Public drinking and littering will cost you more in Laguna Beach

If you’re caught drinking alcohol on the sand in Laguna Beach, it could cost you $100 if it’s your first time.

From there, the expense of imbibing in public will go up — to $200 if it’s within 12 months and to $500 if it’s the third time in a year. The same amounts go for littering.

The Laguna Beach City Council on Tuesday, April 20, voted unanimously to add both public drinking and littering to the standard costs that are already part of the city’s municipal code.

Before the vote, the penalties for public drinking and littering were different and smaller. If a person were caught drinking on the beach, a first offense ran $30; the first-time fine for littering was $25.

Laguna Beach Police Chief Robert Thompson told the council that repealing the old penalties and adjusting them to standards for other municipal violations was a way to provide consistency in the law.

“These were left behind and had not kept pace with the times and were arguably low for the quality of life they impact,” Thompson said.

For example, he cited a possible case where someone might have been caught drinking on the beach, which would have cost $30. But, if they’re drinking from a glass bottle, the fine would have included “possession of glass on the beach,” and it would have been a $100 fine.

“We are looking to provide consistency across all the different violations we commonly encounter and to standardize them,” he said.

If the law is adopted at the next council meeting, it could be in effect by early June.

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