The Centralia City Council officially approved the increase of the penalty for possession of an open container of liquor in a public place to a misdemeanor offense with a unanimous vote on a second and final reading Tuesday night.
Further, the council opted to move forward with the inception of a law prohibiting loitering for drug-related activity or near child-oriented activities.
Both ordinances first came before the council on Aug. 26 in a first reading. No changes were made to the ordinance since then and no public comment was given.
Before the approval of the ordinance, consuming liquor or possessing an open container of liquor in a public place was a non-arrestable civil infraction in Centralia, and the city had no laws prohibiting loitering. To address a number of issues with drug and alcohol activities in the city’s parks and other public places, the Centralia Police Department asked the city attorney’s office to research and prepare criminal offenses that would give it additional tools to use.
Ordinance 2567, which amends the Centralia Municipal Code making the consumption or possession of an open container of liquor a misdemeanor offense, allows police to arrest offenders, and violators would have the possible penalty of jail time. In order to prevent violations due to sidewalk cafes or special events, the ordinance exempts serving and consuming liquor where the activity is authorized by a valid license or permit.
Loitering ordinances face high judicial scrutiny and must be narrowly tailored to target specific behaviors in specific locations. The first offense makes it unlawful to loiter in any public place in the city for the purposes of engaging in prohibited drug- or alcohol-related activities.
The code section provides a non-exhaustive list of activities or behaviors that can be used to determine if a person is engaging in prohibited drug- or alcohol-related activities. The second offense makes it unlawful to loiter within 330 feet of a child-oriented location in a manner that would cause a reasonable person or child to fear for their safety or security.
For more information on these changes, visit previous Chronicle reporting at https://tinyurl.com/3mfux6ms.
