How To Use Local Regulatory and Land Use Powers To Prevent Underage Drinking

Transcription

1 U.S. Departmet of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office of Juveile Justice ad Deliquecy Prevetio How To Use Local Regulatory ad Lad Use Powers To Prevet Uderage Drikig What do local regulatory ad lad use powers have to do with prevetig uderage drikig? Commuities all over the coutry are cocered about uderage drikig ad the may serious problems that go alog with alcohol cosumptio by youg people. Whether ad how much youg people drik depeds to a large extet o commuity orms ad expectatios about drikig. These orms ad expectatios emerge from ad reflect the commuity alcohol ladscape or alcohol eviromet, icludig such elemets as messages regardig alcohol use i the media ad elsewhere; the ease with which youg people ca obtai alcohol through commercial ad ocommercial sources; ad the role of alcohol i commuity evets. This ladscape ca be shaped by local regulatios ad lad use ordiaces, which are forms of alcohol policy. Ofte commuities take their alcohol ladscape as a give or as the sole provice of state ad federal lawmakers. But may commuities ow are challegig these assumptios, developig local alcohol policies that have had impressive results. Local govermets i most states do ot have to wait for state legislatures or Cogress to act to reshape their alcohol eviromets. This fact sheet gives a meu of local alcohol policy optios that ca reduce youthful drikig i our commuities. What are local regulatory ad lad use powers? Local govermets have the resposibility ad authority to protect the public s geeral health, safety, ad welfare. They fulfill this resposibility i part through their lad use powers by determiig what activities may occur o the lad withi their jurisdictio. Both commercial ad ocommercial activities associated with alcohol fall withi these broad powers. Uless preempted by state or federal law (see Beware of Preemptio, below ), local commuities ca rely o lad use zoig to determie where alcohol may be sold or cosumed ad how it is distributed ad marketed. Some states allow local govermets to licese commercial alcohol establishmets. Licesig amplifies local zoig powers as a meas to shape the local alcohol eviromet. Commuity zoig ordiaces idetify the type of developmet that is permitted withi a geographical area. For example, a R-1 zoe typically idetifies a area where costructio of sigle family resideces are permitted as a matter of right o special licese or public hearig is required to build a sigle family home i a R-1 zoe. I additio to such permitted uses, however, other uses might also be permitted, but oly after they have bee reviewed for potetial egative impacts o the area ad special coditios placed o the developmet to miimize these egative impacts. For istace, i a R-1 zoe, commuities will ofte permit developmet of child care ceters, schools, parks, ad seior housig projects, but oly after coditios have bee placed o these developmets to respod to cocers about the traffic, oise, ad other potetial egative impacts such developmets might pose to the quality of life people expect i a sigle family eighborhood. Although the exact term ad approval process may differ from state to state, these Coditioal Use Permits (CUPs) are a cetral feature of zoig laws i most states. Zoig ordiaces specify which lad uses require a CUP, ad specify the public otice ad hearig process that will be coducted to idetify potetial egative impacts ad to decide the specific coditios that will be required to mitigate these egative impacts. Zoig ordiaces ca require that ay give lad use, icludig retail alcohol outlets, must obtai a coditioal use permit i order to coduct busiess. CUPs serve as a useful adjuct to other types of regulatios ad allow for specific ad public cosideratio of each busiess developmet proposig to sell alcohol. A very importat aspect of the CUP requiremet is that muicipalities may

2 revoke the CUP at some later date should the required coditios be violated. This opportuity to moitor the cotiuig operatio of a alcohol outlet, ad to take corrective actio if ecessary, is a importat feature supportig commuity zoig ordiaces that require that all alcohol outlets be subject to a coditioal use permit. How do local regulatory ad lad use powers ifluece the alcohol eviromet over time? Specific regulatory ad lad use provisios affect how alcohol is made available i the commuity. Sales practices chage over time as marketers ad retailers develop iovative strategies ad tactics for attractig ew customers ad icreasig sales amog curret users. Oce the chages occur, they become part of the commuity s ladscape ad are very difficult to reverse. For example, i the early 1980s, oil compaies aggressively etered the coveiece store idustry, covertig