Mission Viejo Simone Booth never expected a brick to fly through her bedroom window.
She thought the family-oriented neighborhood she and her husband chose was the ideal place to raise their young daughter.
That dream was shattered when four college students moved in next door and turned the five-bedroom house into one of the city's most frequented party houses. After three months of raucous parties, underage drinking complaints by neighbors and neighborhood property destruction the party was over.
Deputies arrested the four for disturbing the peace and arrested a woman with a warrant for prostitution.
Now city officials hope a new law could crash these out-of-control parties. The City Council on Monday voted 5-0 to start work on a law making parents responsible for underage drinking. Proposed by Mayor Trish Kelley, the Social Host Underage Drinking Ordinance would hold adults accountable for teen drinking and could result in possible $1,000 fines.
If the ordinance is enacted, Mission Viejo would be the first in Orange County to do so. The law is already on the books in 24 California cities and four counties. In a Register online survey, 71 percent of 3,391 respondents believe adults should be fined if teens drink in their homes.
"It's a health and safety concern not only for teens but for the whole community," said Kelley, who has spoken to concerned parents and neighbors tired of the popular party houses. "The problem of underage drinking and drug use is on the rise and it does happen at these parties."
In Mammoth Lakes a popular ski resort the ordinance has been in effect for about a year. Frequent snowboarder and ski groups many underage and from Orange County party in their families' second homes or in rented condos. If any adults are found facilitating a location for minors, not only are they cited but also billed for any police and emergency response. Support in town was driven by the school district as well as Mono County's Drug and Alcohol Program.
"Away from school we don't have a lot for the kids to do," said Mammoth Police Sgt. Karen Smart. "On an average weekend we do have a lot of high school kids involved in drinking and partying. The ski area employs a lot of 18 to 23year-olds. At a lot of these parties you tend to get high school kids mixing in. This is a new tool for us to look for a responsible adult."
In Ojai, Ventura County Sheriff's Capt. Bruce Norris says the ordinance, established two years ago, has cut down on underage drinking and crimes associated with it. Fines of $1,000 have been recovered from 10 people in Ojai and 24 more people have been cited in Ventura County.
"Every impact we have is great even if it's to save one victim," he said. "There's a lot of disrespect that goes on at these underage parties. Lots of sexual assaults happen with young females. We want to stop the victimization."
Critics say there are already state laws dealing with this. Proponents say state law addresses furnishing alcohol, the social host ordinance targets providing a venue.
Mission Viejo City Councilman Lance MacLean wonders if it could backfire. At Monday's City Council meeting he recounted an event in which his own son had a party while he and his wife were away for the weekend.
"My 18-year-old son had a few friends over and then my house filled with 150 kids," said MacLean. "I'd be doubly upset if I was paying a fine on a party I didn't host."
Since May 2007 Mission Viejo deputies have responded to reports of 1,325 loud parties. A good percentage of these have involved teens, said Sheriff's Lt. Steve Bernardi, chief of police services for the city. In 2007 there were 18 crashes where underage drivers were arrested for driving while intoxicated. Ten people were injured and in 11 cases juveniles told deputies they had been drinking at a party, a friend's house or at home.
Tips on the "hot weekend party" are often posted on networking sites like MySpace and others. News spreads by word of mouth and fliers, too
School officials acknowledge the problem and discipline students caught drinking or using drugs on campus and at school events. At Trabuco Hills High one of the city's four high schools students caught with alcohol are suspended for five days and face expulsion.
"I'm sure it happens at a lot of private homes with adults present," said Assistant Principal Paul LaBlanc. "That is something we cannot control. There are students out there who drink but it's out of the school's jurisdiction."
Nancy Leonard, a mother of a high school sophomore in Fullerton, calls teen drinking an epidemic.
Leonard says many of the parties her daughter has attended included alcohol. It's either provided by the parents, brought in by students or both. Even if parents don't supply alcohol, they look the other way when kids bring it in.
"Even though I call every parent who is hosting a party and receive assurances that alcohol will not be served, somehow alcohol shows up," she said. "Once, my daughter told me that she opened a cooler at a party and found it stocked with beer."
Many teens say it's more normal to drink than not.
"On the weekends it's more like, 'Whose house are we going to drink at?'" said Maria Hernandez, a junior at Mission Viejo High. "It usually happens at open parties where parents are gone. Mostly kids get alcohol from their homes or from kids with fake IDs. I don't think it's the parents' responsibility if they're on a business trip and the kid has a party. The kid knows the consequences of their action."
But John Meyers, also a junior at Mission Viejo High, supports the new law. He is a member of Santiago De Compostela Church's youth ministry Friday Night Live, which works to deter alcohol abuse.
He recounts an incident last year where a varsity track athlete got alcohol poisoning.
"It made me realize that just because someone is in varsity sports or honors classes doesn't mean they're not affected by alcohol," said Meyers, 17. "Teens accept alcohol because they think everyone does it. I believe adults have the authority to tell underage kids what is better for them and how they should make their choices."
