Newport Beach councilmembers want rules that would stiffen curfews for teens in popular vacation areas of the city, clamp down on unlawful mass gatherings and encourage parents to be responsible when their teens participate in the kind of rowdy behavior that ensued over the Fourth of July weekend when thousands of juveniles and young adults created chaos on the Balboa Peninsula.
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The City Council got an earful from upset residents who had packed their meeting following the holiday — with the city leaders saying they agreed with many of the issues raised — and Mayor Lauren Kleiman came to Tuesday’s meeting with a slew of changes the council has now asked the city’s staff to figure out how to make happen.
She also suggested new rules to address events organized or promoted through social media — social influencers had hyped Newport Beach, officials said, as a place to be for Fourth of July — and additional measures in the city’s previously created Safety Enhancement Zones, where the council has already tripled fines for bad behavior during the summer holiday season.
Over the July 4 weekend, officials said revelers blocked roadways and emergency vehicles, pulled down street signs and trashed landscaping and aimed fireworks and mortars into crowds and at police officers. A Pavilions grocery store were ransacked, officials said. An unlawful assembly was declared and residents were asked to stay at home.
More than 400 people were detained between midnight July 3 and 6 a.m. July 5, authorities said, of which most, 316, received citations for misdemeanors and 37 were arrested.
Newport Beach police got assistance from at least 15 surrounding agencies in quelling the raucous crowds on the beach and in the peninsula’s streets. Videos posted on social media showed police officers on horseback breaking up a crowd on the beach.
Newport Beach officials said most of those arrested were residents of Arizona (145) and California (161), but very few were city residents.
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Following the unruly behavior, dozens of community members packed the City Council, asking for more to be done. Several also pushed for more oversight and restrictions on short-term rentals and asked for better communication with social media platforms.
It is unclear how soon the city’s staffers will return with the new ordinances and revisions the councilmembers supported looking further at in response to the holiday.
Additionally, Councilmember Erik Weigand suggested Tuesday that the city consider supporting federal legislation that would recognize open-water lifeguards as first responders and emergency response providers.
His thinking behind that proposal, he said on Wednesday, is that lifeguards are already trained with equipment to save lives.
“They are on the front lines every day and respond to all types of emergencies, yet they aren’t officially recognized as first responders,” he said. “I have seen firsthand lifeguards jump into harm’s way to save a life. They perform CPR, address symptoms of shock, perform measures to stabilize patients with paralysis, and address serious wounds. They’re often on site to help during traffic collisions and respond to a beach neighborhood when a 911 call comes in.”
“To not recognize open-water lifeguards as first responders is a disservice,” he added.
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