gas statios from auto repair ceters to mii-marts that rely heavily o alcohol sales. This ew marketig cocept raises public health cocers because it icreases the availability of alcohol (particularly i residetial areas ad ear schools, where childre are likely to be preset) ad combies the sales of alcohol ad gasolie (possibly sedig a uhealthy message about drikig ad drivig). Yet today, these alcohol/gas outlets are a accepted part of may commuities alcohol eviromet. Some etrepreeurs are ow itroducig alcohol to fast food outlets, beauty salos, ad laudromats, marketig plas that raise similar public health ad safety cocers. If commuities do ot use their regulatory ad lad use provisios, chages such as these i their alcohol eviromets will respod solely to ecoomic cosideratios, without attetio to potetial public health ad safety costs. If, for example, a local jurisdictio had eacted i 1980 a lad use restrictio that prohibited alcohol ad gasolie sales at the same retail outlet, the this marketig scheme would ot have take hold i that locality. Commuities should be alert to the health ad safety cocers raised by alcohol sales practices ad aticipate potetial problems. They ca the act early to prevet these problems through regulatio. What is the relatioship of local regulatory ad lad use powers to state regulatio? The 21st Amedmet to the U.S. Costitutio, eacted at the repeal of Prohibitio, gives the state the primary authority for regulatig alcoholic beverages. States vary widely i the degree to which they have haded this authority to local jurisdictios. I a few cases, states have give local govermet the primary authority for regulatig alcohol, providig oly miimal statewide stadards. At the opposite ed of the spectrum, a few states exercise exclusive authority over alcohol commerce, takig away (or preemptig) related local regulatory ad lad use powers. The large majority of states fall betwee these extremes, establishig overlappig (or cocurret) local ad state regulatory powers. States are most likely to allow at least some forms of local lad use zoig powers, with local licesig authority a less commo practice. Ideally, the state establishes miimum stadards for regulatig alcohol use ad distributio ad allows localities wide discretio i developig additioal stadards to meet their particular eeds ad circumstaces. This is the case i may states. Cocered citizes ad groups who wish to make maximum use of local power should research state ad local laws. Local officials ad attoreys who specialize i these issues ca be good resources for iformatio. Beware Preemptio The fact that states ca take away local powers raises a ote of cautio: A commo strategy of commercial alcohol iterests is to seek state preemptio i order to elimiate local regulatory ad lad use policies they oppose. These preemptio proposals are sometimes couched i public health terms, madatig relatively weak state cotrols but elimiatig the possibility of more striget local ordiaces. How do regulatory ad lad use policies respod to alcohol marketig practices? A helpful typology for categorizig regulatory ad lad use policies is the four P s of marketig product, place, promotio ad price. Marketers use these four elemets to develop total marketig campaigs that target specific demographic groups. For example, specific products have bee developed that appeal to youg college studets (e.g., 40-ouce beer cotaiers ad sweeteed alcohol products). They are made available i places frequeted by studets ad are offered at discout prices (recogizig that studets have limited discretioary icome). They are promoted usig messages ad images with youthful, college themes. Marketig campaigs targetig older, affluet, white males; ier-city Africa America youth; suburba

3 soccer moms, or ay other demographic group will have a very differet marketig mix. Uchecked, these marketig tactics ca create usafe alcohol eviromets for youth. May college commuities, for example, have college bars ad drikig evets as the primary veue for etertaimet ad are saturated with promotios ad low price offerigs that ecourage heavy drikig. Commuities ca use these same marketig strategies to develop alcohol-safe eviromets for youg people. Each of the four P s has a set of correspodig prevetive resposes. These resposes should be coordiated with each other ad applied i a comprehesive maer, targetig specific demographic groups. At stake is the shape of the alcohol eviromet ad the level of risk to which a give populatio group is exposed. Here is a checklist of possible commuity policy optios, usig the four P s typology. What specific place regulatios ca be used to reduce alcohol availability to youg people? The picturesque ad historic city of Old Sa Jua, Puerto Rico, had become a public health ad safety ightmare because of heavy drikig i the streets, uderage drikig, litterig of beer bottles ad other alcoholgeerated debris, vadalism, ad oise. Traffic was gridlocked by youg people cruisig ad drikig i cars. Residets, merchats ad tourists complaied to city officials. As a result, a committee was formed icludig represetatives of all cocered parties ad ew policies were established prohibitig sales o the streets, sales of beverages i glass cotaiers, cosumptio of alcohol i cars, ad uecessary oise. High fies were established for failig to check age idetificatio ad for sales to miors. As a result of this well-publicized effort, the atmosphere i Old Sa Jua has bee trasformed ad dramatic decreases i crime have occurred. 