Gliding his patrol car to a stop around 5:30 p.m. on a recent Friday, Gilroy Police Department Officer Rene Arbizu peers through Oakley sunglasses at Miller Park, eyeing a group of seven transients standing around a park bench, some with bicycles and drinks in hand.
“How are you guys doing?” Arbizu asks politely after emerging from his vehicle. “I’m just making sure you guys aren’t drinking.”
One man, Shawn Lopez, who first identified himself as the “Seinfeld” character George Costanza, explains they’re only drinking soda, Gatorade and juice.
“We’re being good boys for once,” Lopez says, straddling a bicycle loaded with his personal effects.
Seeing no evidence of open alcohol consumption, Arbizu heads back to his patrol car.
Back in the driver’s seat, Arbizu opens up.
“That’s the first time I’ve been out here and not seen someone with a beer,” he says. “These guys are cool; they’re just hanging out drinking soda and Gatorade. For some, you know, it’s a mental health issue. For others, times are tough.”
Arbizu was enforcing the GPD’s “zero tolerance policy” for open alcohol consumption in Gilroy’s public parks, soon to be given more teeth following City Council’s decision to beef up an existing ordinance.
City Clerk Shawna Freels said the Council’s approval allowed staff to prepare the amended ordinance.
“The City Attorney’s Office is working on the amendment and it will come back to the Council on Nov. 18 for introduction and then it comes back Dec. 2 for adoption,” Freels said. “It doesn’t go into effect until Jan. 2, 2014.”
Before the end of the year, residents will be banned from enjoying a beer or opening up a bottle of wine in the Oaks and Lakeside picnic areas in Las Animas Park; or the East and West Mulberry, Walnut and Sycamore picnic areas in Christmas Hill Park, unless they pay between $50 and $350, depending on the size of the picnic area.
The 4-2 vote to amend Gilroy’s City Code was made Monday night, with Councilmembers Dion Bracco and Cat Tucker dissenting. The new rule will last for a year and if City Council takes no further action, the ordinance will be abandoned.
Mandating a fee and permit for enjoying alcoholic beverages in parks is just the first move in a 15-step approach approved by City Council July 1 to “reduce the issues related to homelessness and quality of life concerns within the City,” according to Gilroy Police Chief Denise Turner. Additional steps, such as providing additional housing options for homeless residents, starting a “proactive shopping cart abatement program” and assembling a core team of City staff to address gaps in services for at-risk populations will eventually be voted on by City Council over the next few years.
When the new alcohol in parks rule goes into effect, those who want to have a picnic, host a family reunion or throw a birthday party and have their drink too must fork out a reservation fee, based on the size of the picnic area, according to Recreation Department Director Maria De Leon.
Those found drinking in parks without a paid reservation, transients or not, will receive a misdemeanor citation, Turner said.
Mayor Don Gage recommended the GPD place English and Spanish signs in all the parks, giving visitors a heads up before enforcement of the ordinance takes effect.
“We certainly can do that,” Turner responded.
Councilman Dion Bracco argued the GPD should be enforcing the laws already on the books, rather than adding new ones to combat the problem.
“If you go to Miller Park on any weekend, there’s more alcohol there than in any of the bars in town combined,” Bracco said.
Councilwoman Cat Tucker agreed with Bracco, saying the policy could interfere with Gilroy’s adult baseball leagues where she said it’s common for players to enjoy a bottle of wine while watching friends play ball.
“We’re not trying to inconvenience anyone who wants to do that,” Gage replied, who vowed the permit process won’t be complicated.
Woodward explained that, for him, implementing the ordinance was a tough decision.
“This is changing something in the City that’s been there as long as any of us have been alive,” he said. “You go to the liquor store, you buy a six-pack and go with your buddy and sit and have a beer in a designated area of the park. We’re talking about eliminating the way things have gone on for a very long time. We have a transient epidemic and we’ve got to deal with it. My hope is that in a year we’ll say we don’t need this anymore.”
According to Turner, the amended ordinance will not impose an additional impact on the budget for fiscal year 2014.
Homelessness in Gilroy
According to Gilroy Police Chief Denise Turner, Gilroy has the third largest homeless population, behind San Jose and the entire unincorporated Santa Clara County jurisdiction. Gilroy’s homeless population accounts for 5 to 9 percent of the total homeless population in the County.
Police calls for service related to “quality of life” complaints are projected to rise 100 percent from the previous year, Turner said in a report presented to City Council July 1.
In 2012, the GPD responded to 255 calls, while in 2013, staff projects they will respond to 511 “quality of life”-related calls for service, according to the report. Only 2 percent of calls were for someone reported to be drunk in public.
The next step in the process to abate “quality of life issues” associated with homelessness approved by City Council will be to “support activities to end homelessness.
But for now, GPD Officer Mark Tarasco says he’s hopeful the new alcohol ordinance will prove effective.
“It gives us the angle to make enforcement on people that are abusing that as basically a cheap bar and a bathroom every day of the week,” he said.
When asked what the best way to deal with homelessness in Gilroy is, Tarasco drums his fingers on the desk and mulls it over.
“I don’t have an answer for that,” he said. “Some of these people choose to live that way. It’s hard to help someone who doesn’t want help. We have between one and two officers assigned lateral duty to assist the homeless. Their job, other than handling everything else they do as patrol officers, is to try to somehow help this homeless issue. And it’s out of hand.”
