a parent or guardian.
In addition, officers have to comply with restrictions put in place by a ruling from a Lincoln County judge, according to a staff report.
“These restrictions include the requirement to identify what type of alcohol the juvenile had consumed and the requirement to explain that a portable breath test was voluntary,” a staff report states. “These factors combine to make enforcement problematic for officers in the field.”
An officer confronted with a juvenile party at a home with no parent or guardian present has no authority to act unless he can find someone still holding a drink, the report says.
“An officer confronted with an intoxicated juvenile in a public place and who is unable to articulate the type of alcohol consumed will likely have the case dismissed,” the staff report says.
Loopholes in regulations came to the forefront in Jackson after a high school senior party in 2006. Dozens of teens were charged with alcohol-related offenses but most of the charges were dismissed because of weak laws.
Staff made no recommendations on how to amend ordinances but offered examples of how Evanston and Laramie have strengthened their regulations.
In addition to the town’s underage-drinking ordinance, councilors are scheduled to discuss whether to change the way the town issues building permits and the period that they are valid.
Currently, an application is considered to be abandoned after 180 days of filing if a building permit has not been issued. After that period, the town’s building inspector can grant “one or more” extension periods of up to 90 days if a written explanation justifying the extension is submitted.
“Due to the recent economic downturn, the department has been requested to grant multiple extensions of 90 to 180 days and up to two years for building permit applications,” a staff report states.
In response, town staff set out three options for councilors: grant a one-time extension of 180 days, 360 days or indefinitely.
In the staff report, there is also a recommendation that developers be required to apply for another building permit after their first extension period lapses.
Staff also asked the council to consider changing the period following the issuance of a building permit. The building inspector now can grant one to two 180-day extensions for projects on which there has been no construction for 180 days.
Town staff recommended the same three options — granting 180 days, 360 days or indefinite extensions — before requiring applicants to reapply for another building permit.
Councilors are scheduled to take up both issues at 3 p.m. today at Town Hall, 150 E. Pearl Ave.