1. Restrict the locatio/umber of commercial alcohol outlets. Prohibit alcohol outlets withi specified distaces from schools, child care ceters, youth ceters, ad other locatios where childre cogregate. Prohibit alcohol outlets from locatig withi specific distaces of other alcohol outlets. Restrict the total umber of alcohol outlets based o a populatio ratio. 2. Restrict the types of commercial alcohol outlets. The city of Salias, Califoria, eacted a CUP ordiace that madates public review ad commet of most proposals to ope ew alcohol retail outlets. As a result, the city has limited the umber of ew outlets ad imposed strict coditios o those that have bee approved. I oe case, eighborhood protests prompted the city coucil to reject a proposal to ope a liquor store i a ew developmet. The eighborhood already had a over-cocetratio of alcohol outlets ad wated a day care ceter o the proposed site. The residets subsequetly coviced the developer of the feasibility of the day care ceter ad assisted him ad the city i fiacig the ceter. Restrict/prohibit cocurret sales of alcohol ad gasolie. Restrict alcohol sales at mii-marts. Prohibit alcohol sales i o-traditioal outlets (e.g., laudromats, movie theaters, beauty salos). Clearly distiguish betwee bars/ightclubs ad restaurats (e.g., by limitig restaurats alcohol sales to a maximum of 40 percet of their receipts; restrictig late hour operatios; prohibitig separate bar areas), ad permit bars oly i adult zoed areas. I restaurats, require that all alcohol sales be made oly i cojuctio with food service ad sales.

4 3. Require commercial alcohol outlets to use resposible servig/sales practices. Require good maagemet policies ad traiig to esure that servers ad clerks routiely ad effectively check age idetificatio. Require miimum age of 21 for all servers ad clerks. Prohibit employee alcohol cosumptio while o duty. Prohibit miors access to bars ad ightclubs. Prohibit video games ad other forms of etertaimet popular with teeagers i alcohol establishmets where miors ca be preset. Limit the amout of square footage ad shelf space dedicated to alcohol sales i retail outlets. Restrict home delivery sales. Restrict hours of sale. Require adequate lightig to eable staff to discer easily the appearace ad coduct of persos i the outlet ad adjacet areas. Prohibit all public uisace activities i ad aroud alcohol outlets, icludig loiterig, litterig, harassmet of passersby, graffiti, loud oise, violatios of state ABC code provisios, ad crimial coduct. Restrict/prohibit public telephoes (to deter drug dealig). Require adequate security, icludig, if warrated, the employmet of a security guard. 4. Restrict miors access to ocommercial sources of alcohol. The cities of Petaluma, Vallejo, ad Sata Rosa, Califoria, have eacted tee party ordiaces that prohibit ay gatherig i a private residece of five or more persos uder 21 years of age, at least oe of whom possesses alcohol; hold the perso resposible for the evet (homeower, orgaizer, etc.) liable to the city for the cost of police services if a police officer at the scee determies that the gatherig is a threat to the public peace, health, safety, or geeral welfare of the commuity; ad impose a fie o the homeower or reter who permits such a gatherig to occur at his or her residece. Restrict alcohol service at commuity evets such as fairs ad holiday celebratios. Create alcohol-safe commuity evets. Coduct routie, effective compliace checks. Restrict the availability of alcohol i public settigs such as parks ad recreatio ceters. More tha a doze commuities atiowide (as well Eact keg registratio ad tee party ordiaces to reduce the availability of alcohol to youg people i ocommercial settigs. as 16 states) have eacted ordiaces that either madate or create icetives to ecourage Resposible Beverage Service programs for retail Eact tee party ordiaces that hold adults accoutable for hostig tee parties. alcohol outlet maagers ad/or servers. The programs iclude reviews of curret busiess practices, traiig o how to check age idetificatio, ad procedures for hadlig itoxicated patros.

