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A proposal that would have allowed police to arrest residents found drinking alcoholic beverages on their front porches or lawns has been abandoned by the City Council.
“We’ve had calls and letters about this,” Mayor Joanne Coontz said of the plan to revise the city’s “drinking in public” laws.
Council members tentatively approved the proposal in December but overturned that decision last week.
City attorneys had drafted the law after several court cases upheld that the front areas of homes and driveways in plain view are considered to be “public places.” However, Police Chief John R. Robertson said the city had lost several cases recently because the local ordinance was unclear about the definition of a public place.
Several residents thanked the council for revoking the provision, saying that the sanctity of property rights was threatened.
“I am not a drinker, but I do respect the privacy of my property,” resident Ruth Calvert told officials.
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