5 What specific promotio regulatios ca be used to reduce miors exposure to alcohol advertisig/promotios? Prohibit outdoor advertisig ad billboards i areas where childre are preset (icludig residetial zoes ad withi 1,000 feet of schools, playgrouds ad other child-orieted facilities). Restrict alcohol advertisig to the iterior of commercial alcohol outlets, ad prohibit advertisig iside the store that is visible from outside. The cities of Baltimore, Chicago, Clevelad, Los Ageles, ad Oaklad (ad may others) have eacted local ordiaces restrictig alcohol ad tobacco billboards i residetial areas ad other locatios where childre are likely to be preset. The Los Ageles ordiace icludes strict cotrols o alcohol ad tobacco advertisig placed o storefrot widows. Require sigs promietly posted i commercial establishmets regardig miimum age for alcohol purchase. Require sigs promietly posted i public parks/ facilities statig that it is illegal to cosume alcoholic beverages. Prohibit the use of cartoo characters ad other childorieted images ad slogas i alcohol advertisig. Prohibit alcohol advertisig by local retailers o televisio or radio programs with uderage audieces exceedig 25 percet. Place limitatios o the percetage of store widow space devoted to advertisig. Prohibit distributio or sale of ay alcohol idustry promotioal materials to miors (e.g., as prizes at local fairs). Restrict alcohol idustry sposorship of ay evet sposored or cosposored by local govermet, ay youth evet (e.g., youth athletic evets), or ay evet located o public property. What specific product regulatios ca be used to reduce miors exposure to alcohol marketig that ecourages overcosumptio or appeals especially to youth? Require that 12-ouce or smaller cotaiers of beer be sold i six-packs oly o sigle ca sales (which ecourage street drikig). Restrict the size of sigle beer cotaiers to o more tha oe quart. Require that wie be sold i cotaiers of at least 750 milliliters i volume or i miimum four-pack cooler cotaiers. Permit corked wie cotaiers oly prohibit screwtop wie bottles. Prohibit sales of distilled spirits i mii-bottles uless sold i multiples. Prohibit/restrict sales of fortified wie ad malt liquors (at least i residetial areas) or specify that these products may ot be chilled for sale. Prohibit sales of alcopops ad other alcoholic products with characteristics that clearly appeal to youth (e.g., sweet taste; cartoo characters o packagig).

6 What specific price regulatios ca be used to deter discoutig ad to icrease the cost of alcohol to miors? Impose fees o all commercial alcohol outlets to cover local code ad law eforcemet costs. Impose/icrease alcohol taxes (if local optio available), ad ecourage icreased taxes at state ad federal levels. Prohibit discouted alcohol prices that are lower tha stadard prices i the commuity. Prohibit price promotios, such as flat fee drik ad drow ight. I Gallup, New Mexico, local activists persuaded the state legislature to permit a local alcohol sales tax if adopted through a voter iitiative process. Voters overwhelmigly supported a 5 percet tax proposal, with the reveue desigated for a local alcoholism treatmet ad prevetio ceter. The tax, combied with other itervetios, icludig a volutary Resposible Beverage Service program, prohibitios o drive-up widows, ad restrictios o ew alcohol outlets, resulted i substatial reductios i alcohol-related crime, violece, ad ijuries. The Coalitio o Alcohol Outlet Issues, a grassroots commuity group i Oaklad, Califoria, spearheaded a successful drive i 1993 to eact a local ordiace desiged to reduce public uisace problems associated with problem alcohol outlets (such as violatios of alcohol laws, violece, loiterig, drug dealig, public drikig, ad graffiti). The ordiace imposes a $600 fee o most alcohol retailers i the city, with the fee earmarked for code ad law eforcemet ad merchat educatio. Despite sigificat problems i implemetig the ordiace (icludig a law suit filed by the merchats but rejected by the Califoria Court of Appeals that claimed the ordiace was preempted by state law), residets ad the city saw sigificat reductios i the targeted problems. Two Califoria cities, Vallejo ad Sata Cruz, have eacted similar ordiaces. Best Practices for Implemetatio Alcohol is a legal but potetially hazardous product that requires special regulatory ad plaig attetio. To the extet permitted by law i each state, local govermets should retai oversight ad promote public ivolvemet to esure a safe alcohol eviromet. This meas that commuities should maitai a active regulatory posture regardig lad use cotrols for alcohol outlets. Permits should ot be issued automatically based o a uvaryig set of criteria. Each case should be cosidered idividually based o its potetial to be a asset to the commuity rather tha a liability. State alcohol licesig agecies usually examie the character ad busiess history of the applicat i makig decisios about gratig a licese. I order to complemet the state review, commuity plaig ad lad use decisios about alcohol outlets should focus o the ature of the busiess activity ad its commuity impacts. Busiess owers come ad go, but a alcohol outlet oce approved is ofte a permaet fixture i a commuity. Lad use permits should iclude coditios that defie busiess practices ad the maer ad mode of busiess operatios cosistet with commuity values ad stadards, idepedet of the qualificatios of curret or future busiess owers.

7 No local plaig process ca predict the problems or coditios that may occur i the future. As a cosequece, whe there is a proposed chage i owership or i the maer ad mode of operatio of a alcohol outlet, local govermets should require a ew public hearig to review the coditios placed o the alcohol outlet. The sale of alcohol is a regulated public privilege, ad lad use ordiaces provide importat opportuities to brig ad retai balace betwee public ad private iterests. Coclusios I most states, commuities have the power to establish local regulatios ad lad use policies. These policies ca help create ad maitai a eviromet with regard to alcohol that protects public health ad safety ad that, i particular, protects youg people from uderage drikig. Commuities should explore the scope of the powers they have i their particular state ad use policy to cotrol the place, product, pricig, ad promotio practices used to sell alcohol. These actios ca be extremely effective i reducig uderage alcohol use ad the serious problems related to alcohol.? Where ca I get more iformatio? Other publicatios from the Office of Juveile Justice ad Deliquecy Prevetio s Uderage Drikig Laws Program (Available by cotactig the Uderage Drikig Eforcemet Traiig Ceter at Rockville Pike, 6th floor Rockville, MD ): Regulatory Strategies for Prevetig Youth Access to Alcohol: Best Practices (1999). This publicatio reviews 22 regulatory optios for reducig youth access to alcohol, assessig available research o their effectiveess ad presetig criteria for prioritizig their implemetatio. Strategies To Reduce Uderage Alcohol Use: Typology ad Brief Overview This documet provides a summary of the various strategies commoly used to reduce uderage drikig ad idicates the level of effect that might be expected from each strategy. The iformatio is desiged to assist states i settig priorities for activities to be fuded with block grat moey. Guide to Coductig Alcohol Purchase Surveys Guide to Coductig Youth Surveys These two documets provide step-by-step iformatio for data collectio efforts that ca be udertake by states or localities to idetify specific problem areas ad to measure ad moitor chages over time i alcohol use, sources of alcohol, ad merchat compliace with the law. The Cost of Uderage Drikig This documet provides iformatio o the various health ad social problems related to uderage drikig ad ca be used by state coordiators ad others to geerate support for eforcemet of uderage drikig laws. Strategic Media Advocacy for Eforcemet of Uderage Drikig Laws The vast majority of states idetified media campaigs as a major compoet of their state actio plas. I additio, media coverage is a essetial compoet of eforcemet. This guide provides state coordiators ad others with practical iformatio o usig the media efficietly ad effectively to brig about better eforcemet of uderage drikig laws. Tips for Solicitig Cohesive Program Plas (Writig Effective RFPs for the Sub-gratig Process) This brief documet provides state coordiators with a format for costructig requests for proposals that are likely to elicit cohesive ad effective plas from local commuities. Prevetig Sales of Alcohol to Miors: What You Should Kow About Merchat Educatio Programs This fact sheet defies merchat educatio ad distills curret research kowledge o the effectiveess of merchat educatio programs, the compoets they should iclude, ad how these programs fit withi a larger commuity effort. Publicatios o lad use cotrols ad their applicatio to alcohol availability: Wittma, F. ad Shae, P. Maual for Commuity Plaig to Prevet Problems of Alcohol Availability, Berkeley, CA: CLEW Associate, 1988.

8 Wittma, F. Developmet ad Use of Coditioal Use Permits to Prevet Problems Related to Retail Alcohol Outlets: A Overview. Uiversity of Califoria at Berkeley, Istitute for the Study of Social Chage, These two publicatios provide a excellet overview of commuity zoig priciples ad applicatios to alcohol lad uses. Although they focus particularly o Califoria law (which has state preemptio statutes that are uique to that state), the presetatios of lad use cocepts ad strategies are applicable to commuities i other states. Cotact: Commuity Prevetio Plaig Program, Istitute for the Study of Social Chage, 837 Folger Ave., Berkeley, CA 94710, Sparks, M. The Coditioal Use Permit as a Prevetio Tool. The Alcohol ad Other Drug Prevetio Extesio. Folsom, CA: The EMT Group, Ic This is the workbook used for a oe-day traiig with the same title developed by the EMT Group uder the auspices of the Califoria Departmet of Alcohol ad Drug Programs. It also focuses o Califoria law but is a useful tool for those from other states. For iformatio o the traiig ad maual availability cotact: The EMT Group, Ic., 771 Oak Aveue Parkway, Suite 2, Folsom, CA 95630, Publicatios reviewig specific lad use/local regulatory optios: Pratt, L., Rothstei, C., Meath, J., ad Toomey, T. Keepig Alcohol Away from Uderage Youth: Policy Solutios. Mieapolis, MN: Alcohol Epidemiology Program, Uiversity of Miesota, La Fod, C., Klaudt, K., Toomey, T., ad Geha, J. Model Alcohol Ordiaces. Mieapolis, MN: Alcohol Epidemiology Program, Uiversity of Miesota, These two publicatios provide backgroud iformatio o ad sample ordiace laguage for 12 specific local policy optios for reducig youth access to alcohol. Available o the Iteret at alcohol/default.htp or cotact: Alcohol Epidemiology Program, School of Public Health, Uiversity of Miesota, 1300 South Secod Street, #300, Mieapolis, MN , This guide icludes a 30-miute video, research review, ad resource materials. It is a excellet tool for itroducig evirometal prevetio cocepts ad strategies, icludig local lad use/regulatory strategies, to commuity groups ad policy makers. Materials may be ordered from NCADI via mail, fax, telephoe, or e- mail. Phoe (toll free) to speak to a iformatio specialist, or write to The Natioal Clearighouse for Alcohol ad Drug Iformatio, PO Box 2345, Rockville, MD Fax ifo@health.org Mari Istitute for the Prevetio of Alcohol ad Other Drug Problems, The Alcohol Policy Slide Set Series: Resources for Orgaizig ad Advocacy, Mari Istitute: Sa Rafael, CA, This compilatio of six sets of scripted slides (with topics icludig alcohol ad violece, alcohol outlets ad commuity ecoomic developmet, alcohol availability regulatory optios, ad alcohol advertisig) is a additioal resource for itroducig evirometal strategies to commuity groups ad policy makers. Cotact: Mari Istitute, 24 Belvedere Street, Sa Rafael, CA 94901, This guide was writte by James F. Mosher, J.D., of the Mari Istitute for the Prevetio of Alcohol ad Other Drug Problems ad Bob Reyolds of the Pacific Istitute for Research ad Evaluatio. Prepared by Pacific Istitute FOR RESEARCH AND EVALUATION I support of the OJJDP Eforcig the Uderage Drikig Laws Program Resources o Evirometal Prevetio Strategies for Prevetig Alcohol-Related Problems: Ceter for Substace Abuse Prevetio, Evirometal Prevetio Strategies: Puttig Theory ito Practice. Traiig ad Resource Guide. Rockville, MD: CSAP, Pacific Istitute for Research ad Evaluatio Rockville Pike, 6th floor Rockville, MD (301)

9 The Uderage Drikig Eforcemet Traiig Ceter